The following Public Domain artworks are from the book Familiar Indian Flowers by Lena Lowis published by Thacker and Co., Bombay, 1878. While they may have been familiar flowers in India at this time to British colonialists, not all are natives e.g Poinsettia. Those with ‘indica‘ as the species epithet (the second part of the latin name) give an indication of plants that might be ‘of india’. Yet Opuntia ficus-indica, a.k.a Indian fig or Prickly pear, is from Mexico, proving that plant names don’t always lead you in the right direction.
At the start of the book is part of a poem by Tennyson. While also not native to India (rather Baghdad), it offers a dreamy vision of an exotic garden, one that we can imagine existing somewhere in the East.
On either side,
All round about the fragrant marge,
* * * * * Eastern flowers large,
Some dropping low their crimson bells,
Half closed, and others studded wide
With disks and tears.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thence thro’ the garden I was drawn—
A realm of pleasance, many a mound
And many a shadow-chequered lawn
Full of the city’s stilly sound,
And deep myrrh-thickets blowing round
The stately cedar, tamarisks,
Thick rosaries of scented thorn,
Tall Orient shrubs.
Recollections of the Arabian Nights, 1830.
The original plant name is written below the image as it is printed on the picture. Where the currently accepted name differs significantly for the plant when checked against The Catalogue of Life it is written in italics. The common name or names, if known, comes after that care of Wikipedia.
Click to enlarge image.
Lagerstroemia indica, Crape myrtle, Crepe myrtle
Mussaenda macrophylla, Sweet root
Plumbago capensis, Plumbago auriculata, Blue plumbago
Russelia juncea, Russelia equisetiformis, Firecracker plant, Coral plant, Coral fountain, Coralblow and Fountain plant
Poinciana pulcherrima, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Poinciana, Peacock flower, Red bird of paradise
Petraea stapelia
Calistemon linearis, Callistemon linearis, Narrow-leaved bottlebrush
Hibiscus rosa linensis, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Chinese hibiscus
Tecoma jasminoides, Pandorea jasminoides
Tecoma velutina, Tecoma stans var. velutina, yellow trumpetbush
Clitoria ternatea, Butterfly pea, Blue pea, Cordofan pea, Asian pigeonwings
Clerodendron inermis, Volkameria inermis, Glory bower
Thevetia neriifolia, Cascabela thevetia, Yellow oleander
Duranta plumieri, Duranta erecta, Golden Dewdrop, Pigeon berry, Skyflower
Quisqualis indica, Combretum indicum, Chinese honeysuckle or Rangoon creeper
Acacia farnesiana, Needle bush
Thunbergia laurifolia, Laurel clock vine, Blue trumpet vine
Poinsettia pulcherrima, Poinsettia
Convonvulus pentanthus, Jacquemontia pentantha
Gloriosa superba, flame lily, climbing lily, creeping lily, glory lily, gloriosa lily, tiger claw, and fire lily. kalihari (Hindi), Kaanthal (Tamil)
Bougainvillea glabra, Lesser bougainvillea, Paperflower
Bauhinia acuminata, Dwarf white bauhinia, White orchid-tree, Snowy orchid-tree and শ্বেত কাঞ্চন(Bengali).
Argyreia nervosa, Hawaiian baby woodrose, Adhoguda अधोगुडा, Vidhara विधारा (Sanskrit), Elephant creeper, Woolly morning glory
Euphorbia bojeri, Euphorbia milii var. milii, crown of thorns, Christ plant, Christ thorn
Bignonia venusta, Pyrostegia venusta, orange trumpet
Barleria cristata, Barleria cristata, Philippine violet, Bluebell barleria, Crested Philippine violet
Quamoclit pennatum, Ipomoea quamoclit, Cypress vine, Cypressvine morning glory, Cardinal creeper, Cardinal vine, Star glory, Hummingbird vine,
Opuntia vulgaris, Opuntia ficus-indica, Indian fig opuntia, Barbary fig, Cactus pear, Spineless cactus, Prickly pear
Beaumontia grandiflora
Jatropha multifida, Coral plant