असली और नकली ब्रह्मकमल : Epiphyllum oxypetalum is widely mistaken and Misquoted as Devine Brahma Kamal
By- Jay Singh Rawat
The night-blooming Epiphyllum oxypetalum and Saussurea obvallata ( BRAHM KAMAL) are being mistakenly misquoted across social media as the same flower and the same species of flora. There is a huge difference between these two plants or flowers. One of these is the real Brahma Kamal, a flower of the Himalayas which is considered divine and sacred by the Hindu people, while the other one is Epiphyllum oxypetalum, a flower of the plains which is very beautiful and has a very enchanting fragrance. Botanically also these two have no relation whatsoever with each other. One of these two cannot grow in the Himalayas and the other cannot survive in the plains. On social media, everyone is promoting the cactus grown in the pots of their houses as Brahma Kamal. Therefore, I am giving the scientific/ botanical analysis of both the flowers here. The night-blooming cactus is blooming in my garden these days, while I have seen the real Brahma Kamal in the Valley of Flowers and the climbs of Hemkund Sahib / Lokpal.
Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the Dutchman’s pipe cactus, princess of the night or queen of the night, is a cactus species .It blooms nocturnally, and its flowers wilt before dawn
Scientific Classification of Epiphyllum oxypetalum :
Kingdom: Plantae, Clade: tracheophytes, Clade: Angiosperms. Clade: Eudicots, Order Caryophyllaes, Family: Cactaceae, Sub Family: Cactoideae, Genus: Epiphyllum, Species: E. Oxypetalum, Binomial name: Epiphyllum oxypetalum
The Saussurea obvallata/ BRAHMA KAMAL
Devine Brahma Kamal is a species of flower known scientifically as Saussurea obvallata or Sacred Saussurea, a flowering plant of the Asteraceae family. This unique and rare plant is native to the Himalayas and other mountainous regions of India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, but not in Dehradun or anywhere else in the plains. Flowers bloom in mid-monsoon (July–August) amongst the rocks and grasses of the hillside at an altitudinal range of 3700–4600 m. Flower heads are purple, hidden from view in layers of yellowish-green papery bracts, which protect the cold mountain environment. The flowers can be seen from July through September, after which the above-ground portions of the plant die back, becoming visible again in April.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION OF BRAHM KMAL OR SAUSSUREA OBVALLATA :
Kingdom : Plantae, Clade : Tracheophytes, Clade : Angiosperms, Clade : Edicotus, Clade : Asterids, Order : Asterales, Family :Asteraceae, Genus Saussurea, Species : S Obvallata. Binomial name: Saussurea obvallata.
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