Plumeria rubra

 Plumeria rubra is a deciduous plant species belonging to the genus Plumeria. Originally native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, it has been widely cultivated in subtropical and tropical climates worldwide and is a popular garden and park plant, as well as being used in temples and cemeteries. It grows as a spreading tree to 7–8 m (20–25 ft) high and wide, and is flushed with fragrant flowers of shades of pink, white and yellow over the summer and autumn. Its common names include frangipani, red paucipan, red-jasmine, red frangipani, common frangipani, temple tree, or simply plumeria.

         

   

 

List of Indian state flowers

State                 Common name              Scientific name

Andhra Pradesh                         Nelumbo                                      Water lily  
Arunachal Pradesh                     Lady's Slipper                              Cypripedioideae  
Assam                                        Foxtail Orchids                            Rhynchostylis gigantea
Bihar                                          White Orchid-tree                         Bauhinia acuminata 
Chhattisgarh           
Goa           
Gujarat                                       Marigold (Galgota)                       Tagetes erecta   
Haryana                                      Lotus                                           Nelumbo nucifera 
Himachal Pradesh                        Rhododendron                            Rhododendron ponticum
Jammu and Kashmir                    Common Rhododendron             Rhododendron ponticum 
Jharkhand                                    Parrot Tree                                 Butea monosperma 
Karnataka                                   Lotus                                          Nelumbo nucifera 
Kerala                                        Golden Shower Tree                   Cassia fistula  
Meghalaya                                  Lady's Slipper                             Cypripedioideae   
Madhya Pradesh                         Parrot Tree                                 Butea monosperma     
Maharashtra                               Jarul                                            Lagerstroemia speciosa
Manipur                                     Siroi Lily                                      Lilium mackliniae     
Mizoram                                     Red Vanda        
Nagaland                                    Rhododendron                            Rhododendron ponticum     
Odisha                                        Ashoka                                       Saraca asoca    
Rajasthan                                    Rohira                                         Tecomella undulata    
Sikkim                                        Noble orchid                               Cymbidium goeringii     
Tamil Nadu                                 Glory lily                                      Gloriosa superba     
Tripura                                        Nag Kesar                                   Mesua ferrea 
Uttarakhand                                Brahma Kamal                             Saussurea obvallata    
Uttar Pradesh                              Palash                                         Butea monosperma     
West Bengal                                Night-flowering Jasmine

Helianthus maximiliani (A Species of Sunflower)

Helianthus maximiliani

Helianthus maximiliani (also, H. maximilianii) is a species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.

Native to much of the eastern half of North America, it is found in parts of the western half as an introduced species. The plant thrives in a number of ecosystems, particularly across the plains in central Canada and the United States. It is also cultivated as an ornamental.[1]

A branching perennial herb, growing from a stout rhizome and reaches heights from one half to three meters. The lance-shaped leaves are narrow, pointed, folded down the midvein, and up to 30 centimeters long on large plants. The slender, tall, erect stems and alternately-arranged leaves are covered in rough hairs. The flower heads are surrounded at the base by pointed green phyllaries which often stick straight out and curl at the tips. The center is filled with yellow tipped brown disc florets and the circumference is lined with bright yellow ray florets 2 to 4 centimeters long.

The plant reproduces by seed and by vegetative sprouting from the rhizome. The thick rhizome is edible and provided a food similar to the Jerusalem artichoke for Native American groups such as the Sioux. The flower heads are attractive to insects and the fruits are eaten by birds. This sunflower is named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied, who encountered it on his travels in North America.

The Land Institute, a perennial agriculture research center located in Salina, Kansas, run by Wes Jackson is experimenting with this species to create a perennial oilseed grain crop that does not necessitate replanting each season.

Kingdom:     Plantae
(unranked):     Angiosperms
(unranked):     Eudicots
(unranked):     Asterids
Order:     Asterales
Family:     Asteraceae
Genus:     Helianthus

   

 

Jerusalem artichoke (A Species of Sunflower)

Jerusalem artichoke

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable. 

 Kingdom:     Plantae
(unranked):     Angiosperms
(unranked):     Eudicots
(unranked):     Asterids
Order:     Asterales
Family:     Asteraceae
Tribe:     Heliantheae
Genus:     Helianthus
Species:     H. tuberosus

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.5–3 metres (4 ft 10 in–9 ft 10 in) tall with opposite leaves on the lower part of the stem. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture and the larger leaves on the lower stem are broad ovoid-acute and can be up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long, and the higher leaves smaller and narrower.

The flowers are yellow and produced in capitate flowerheads, which are 5–10 centimetres (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter, with 10–20 ray florets.

The tubers are elongated and uneven, typically 7.5–10 centimetres (3.0–3.9 in) long and 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) thick, and vaguely resembling ginger root, with a crisp texture when raw. They vary in color from pale brown to white, red or purple.

The artichoke contains about 10% protein, no oil, and a surprising lack of starch. However, it is rich in the carbohydrate inulin (76%), which is a polymer of the monosaccharide fructose. Tubers that are stored for any length of time will digest its inulin into its component fructose. Jerusalem artichokes have an underlying sweet taste because of the fructose, which is about one and a half times sweeter than sucrose.

Jerusalem artichokes have also been promoted as a healthy choice for diabetics. The reason for this being the case is because fructose is better tolerated by people that are diabetic. It has also been reported as a folk remedy for diabetes. Temperature variances have been shown to affect the amount of inulin the Jerusalem artichoke can produce. When not in tropical regions, it has been shown to make less inulin than when it is in a warmer region. 

 

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy     304 kJ (73 kcal)
Carbohydrates     17.44 g
- Sugars     9.6 g
- Dietary fiber     1.6 g
Fat     0.01 g
Protein     2 g
Thiamine (vit. B1)     0.2 mg (17%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2)     0.06 mg (5%)
Niacin (vit. B3)     1.3 mg (9%)
Pantothenic acid (B5)     0.397 mg (8%)
Vitamin B6     0.077 mg (6%)
Folate (vit. B9)     13 μg (3%)
Vitamin C     4 mg (5%)
Calcium     14 mg (1%)
Iron     3.4 mg (26%)
Magnesium     17 mg (5%)
Phosphorus     78 mg (11%)
Potassium     429 mg (9%)

Tithonia (A Species of Sunflower)

Tithonia


Tithonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It includes 11 species, with a center of distribution in Mexico but with one species extending into the Southwestern United States and several extending into Central America. Two species, T. diversifolia and T. rotundifolia, are widely cultivated and have escaped to become weeds in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. The distinguishing feature of the genus is the peduncle, which is fistulose (meaning hollow and flaring toward the apex). The plants are coarse annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, and one species, T. koelzii, is a small tree.



Species
    Tithonia brachypappa B.L.Rob.
    Tithonia calva Sch.Bip.
    Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A.Gray – Tree Marigold
    Tithonia fruticosa Canby & Rose
    Tithonia hondurensis La Duke
    Tithonia koelzii McVaugh
    Tithonia longiradiata (Bertol.) S.F.Blake
    Tithonia pedunculata Cronquist
    Tithonia rotundifolia (Mill.) S.F.Blake
    Tithonia thurberi Gray – Arizona Sunflower Weed
    Tithonia tubaeformis (Jacq.) Cass.