Bombay Natural History Society
Text and curation: Neha Mujumdar and Kiran Thumma
Illustration of Pumpkin Climber by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
A pumpkin climber
Various art forms have been used to spark interest and for easy understanding of the biodiversity elements, be it paintings or poetry. Illustrations have been a very vital part of the floral studies since ages.
They guided the botanists with an effective way to study plants. The intricate details also pleased a layman. Even today, illustrations are used as an effective tool to learn about not just the plants but overall biodiversity.
Pollination of Pumpkin by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
Pollination
The mutual associations between plants and insects are an excellent example of ‘co-evolution’, a process where both the parties evolve over the time in a way that both are benefited from each other.
Here the win-win situation is observed as the plant with attractive flowers is visited by an insect, the pollinator, and in return offers it with a reward, such as nectar or pollen. Bees are one of the most efficient pollinators of many economically important plants.
Pumpkin, a plant with separate male and female flowers on the same climber is visited by Honey bees that transfer pollen from one flower to another. While the plant gets its job done, bees also get some of the pollen and thus, we eventually get more pumpkins!
Glory Lily by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
Glory Lily
Bright yellow and red-colored flowers of Glory Lily (Gloriosa superba) help attract butterflies towards it. The outwardly positioned male and female reproductive parts help in cross-pollination when butterflies visit such multiple flowers for nectar.
Golden Shower by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
Golden Shower
The Golden shower tree (Cassia fistula) is a deciduous tree particularly known for its bright yellow-colored flowers that bloom in the dropping bunches during summer. The flowers attract many insects including the carpenter bees (Xylocopa sp.), its pollinating agents.
The tubular pod shape gives it the scientific name, fistula. There are numerous seeds in a single pod covered in the brownish pulp. Monkeys and bears are known to feed this pulp and help dispersing the seeds in the forest. Tree is also called as Indian Laburnum and Amaltas.
Indian Kino Tree fruit by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
Indian Kino Tree fruit
The roundish fruit of the Indian Kino Tree (Pterocarpus marsupium) is carried away with the help of the wing-like structure. This light in weight fruit is dispersed by the wind.
Indian Redwood Tree fruit by Abhisheka KrishnagopalBombay Natural History Society
Indian Redwood Tree fruit
The seed dispersal mechanism of the Indian Redwood Tree (Soymida febrifuga) is illustrated here. The fruit in the form of a capsule opens up along the margins releasing seeds.
Tree of Diversity by Parveen ShaikhBombay Natural History Society
Tree of Diversity
A zentangle represents diversity of trees in the forest where the bird Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) is found.
Tree of Diversity
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is distributed in tropical countries in South and Southeast Asia. It is mainly found in the well-wooded forest of hills of peninsular India and the Western Ghats.
A Leaf by Parveen ShaikhBombay Natural History Society
A Leaf
A zentangle of a leaf that represents different shapes, structures, arrangement and veins of leaves.
Mary Delany, Physalis, Winter Cherry, a paper collage (1772/1782)British Museum
Mary Delany
Mary Delany was an 18th-century botanical artist, known for her drawing and paper-mosaics. Mary's career bloomed at the age of 70, when she noticed the similarity between a flower and a piece of paper, then she pick up a pair of scissors to imitate the petals using paper.
Mary Delany, Crinum Zeylanicum: Asphodil Lilly, a paper collage (1778/1778)British Museum
New way of imitating flowers
Mary's art is a collage sliced from colored paper, people often mistake as real flower. She once wrote "I have invented a new way of imitating flowers".
Paper flower art (2020-05-14) by Kiran ThummaBombay Natural History Society
International paper flower day
Since 2019 some artists started celebrating paper flower day on 14th May in honor of Mary Delany’s birthday.
Paper flower (2020-05-14) by Kiran ThummaBombay Natural History Society
The community of paper flower artists across the globe encourages people to make a paper flower craft and post a photo with a hashtag.
Text and curation: Neha Mujumdar and Kiran Thumma
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