The Kaas Plateau - कास पठार - २०१६
The Kaas Plateau, also known as the Kaas Pathar or Kas Sadas, is a plateau situated 25 kilometres west from Satara city in Maharashtra, India. It falls under the Sahyadri Sub Cluster of the Western Ghats, and it became a part of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2012.
It is a biodiversity hotspot known for various types of seasonal wild flowers bloom and numerous species of endemic butterflies annually in the months of August and September. The plateau is situated at an altitude of 1200 metres and is approximately 10 square kilometers in area. Kaas has more than 850 different species of flowering plants of which 624 are listed on the IUCN Red List. These include orchids, shrubs such as the Karvy, and carnivorous plants such as Drosera Indica.
Kaas plateau is a plateau located near Satara. It is situated high hill plateaus and grasslands turns into a 'valley of flowers' during monsoon season, particularly from August to early October. Kaas Plateau has more than 150 or more types of flowers, shrubs and grasses. The orchids bloom here for a period of 3–4 weeks during this season. Kaas plateau is a World Natural Heritage site. To control possible damage by tourists, the number of visitors to the plateau has been restricted to 3,000 per day. In September, some of the most common flowering plants are Eriocaulon manoharanii, Pogostemon deccanensis, Senecio grahamii, Impatiens oppositifolia and Dipcadi montanum.
The plateau experiences a natural cycle of extreme conditions, with wet water-logged cool monsoons, very dry barren hot summer (45 C) and dry winter (5 C). The soil is a thin layer on top of Deccan rock, with varying quality of nutrients. The annual cyclic ecosystem here, and nearby similar but smaller lateritic plateaus, has adapted to these conditions.
Bio-diversity on Kaas plateau:
Kaas Plateau is rich in its Bio-diversity. Many species are observed on plateau which are new to the Botanical Science. Many of the endemic, endangered plants are found on Plateau. More than 850 species of flowering plants are reported on the plateau. 624 species have entered in the Red Data Book. Out of these 624 species, 39 are found only in Kaas Region.
Common name: Jaini Ceropegia Marathi: जैनी खरचुडी Jaini Kharchudi Botanical name: Ceropegia jainii Family: Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family) Synonyms: Ceropegia prainii
Jaini Ceropegia is a very rare and threatened herb, endemic to the Sahyadri Hills. It is a small erect herb, 10-20 cm high, with tuberous root. Tubers are hairless, 2-3 cm. Slender stem is green with oppositely arranged leaves. Leaves are linear-lanceshaped, 2-5 cm long, hairy on both sides, margins with stiff hairs. Flowers occur singly in leaf axils. Slender flower-stalks are 6-10 mm long. Sepals are lance-shaped, 3-5 mm. Flowers are 2 cm long, tubular, with the tube enlarged at the base and white. Five narrow linear petals are 1 cm long, reddish-purple, and hairy at the base. Sometimes the flower is completely purplish-red. Flowering: August-October.
Common name: Flycatcher, Sundew, Dew plant, Indian Sundew
Hindi: Kandulessa Marathi: गवती दवबिंदू Gawati davbindu Botanical name: Drosera indica Family: Droseraceae (Sundew family)
Flycatcher is an insectivorous plant, a sundew native to India, Africa and Australia. It is an unbranched, annual herbaceous plant, supported by a fibrous root system and reaching a height of 5–50 cm. Young plants stand upright, while older ones form scrambling stemps with only the newest growth exhibiting an upright habit. The plant can be yellow-green to maroon in color. Inflorescences are 50 cm long, 3-25-flowered, on top of stems. Alternately arranged, very narrow leaves, 3-6 cm long, are fringed with gland tips tentacles. The tips of the tentacles are formed by sparkling dots of sticky liquid. That probably earns it the common name Sundew. The sticky liquid helps trap insects. Flowers 1.5-2.5 cm across, generally pink, but can also be orange or white. The plant is naturally found along ephemeral creeks on sandy soil. In nature the seeds sprout with the onset of the summer rainy season. Flowering: September.
Common name: Burmann's Sundew
Hindi: मुखजली mukhajali Marathi: दवबिंदु davabindu Botanical name: Drosera burmannii Family: Droseraceae (Sundew family) Synonyms: Drosera burmanni
Burmann's Sundew is a small, compact insectivorous plant, normally spanning only 2 cm. It is probably named for N.L. Burmann, 18th century Dutch botanist. It is one of the fastest insect-trapping sundews, and its leaves can curl around an insect in only a few seconds, compared to the minutes or hours it takes other sundews to surround their prey. The leaves all lie flat on the ground in a rosette. The are 6-12 mm long, narrow at the base. The upper surface is covered with sticky glands which trap insects and digest them. Tiny flowers arise on a leafless scape, 5-20 cm long, arising from leaf axils. Burmann's Sundew produces large amounts of seed. Flowering: September-December.
Common name: Nilgiri Flemingia Marathi: जरतारी Jartari Botanical name: Flemingia nilgheriensis Family: Fabaceae (Pea family) Synonyms: Flemingia vestita var. nilgheriensis, Moghania nilgheriensis
Nilgiri Flemingia is a spreading herb; branchlets several, up to 30 cm, round, covered with long spreading hairs with yellow glands. Leaves are 3-foliolate, densely pilose and yellow gland-dotted below, less so above; leaf-stalk to 1 cm; leaflets nearly stalkless, to 2 x 1.5 cm; mid-leaflet obovate, laterals rhomboid, tip rounded, mucronate; stipules lanceshaped, to 7 x 2 mm, densely pilose above. Inflorescence at branch-ends, spherical, 2 cm wide; stalk to 3 cm; bracts leaf-like, falling off. Calyx densely hairy, hairs bulbous below; sepals twice as long as tube, narrow-lanceshaped, up to 1 cm. Flower are purple; standard obovate, to 7 x 6 mm, hairy and glandular without; wings 5 x 2 mm, clawed; keels 4 x 2 mm, clawed. Pod is ovoid, 5 mm wide, enclosed in calyx; seed 1, ellipsoid.
Common name: Lamprachaenium microcephalum Sans.: Ajdandi, Brahmadandi
Herbs, erect, ca 60 cm high; stem and branches striate, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Leaves elliptic, narrowed at both the ends, dentate, up to 8 x 3.5 cm, sparsely hairy above, white woolly beneath, punctate. Inflorescence corymbose, axillary and terminal. Heads homogamous. Involucral bracts many-seriate, elliptic-lanceolate, tomentose without, becoming almost glabrous with age; outer with foliaceous tips and ciliate margins; tips often recurved; inner gradually larger. Achenes ca 2 mm long, shining, smooth. Pappus hairs red, few, fugacious. Flowering: Oct.- Nov. (Endemic)
Distrib. India: Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
Common name: Mal Karvy Marathi: टोपली कारवी topli karvi, माळ कारवी mal karvi Botanical name: Pleocaulus ritchei Family: Acanthaceae (Acanthus family) Synonyms: Strobilanthes sessilis, Strobilanthes sessilis var. ritchiei
Mal Karvy is a small perennial shrub, usually half a meter tall, but after the flowering year, grows to 2 m tall. Numerouis quadrangular stems form a hemispherical tuft on the ground. Oppositely arranged stalkless leaves are ovate, rounded at the base, 2-3 cm long. Purple flowers occur in spikes 3-8 cm long, either in leaf axils or at the end of branches. Bristly bracts are 2 cm long, with long hairs, and tinged with purple. Flowers are bell-shaped with flaring petals. Stamens are 6 in number, and remain inside the flower. It flowers once in 7 years! Flower: October-November.
Common name: Zombi pea, Wild Mung, Wild cowpea
Hindi: जंगली मूंग Janglee Mung, Suryaparni, Machali Marathi: राणघेवडा / हळुंदा Halunda
Sanskrit: मुद्गपर्णी Mudgaparni Botanical name: Vigna vexillata Family: Fabaceae (pea family)
Zombi pea is a fairly strong twiner, stems usually clothed with spreading silky hairs. It resembles a plant somewhere between a Southern pea and a mung bean. The long trailing vines have narrow pointed bean-like leaves. Pods and seeds resemble mung beans, and the roots are nodulated. Flowers pink or purplish, turning yellow, pea-like, 2.5 cm long. Because of its tuberous roots rather than its pods, the wild mung is held in fairly high esteem in some parts of the world. In Africa, the roots are eaten in times of severe hunger. It grows wild in the Himalayas and in the foothills of India. The tubers are soft, easy to peel, and possess a creamy, white, tasty interior. They are eaten boiled or raw. Protein content of the tubers is near the 15% level, which is high compared to the 1-7% for potatoes and yams.
Medicinal uses: The whole plant is used in Ayurvedic medicine. Mudgaparni’s initial action is important for the formation of the first tissue that sustains the other tissues. It is effective for joint disorders, arthritis, swellings in joints. As a hemostatic it checks hemorrhaging thus prolongs life in individuals suffering from internal bleeding while building their strength with its nutritive action.
Common name: Opposite-Leaved Balsam Marathi: लाल तेरडा Lal terda Botanical name: Impatiens oppositifolia Family: Balsaminaceae (Balsam family)
Synonyms: Impatiens rosmarinifolia, Impatiens rupicola Hook.f., Impatiens nataliae
Opposite-Leaved Balsam is an annual herb, 30-50 cm high. The leaves of Opposite-Leaved Balsam are opposite, 3-8 cm, narrow lancelike, with spiny teeth. Upper leaves are stalkless, while the lower ones have stalks. Orange-purple flowers, 1-1.5 cm occur in leaf axils either solitary or in groups of 2-3. The standard petals are round. The lip is conical like a hook. Flowering: August-October.
Common name: Law's Balsam Marathi: जांभळा तेरडा jambhla terada Botanical name: Impatiens lawii Family: Balsaminaceae (Balsam family)
Native to Peninsular India, Law's Balsam is an annual herb, 10-30 cm tall. Short, succulent stem is swollen at the nodes, and sports many slender branches. Oppositely arranged, stalkless leaves are shortly oblong, sharp tipped, 2-3 cm long. The leaf margins have spiny teeth. Upper leaves are smaller, heart-shaped and stem-clasping. Violet purple flowers occur singly in leaf axils, and are 6-8 mm across. Filament-like flower-stalks are 2-3 cm long. The standard petal is circular. Lip is boat-shaped. Unlike most balsams, the spur is absent. Capsules are narrow, 1 cm long. Flowering: August-October.
Common name: Grass Leaved Bladderwort Marathi: खुरपापणी Khur papni Botanical name: Utricularia graminifolia Family: Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort family) Synonyms: Utricularia purpurascens, Utricularia uliginoides, Utricularia parviflora
Grass Leaved Bladderwort is an insectivorous aquatic herb, 5-15 cm tall. The root fibres have small bladders. Linear oblong grass-like leaves, coming out straight from the root, are 6-10 mm long. Flowers appear on erect filament-like scapes 5-15 cm tall. Scapes are 2-6 flowered. Slender stalks are 6-8 mm long. Flowers are 2-lipped, fragrant, bluish purple. Upper lips small, 4 mm, obovate, narrowed at the base. The larger lower lip is deeply convex, 10-15 mm, almost circular, bluish purple with a pale purple and veined center. The slender, curved spur is 8-12 mm long. It is occasionally found on wet rocks in grasslands at hight elevations in the Western Ghats. Flowering: November.
Common name: Marsh Dewflower Marathi: अबोलिमा Abolima Botanical name: Murdannia lanuginosa Family: Commelinaceae (Dayflower family) Synonyms: Aneilema lanuginosum, Murdannia siennea
Marsh Dewflower is an erect or nearly erect, branched herb; fibrous roots often tuberous, slightly thickened; stem angular, hairless or hairy. Leaves are 3-6 x 0.4-0.8 cm, stem, alternate, oblong-lanceshaped or lanceshaped, margin wavy, tip pointed or shortly tapering, base rounded, more or less stem-claspinge, prominently striped, hairy; sheath 8-12 mm long, hairy. Flowers are 5-6 mm long, 1-2, orange-yellow, in leaf-axils to the upper leaf-sheaths; flower-stalks 2-4 cm long, erect or slightly bent in fruits, jointed at middle, hairy below the joints; bracteoles 2 at joints, about 1 mm long, membranous, ovate, blunt. Sepals 3, free, slightly unequal, about 6 x 2 mm, elliptic-oblong, subpointed, straw-coloured, persistent. Petals 3, free, orange-yellow, bluish when dry, obovate, slightly longer than sepals. Fertile stamens are 3; filaments bearded; anthers 2-celled; staminodes 3. Capsule 5-7 mm long, oblong, trigonous, cuspidate with persistent style, 3-celled; seeds 3 or more, angular, pitted. Marsh Dewflower is found in Peninsular India. Flowering: October-November.
Common name: Medium Ceropegia Marathi: मेडी खरचुडी Medi Kharchudi Botanical name: Ceropegia media Family: Asclepiadaceae (Milkweed family)
Medium Ceropegia is a slender twinning climber 1-2 m long. Stems are slender, purple, and root tuberous. Oppositely arranged leaves are narrowly linear, lanceshaped, 5-15 cm long. Leaves are hairy with a rounded base. Flowers arise in leaf axils in clusters of 2-4. The stalk carrying the cluster is 2-4 cm long. Flower-stalks are 1-2 cm long, hairy. Flowers are 2-3 cm long, with a 2 cm long tube, slightly inflated at the base. The tube enlarges at the top, to a purple mouth. The petals at the top are purple, 1 cm long. Medium Ceropegia is found at higher elevations in the Western Ghats. Flowering: August-September.
Common name: Sonki, Mumbai Senecio, Graham's groundsel Marathi: सोनकी Sonki Botanical name: Senecio bombayensis Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower family) Synonyms: Senecio grahamii Hook.f. [Illeg.], Doronicum reticulatum Wight [Illeg.]
Sonki is a gregarious plant of the Western Ghats which makes a splash during its mass flowering with the advent of monsoons. It is seen on hill-slopes, old roofs and forks of trees. It is an erect branched annual herb, growing to 30-100 cm high. Alternately arranged, rhomboid, coarsely toothed leaves are 3-10 cm long. Golden yellow flower-heads are 1-2 cm across. Ray-flowers ("petals") are 10-15 in number, linear oblong. Disk flowers are also yellow, but in a darker shade.
Common name: Hairy Smithia Marathi: कावला Kawla Botanical name: Smithia hirsuta Family: Fabaceae (Pea family)
Hairy Smithia is a slender, erect herb, 30-35 cm tall. The stem, either unbranched or with a few ascending branches, is covered by yellowish, glandular-based hairs. Leaves pinnately compound, leaflets 2-4 pairs, each 6-10 x 2-5 mm, obovate or oblong, serrate, apex rounded, bristle-tipped. Flowers yellow, in few-flowered, compact racemes at the end of branches. The flowers have 5 free petals - "standard" petal with reddish marks on 2 sides. Flowering:September-October
Common name: Common Hill Borage, Mahabaleshwar forget-me-not Marathi: निसुर्डी nisurdi Botanical name: Adelocaryum coelestinum Family: Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not family) Synonyms: Cynoglossum coelestinum, Paracaryopsis coelestina, Paracaryum coelestinum
Common hill borage is a flower which looks like a beautiful white version of the famous blue Forget-Me-Not. The white, or pale blue flowers, 6-10 mm across, have a shape similiar to forget-me nots, but have a blue shaded center. It is an erect perennial herb, 1-2 m tall, with red stems and branches. Basal leaves are very large, up to 25 cm long, ovate-heart-shaped, carried on a foot long red stalks. Stem leaves are smaller, 5 cm long, carried on short stalks. Flowers are borne in forked racemes on branch ends. Common hill borage is native to India, found in Western Ghats.
Common name: Tuberous Pipewort Marathi: पाणगेंद Pan-gend Botanical name: Eriocaulon tuberiferum Family: Eriocaulaceae (Pipewort family)
Tuberous Pipewort is a small aquatic herb, found in the Western Ghats. It is 12-25 cm tall, with a tuberous root, with 5-15 tubers with stalks. Narrow lance-shaped leaves, 2-5 cm long, arise from the base. White flowers-heads shaped like hats, as carried on 10-20 cm long, grooved, twisted stalks. Flower-heads are 6-7 mm in diameter. Dark colored bracts as seen in the flower-heads. Male flowers are numerous, whereas female flowers are few, mostly on the rim of the "hat". Flowering: September-October.
Common name: Tutari Marathi: तुतारी Tutari Botanical name: Rhamphicarpa fistulosa Family: Orobanchaceae (Broomrape family) Synonyms: Rhamphicarpa longiflora, Rhamphicarpa elongata
Tutari is an erect herb, growing up to a foot high, occasionally found in the moist grasslands of the Western Ghats. It is a root parasite on grasses. The smooth stems are branched above. Oppositely arranged leaves are 3-4 cm long, and pinnately divided into very narrow leaflets. Flowers occur solitary in the leaf axil. Flowers have funnel form, with a slender, straight tube flaring open into five oblong white petals. Flowers open at night after 5 pm.
Common name: Konkan Pinda Marathi: पंद Pand Botanical name: Pinda concanensis Family: Apiaceae (Carrot family) Synonyms: Heracleum pinda
Konkan Pinda is an annual herb with tuberous roots, which grows up to 1-2 ft high. It has short branched stems. Pinnate leaves are 10-20 cm long, 3-4 cm ovate, toothed, 3-lobed leaflets. White flowers are 1 cm across, and are arranged in beautiful compound umbels 5-10 cm across. Petals of outer flowers are larger, and 8-10 mm, obovate, 2-lobed. Occasionally seen on the edges of cliffs in forest clearings in the Western Ghats.
Common name: Large Dewflower Botanical name: Murdannia simplex Family: Commelinaceae (Dayflower family) Synonyms: Commelina simplex, Murdannia sinica
Large Dewflower is a perennial herb, 30-60 cm. Leaves 3-4, mostly basal; lamina up to 20 x 1 cm, linear, glabrous, but ciliate towards the base; basal part sheathing. Inflorescence bearing scars of early flowers. Flowers opening in late afternoon. Petals 3, equal, obovate, about1 cm. Stamens: 2 upper, fertile and curved downwards, the third sterile; filaments with long purple, beaded hairs. Staminodes 3 with glabrous filaments, the empty anthers yellow and 3-lobed. Capsule oblong-spherical, c.6 mm. Seeds oblong-spherical, 1.5 mm, the transverse ribs tuberculate, reticulate.
Common name: Little Persian Violet Marathi: जांभळी चिरायत jambhli chirayat Botanical name: Exacum pumilum Family: Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Little Persian Violet, is a small herbaceous plant, and is a dwarfish species of Persian Violets. Leaves are dark green, ovate, oppositely arranged. Upper leaves are 1-2 cm, lanceshaped. Basal leaves are very small. The small purplish blue star-shaped flowers with deep yellow stamens are smaller than its more popular cousin Exacum affine. They are very showy. The plant occurs in monsoons. Flowering: September.
