Keri: Pinkish-purple flowers blooming in Ravan, Sattari, are attracting nature lovers with their beauty. Locally called Gulab Dani, the rare plant thrives without sunlight, drawing nutrients and carbon from the roots of host trees.The plant, commonly known as Indian broomrape (Aeginetia indica), bears curved pinkish-purple flowers on a white stalk that emerges from a split, brownish, sepal-like holder. Its rose-holder shape is what gives it the local name Gulab dani.Chandrashekhar Gawas of Ravan told TOI that he noticed the plants in bloom under the cool shade of Madat (Terminalia elliptica) and Palas (Butea monosperma) near the entrance of their horticultural field at Manuktolle in Ravan.Botanist Asavari Kulkarni from Honda said Aeginetia indica is a holoparasite that lacks chlorophyll and survives by feeding on the roots of host plants. It has scaly leaves and an underground tuber, and it belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. Because it has limited growth, it remains a lesser-studied species. In Nepal, it is used in rituals, while in India some tribal communities use it as a medicinal herb.Unlike plants that depend on fungi for nutrition, Indian broomrape parasitises the root systems of various monocot plants, including grasses (Poaceae) and ginger relatives.
