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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Seeds available.

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  • From: "Dr. Chiranjit Parmar" <parmarch_mnd@dataone.in>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: Donna N <holycow@cookeville.com>, Donna N <redherring@tnaccess.com>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Seeds available.
  • Date: Sun, 08 Jul 2007 15:25:07 +0530

Dear Donna,
 
Thanks for the mail. I am sorry for delay in reply.  I was out of home.
 
It is VERY DIFFICULT to make precise prediction about the success of any plant at a place located half world apart.  No one can do it.  Moreover warm, less cold or very cold are all relative terms carrying a different meaning for different persons.  Here in India, people from Mumbai find it very cold where is for we people living in hills, Delhi is hot.  So when I say that a plant is cold hardy, then I mean that it is able to withstand INDIAN FROST which is never below 25 F.  Secondly, the US climate is unimaginable for we people.  I was at Tera Haute, Indiana, staying with Jerry Lehman in August.  I found that place as hot as my hometown Mandi.  But Jerry told me that Terra Haute was -20 C during winters.  We do not such extremes.  So some sort of experimentation is required while introducing new exotic plants at any place.  The plant may or may not succeed commercially.  Some risk is always there.  Any person like me can just give an idea for new project.
 
The Murraya that grows in our area experiencing upto 25 F should be much cold hardier than that grows in South India where the climate is tropical.  Same is the case with our wild amla and wild bael which are basically fruits of the tropical or may be the lower subtropical region.
 
As regards the three leaved citrus relative of your friend, it looks like bael - Aegle marmelos.  The leaves of this plant are offered to Lord Shiva.  The Hindu calendar month of Shrawana (15 July to 15 August) is the month of Lord Shiva.  People visit Shiva temples to offer prayers.  Bael leaves are sold outside temples during those days.
 
By the way, I have collected some bael seed as Moshe from Israel wanted these.  I can give you 1-2 packets if you require.
 
I am sending you some pictures as attachments about bael.
 
Best regards,
 
Dr. Chiranjit Parmar
Horticultural Consultant on Lesser Known Indian Plants
www.lesserknownindianplants.com
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2007 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Seeds available.

Dr. Parmer, 
    Here in the Cookeville TN area I buy my curry leaf plants from the local nursery, they carry them for their Indian customers.  I know you wrote an article years ago about wild Amla that could take a light frost, and I'm assuming that Bael is no hardier.  Will these plants stay small enough that a person could grow and fruit them in a greenhouse?  I'm just wondering, I don't have a greenhouse, but if some plants could be grown in pots and brought in for the winter, more Indians in the southern US might grow their own.  (Keeping in mind of course that in citrus growing states that it's probably illegal to import the seeds.)
    One day this spring I was at the nursery when an Indian woman brought in a sick plant.  It looked a lot like a citrus relative, and seemed to be suffering from scale like potted citrus does.  Also citrus don't like to be in dry air in the winter indoors, I used to cover mine with a plastic bag to create some humidity around it.  The woman said she'd brought seeds back from India before but they never sprouted.  She showed some dried seeds, and they looked a bit like citrus seeds.  I told her that if they were citrus relatives, the seeds must never be allowed to dry out.  The plant has triple leaves when it is doing well, and is a sacred plant.  She said that the perfect triple leaves were picked and placed "on the God", but that the imperfect leaves were not to be used.  With the plant in such poor condition, it had only a few live leaves, few of them triple.  The nursery owner assured her he would try to nurse it back to health and take some cuttings. 
    Now, can you tell me what that plant was?  Was it Bael, a citrus relative?  My husband says she called it Tulsi, holy basil, but it was not basil.  She only knew Indian names for it.  I would like to know more.  Thank you.       Donna


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