Monday, October 15, 2012

Indian gooseberry ( aamla )



Indian gooseberry, or aamla from Sanskrit amalika, is a deciduous tree of the Phyllanthaceae family.  The tree is small to medium in size, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, with a crooked trunk and spreading branches. The branchlets are glabrous or finely pubescent, 10–20 cm long, usually deciduous; the leaves are simple, subsessile and closely set along branchlets, light green, resembling pinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit are nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows. In traditional Indian medicine, dried and fresh fruits of the plant are used. All parts of the plant are used in various Ayurvedic/Unani medicine (Jawarish amla) herbal preparations, including the fruit, seed, leaves, root, bark and flowers.AAMLA is full of medicinal properties and the richest possible natural source of vitamin 'C' and contains essential elements for keeping our body healthy and resistant to germs and infections. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Spiders of Kerala ( tiger spider )



Spiders are ancient animals with a history going back many millions of years.  Spiders  are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica

Argiope anasuja is a species of Orb spider found in Asia ranging from Pakistan to the Maldives

India has some of the world's most biodiverse regions. The political boundaries of India encompass a wide range of ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. It hosts three biodiversity hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges that straddle the India-Myanmar border. These hotspots have numerous endemic species.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Hogenakkal waterfalls ( Tamilnadu , India )


Hogenakkal Falls ( Hogenakal Falls )  is a waterfall in Tamilnadu ,at the borders of Karnataka, about 46 kms from Dharmapuri, the headquarters of the district of the same name. The river Kaveri which enters in Tamil Nadu as a big river flows here as natural falls. Dharmapuri district of the state of Tamil Nadu, about 180 km  from Bangalore .It is sometimes referred to as the "Niagara of India". It is a major site of tourist attraction. Carbonatite rocks in this site are considered to be the oldest of its kind in South Asia and one of the oldest in the world.  The River Kaveri is considered to form at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri hills in Kodagu district in Karnataka and gathers momentum as the land drops in elevation. It becomes larger as various tributaries feed into it on the way down. At Hogenakkal, the Kaveri, now a large river, drops and creates numerous waterfalls as the water cuts through the rocky terrain. In places the water falls as much as 20 m and Soon after the falls the river takes a southerly course and enters the Mettur ReservoirHogenakkal Falls is a quiet and beautiful waterfall and is a good picnic spot.  Hogenakkal is located about 750 feet above sea level amidst the Melagiri Hills. Tourists can take a coracle trip from one corner of the river to the other. Boating in Hogenakkal is allowed during the dry-season as the water falls are not strong enough to disrupt the passage of the boats. Local coracles operate from both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka banks of the gorge.

Tourist Places around Hogenakkal is,
*Yercaud
*Shivanasamudram
*Bangalore
*Ooty
*Palanihills