oikos : for Ecological Services

October - 2010
Dear Nature Lovers, Greetings from oikos ! September – October are the ideal months for wild flower watching. Gunj, one of the climbers flowering during same period, is popularly known as one of the ingredients in paan (betel leaf). Also, it is highly medicinal. Removal of clusters is destroying its natural habitat which we need to conserve.
Regards, Ketaki & Manasi.
Gunj Scientific name: Abrus precatorius Family: Fabaceae This is a small perennial wiry climber with tough branches, commonly found through out India, mostly in dry deciduous forests. It grows in under canopy or in clusters of vegetation. Leaves are sweetish in taste and are popularly used in paan (betel leaf). Seeds are bright red in color, aptly known as ‘Deadly crab’s eye’. It contains most toxic plant poison, abrin. Seeds, leaves and root are medicinal in character. Also it is a larval host for butterfly Common Cerulean.

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