True to its name, Handsome Flowered Balsam is one of the finest of the Indian Balsams. It is an annual herb, 40-60 cm tall, with erect succulent stems, swollen at nodes. Alternately arranged elliptic membranous leaves are 7-12 cm long. Leaf margins are serrated, and the leaft stalk is 2-4 cm. Flowers occur in leaf axils, on stalks 5-8 cm long, 2-3 together. Violet purple flowers are 4-5 cm across. Standard petal is round, notched, spurred at the back. Wing petals are broad. Lip is short, boat-shaped. Spur is long and curved. Capsules 1.5 cm long. Occurs on slopes of forested hills above 1000 m. Unlike other balsams, this one is not geragrious. Flowering: August-October.
Kas/Kaas Plateau is a lateritic soil plateau on the ridge of North Western Ghats of India located to the west of Satara, Maharashtra. Kas plateau has only a shallow upper layer soil in scattered depressions and composed of exposed porous soft rock. The plateau is filled with small rivulets and ponds. The origin of its name 'Kaas' is still unclear yet this was once home to 'kaasa' plants Elaeocarpus. Probably the place got its name from the 'Kaasa' plant. Kas Plateau is recently recognised by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site. The flora on Kas plateau consists of herbaceous plants many of them being ephemerals dotted with clumps of shrubs, memecylon being the dominant species. The floral extravaganza at Kas begins with the advent of North West monsoon. The spectacle of Kas flowers has been unfolding each year after surviving through annual grazing and burning, yet Kas is threatened by the insurgence of thousands of visitors thronging the plateau on peak flowering days. Satara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna and its tributary river Venna. The city was the capital of the Maratha empire in the 17th century, hence one of the historical cities of Maharashtra. This city is the capital of Satara Tehsil, as well as Satara District.
Source: Wikipedia
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