Thursday 12 April 2007

Potpourri




When I spoke of 'Magizhampoo' in my summer vacation post, I was reminded of some other flowers that have become rare to find these days. All these flowers have such sweet fragrance .

'Kodi Sampangi' is one..these are bell shaped green color flowers and blooms in clusters...the plant as the name suggests ('Kodi' means a creeper) is a creeper with just one hardy twining trunk.The petals have a light yellow tinge and the flowers cannot be tied into a string like jasmines...they have to be threaded using a needle .

'Oosi malli' ('Oosi' means 'needle' and ofcourse Malli is Jasmine) the flower resembles a needle...atleast 2 inches long and has a long stalk too. When in bloom the petals droop down and when stringed together , they look like a bunch of white thread.

'Soundarya Kanakaambaram' ..Oh the color ! Its a deep saffron color and the petals are more sturdy than the regular ones . Even a six inch stringed piece of this flower can add a dash of color and looks attractive.

'Manoranjitham'..Atleast this flower can still to be seen here and there and I know many ppl who loves its fragrance. Intoxicating is what it is.
(Incidentaly , this is close to me bcos I was chosen to be this flower , in a flower dance we did in school when I was in 4th class :P ....now , I dont want anyone associating the tough look of the flower to me being selected ;-) ....just take my word when I say it was random selection :P But I was disappointed during the actual dance as all the 'jasmines' and 'roses' were all decked up with those flowers from head to toe while the teachers had to go from pole to post.. to collect manoranjithams..unfair eh ? :( )

'Changing rose'...this is one magic flower ..it's white in color in the morning and as the day progresses , changes to pink to deep pink ..then majenta and becomes red by the evening...oh what fun it was to watch its color change during classes in school :P

'Paneer Roja' this is dark baby pink in color..if there is something called 'sweet fragrance' it is this. It blooms in clusters of three or four and unlike the regular roses is very delicate and has less petals with a yellow centre ,the pollen very visible. These are not the pink hybrid variety..(hee hee..the petals taste yummy too :P )

'Nagalinga poo' Though I see these in some parks in Chennai , it used to be one of the regular flowers for pooja a few years back .I like to take the little lingam out of the flower after the pooja :P

'Sentu Malli' ...A variety of jasmine that has a deep jasmine scent but looks like a miniature white rose.

'Thaazham poo'.. This is a flower with a peculiar shape and strong fragrance and can diffuse an entire room with its smell. It was used in 'kadambam' previously ...but is missing now. During summer vacations it used to be a ritual to decorate the plaits of little girls with this flower ... it is called 'thazhampoo jadai' .

'Thumba poo'...this plant is a wild one and the flowers were very special for poojas. They look like 'baby's breath'..tiny and sparkling white in color.

A couple of flowers my dad misses.
'Neel Kamal'....My dad claims to have seen Blue lotuses on the Chennai-Kanchipuram highway when he was in his teens. But there is always an argument bet. us about it. I say that there is no blue lotus and he is talking about blue lilies. He is still in search of some place where there is 'Neel kamal'.

'Kadamba poo' ..when he talks about this he always says 'Kandhaa...Kadambaa' and he described the flower to me...a great smelling , ball shaped fuzzy flower that grows on med. height trees. Once when I found a similar tree somewhere , we walked there for half an hour and both of us were very disappointed to see it was a diff. one...but this one was cute too.

Its nice to see the asters , gerberas, tuber-roses, dhalias , chrysanthamums ,
orchids , gladioli , carnations etc (the cut flower ones) stocked up in lots of places....but I miss the flowers I mentioned too .

If you can think of any other flower that is going extinct..please write about it.

28 comments:

balar said...

wow.excellent write up and interesting information about rare flowers. :)
Flowers pathi periya research panni "Malargal Ezhuthu(kaN)Kaatchi" ye vaichteengae pongae ")
Fowersikku kooda actor and actress name vaikka arambichitaangappa..missing kushboo(kundu) malli :))

I was one of the luckiest guy 15 years before when i saw "Kurinchi flowers" in kodaikanal..

Keep up the great work sree. :)

unfuel the planet said...

//If you can think of any other flower that is going extinct.//

innocence

Sree's Views said...

Hey Bala....thanks for the kind words :)
I like Magnolias and cherry blossoms in ur place . Have u visited lilac parks?
There wld be splashes of lavender color everywhere and I attended a lilac festival there..everyone was dressed in purple color and there was a fair in a lilac park :)
So u r missing Kusboo ;-) what about 'Roja' ? ;-)
Yeah..some one gave me a pressed Kurinchi malar, Bala...a native of Kodai told me that the hills turn a deep purple during the season ,is that how it looked?
Itseems, these days it is not following the schedule properly ...:P is that rt?
Bala..a request...post a picture of some exotic flowers in the US..my choice is a magnolia tree in full bloom .

Sree's Views said...

well Pegasus....
I doubt if the conditions are suitable for this one to survive...let alone grow and flourish :(
Who is to take the responsibility of protecting it even if wants to survive ? Its very vulnerability ensures its downfall.
The interesting irony is that its downfall affects its foes a lot worse.

Ravi said...

Sree, super! Enakku Surya oru padathula 100 Tamizh poo peru solvaare... adhu dhaan nyabagam vandhadhu. Btw, adhu avanga appa Sivakumar solli koduthadhaam! I think you have mentioned only flowers with fragrance right? illaati, list innum neeeelama irukum. Good one!

Sree's Views said...

Hello Ravi...
Ungalukku indha post pidichi irukkumnu ninaichen :) Neenga dhaan 'elandha pazham' ..'ammi poriya' pathi ezhudhineengaley :)
hmm..naan sonnadhula kanakambarathukkum , changing rosekum vaasai irukaadhu. But enakku rendumey pidikkum..for diff reasons...kanakambaram jadai nalla irukkum..changing rose color maaradhey azhagu :)
Ella poovum list poda sonna..2 blog venum :P :))
thanks Ravi..eppo next post ?

tulipspeaks said...

interesting info!

cheers!

Happy New Year.


ammu.

Sree's Views said...

Thanks Ammu...and u have chosen a lovely name for ur blog :)
En Iniya Puthaandu Vaazhthukkal :)

Syam said...

aaga poo pathi ivalo eluthittu...halwa va vituteengaley...indha list la enaku pudichathu 'Nagalinga poo' & 'Thaazham poo' :-)

Syam said...

iniya thamizh puthu varuda vaalthukkal :-)

Sree's Views said...

100 aayusu Nataama ungalukku..ippodhaan Bharani blog la naan comment podaradhukulla neenga vandhu comment pottuttu poiteenga :)

//aaga poo pathi ivalo eluthittu...halwa va vituteengaley//
hmm halwa dhaan unga blog la ellam chumma thanni (naan bacardi ya sollala thala ;-) ) patta paadaachey :P

Yeah...mikka nandri and ungalukkum unga family kkun a very happy and prosperous new year !!

(Neenga vaanga ponga vendam..ennadhaan katchi la naan periya porupula irundhaalum...I dont stand on formalities :P )
Ensssoiii Nataamai :)

Sree's Views said...

Oh Natamai...u like 'thazhampoo' and 'naagalinga poo' ? ok ok.
yeah..enakku kooda thazhampoo romba pidikkum..adhula jadai thaipaanga..adhu super azhagu and poojaila thoranam kattuvaanga..pooja roomey vaasanai thookkum :)

Adiya said...

hey thats really a awesome collection of flowers here u go my from my side

Nandi ya vattai - white petaled flower usually kept front part of house.

Andhi Malai - kind of jasmine blossoms in the eveing( i guess its the same u mentioned as samandhi )

Table Rose - :) simple cut & Paste variety of rose with vivid colors

in addition we used to collect this aavaram poo :).. padam peru illa.. u can find it on the banks of railway tracks. it seems aavaram poo coffee is good for health :) oru post etha pathi appuram poduran

idli poo - red colour flower often blossom in a semi-circular bunch resembles like idli. this is one main combo for andal mala. we use this slanged name. i donna the exact name.

vaada malli - violet color color also part of mala

gundu malai - kind of jasmine but in a bigger size :)

:) innum lot more sudden aa ethu dhaan varuthu..

really super post

Sree's Views said...

Hey adiya..super flowers ellam solliteenga...naan nidhaanama neenga sonna ovvoru poo pathiyum comment la podaren :)
such lovely ones :)
innum en kitta list irukku :)

Adiya said...

me 2 :)

Sree's Views said...

unga list a podunga Adiyaa...naanum en list podaren..and we can see what all flowers we missed :) (lets not include the common variety)

Sree's Views said...

Hey Adiya....
Nandhiyavattai...ya..adhu illadha veedey irukaadhu...poojaikku adhaan best :)
Andhi Malai...hmm.neenga sollaradhu..'malathi'aa illa..'Night queen'aa? Illa 'nitya malli' aa?
Table rose...ya..'cut and paste' variety lol :) Romba azhaga irukkum..ethanai colors :)
Aavaram poo...adhu yellow color la wild la valarndhu irukkum :)
Idli poo...its called 'Ixora'...enga veetla red and yellow color la irukkum. Red dhaan perisaa kothu kotha irukkum..adhoda stalk thithippa irukkum :) . One of my favorites..enna poojaikku poo parikka sonna...modhalla idha perichuduven..easy yavum irukkum..koodaiyum seekiram full aagidum :P
Vaadaa malli...hmm somehow I never to attached to it...probably bcos we never use it for pooja..and andha plant kooda koncham dullaa irukkum.

gundu malli...malli variety la ye ethanaiyo irukkupaa ..'jaadhi'..'adukku malli'..'gundu malli'...'iruvaatchai'..so many :)

So thanks for reminding me of these flowers :)

Adiya said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Adiya said...

ada. enna oru periya list vatchu eruinga.. neeinga dhaan flowers taxonomy guru namma keta avalu sarakku illa :)

venna unga post copy adichu en-post illa pottukeran :) ..

r u having all the flowers @ your garden is it ? just curious ?? entha ooru ungaluku :)

Sree's Views said...

Hey Adiyaa....
My grandparents used to be avid gardeners and so we had nice variety of flowers in our garden..my dad likes collecting flowering plants and he keeps talking about rare flowers :)...endha oorukku ponaalum oru chedi kondu varuvaaru :)
and enga ooru chennaidhaan :) thanni prob irundha timela kooda epadiyo the plants survived :) Ya..ella poovum enga veetla illa..but niraiya irukku ..sila trees engayaavadhu irukkum..appo adha paathu admire panna vendiyadhudhaan :)
3 other flowers i remember
'sara konrai'...yellow chandliers maadhiri periya marathula hang aagumey..
'gulmohar'..sweet flower :)
'marudhaani poo' have u smelt the flowers of marudhaani plant..ahaaa :)

//venna unga post copy adichu en-post illa pottukeran :) .. //
feel free...no probs :)

Aboorva said...

What more delightsome than an infinite varietie of sweet
smelling flowers? i feel the fragrance of that flower in your post. Although every flower may possess, secondarily, its own specific symbolism, for all that, flowers generally are symbols of the passive principle of beauty

Sree's Views said...

Hello Aboorva...
Yeah very true...I can think of a more calming and soothing atmosphere than a place filled with sweet smelling flowers :)
As u said...certain fragrances makes u think of certain occasions...dried jasmine smell reminds me of the bride's dressing room in a marriage hall . Shanbaga poo reminds me of B'lore .
Magizhampoo of Drive-in Woodlands , Chennai :)

And I agree with symbolism too..but I think it is very personal..like a hibiscus reminds me of something but can give diff memories to someone else .
Flowers are just beautiful !!

Anonymous said...

I would like to know about Kushboo flower, i´ve surfed the web and havent found any info, or a picture, things that would be great. If anyone can help thanx in advanCe. ;-)

Sivakumaran said...

he can you tell the english name for the flowers u've mentioned pls....especially to Magizhampoo, manoranjitham, avaram poo...pls...

భావన said...

I was looking for some flowers pics in google and that directed me to your post about flowers. Very nice work Sree. It reminded me all the flowers that I used to see often when I was a kid. In andhra we call "naagalinga poo" as "sivuDi puvvu" , both means same though. I am so fond of that flower. I never saw that flower after I left my native place. "kodi Sampenga" we call that just " Sampenga or chettu sampenga" since other variety of Sampenga's are from creepers. I don't know "changing rose" but we do have a flower called radha manoharam" which change colors from white to red starts from evening and ends by Morning.
Hmmm... about "Neel Kamal" I heard about it but I never saw them. "Kadamba" is flower you can see in some parts of Andhra. "Nallamala forests" are so famous for these flowers. In lalita sahasra namam also it says Amma is so fond of these flowers " maha padmaaTavee samstaa kadamba vanavaasini" . Thank you you just made me to go through my child hood memories whihc were so combined with fragrances.

Anandhi said...

Hi Sree, read your blog. I am very familiar with all the flowers you have mentioned. We lived in Neyveli where we had manoranjitham, kodi sampangi,Delhi kanakambaram, pavazhamalli or parijatham, marudhani(the whole fence was done with marudhani sedi), magizham poo, jadhi malli, nithya malli, sendu malli, niram marum aagayathamarai, sarakkonai(laburnam), sandhana arali(plumeria)etc. The trees and flowering plants we had were countless. This was 40 years back, when we were in school and my father was working in NLC.
Now we live in Port trust Colony, Paradip, Orissa.
The flora and fauna of Orissa is simply breath-taking. One find innumerable vareities of plants here. I was searching for the equivalent name in hindi and oriya for kadamba malar. After refering 2or 3 sites i found out that kadamba malar which is very special for lord muruga, is the same which known as kadhamba in many languages.Your blog is one of the referal site i went thro'.
This tree is available in abandance in this colony. No one seems to be knowing about the speciality of this tree and it is an endangered species.

Anandhi.

Anonymous said...

which deity do we offer kodi sampangi to? will it have fragrance? when is the best time to offer it? like evening?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ_wrwDW5pA

Anonymous said...

'Soundarya Kanakaambaram' ..Oh the color ! Its a deep saffron color and the petals are more sturdy than the regular ones ."

how does this kanakambaram differ from the usual ones?
i even read somewhere there is a variety that is fragrant and the commerical ones aren't. what's the real kanakambaram suppose to be like?