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May 25, 2006
The allure of attar
The mushroom mania continues as Zahrah Nasir answers a deluge of questions on mushrooms, honeysuckles and aromatic flowers
Q: In South India there is a plant whose leaf smells beautiful and intense, rather like raat-ki-rani. In Tamil it is called marikozhundu. The leaf is used in garlands and in strings of mixed flowers. Strong smelling attar is made from this leaf and it keeps for many years without spoiling. I brought a bottle to Canada with me over ten years ago and it is still sweet. I would like to know the botanical name of this plant, if it grows in North India and Pakistan and what chemical gives its intense scent.
Also, what is attar and how is it made?
A: Attar is the extracted essential oil of flowers, usually highly aromatic ones such as damask roses and lavender for instance. There are various methods used to extract these essential oils but, on the whole, they are quite complicated and do require special equipment in order to be successful. It is not really feasible to do this on a ‘home only’ basis.
Historically, attar was made and used in Ancient Egypt, Rome, the Middle East, Arabia, Persia, China and throughout the subcontinent and surrounding areas. This much prized essential oil was and is used cosmetically, medicinally and, these days, is in high demand by those practicing aromatherapy.
The South Indian plant, known as marikozhundu is not one with which I am at all familiar. You have certainly caught me out with this! Perhaps other readers of this column may have the answer and, if so, please do let me know as I am quite intrigued.
Q: Can you please tell me where to get the beautiful honeysuckle plants that I read about in a recent article?
Q: Where in Karachi can I purchase honeysuckle plants. I would also like to know if magnolia can be grown in Karachi and, if so, where can I find them?
Q: Can honeysuckle be grown in the UK. What varieties are popular here?
Q: Your article on honeysuckle has motivated me to have at least one plant in my garden. Where can I buy this and how much will it cost.
A: Honeysuckle, called phut in Urdu, is generally to be found in the larger, long established nurseries in Pakistan and should cost between Rs200 to Rs350 each depending on the size and age of the plants.
Honeysuckle flourishes extremely well in the UK where numerous varieties, in a narrow colour range are easily found.
Magnolias are unlikely to thrive in Karachi, particularly close to the sea, as they do not like salty winds, brackish water or high levels of atmospheric pollution. However, if you wish to try one then I suggest searching in the ‘up-market’ plant nurseries but be prepared to pay quite highly for your experiment.
Q: I live in Hyderabad and am facing a problem with my little garden. My plants are neither flourishing nor flowering. I have many plants including roses, and am desperate about them. What can I do please?
A: It sounds as if the soil in your garden requires immediate attention. You could try purchasing enough sweet soil to spread to a depth of at least three inches, over the top of the existing soil and then carefully and lightly dig this in without unnecessarily disturbing the roots of existing plants if possible. If this sweet soil is mixed with a decent helping of well- rotted organic manure then all the better.Either before or even after this treatment, you should prune your roses back to give them a rest during the intense summer heat and thus also allow them to develop strong roots into the new soil/manure before the next flowering season comes around. Perhaps you also need to pay attention to your watering programme.
Q: I would like to know how to save petunia plants for the following season. I read about this somewhere but have misplaced the article. Can you advise me please?
A: Sorry to disappoint you but petunias are strictly annual plants and are most unlikely to survive until a second season no matter how well you treat them. If your plants are non-hybrid then you can try saving the minute seed for planting next season or, you could just strike it lucky by taking tip-cuttings of your favourite plants, putting these into good quality compost in cool clay, not plastic pots, keep them damp and in the shade throughout the summer months and you may possibly be rewarded.
Q: Can you tell me the Urdu or Punjabi name for haricot beans? These are my favourite beans but they are rarely available in Lahore and I have not been able to find any seeds to plant them in my garden here.
A: I’m afraid that I do not know of any individual Urdu or Punjabi name for this type of bean. You could try asking your seed supplier for ‘French beans’ as this is what they are commonly known as in the Rawalpindi and Islamabad area. Sorry that I cannot be of more help.
Q: Your article on mushrooms was very interesting. Could these mushrooms grow in Karachi?
Q: How much space is required to grow mushrooms and where can I obtain spawn?
Q: Is it possible to grow button mushrooms in Lahore?
A: Button mushrooms can be grown in both Karachi and Lahore during the cooler months of the year. If you are growing them purely for home consumption then very little space is required.I would suggest that allowing one large bucket or similar sized container of compost and mushroom spawn per person in the household is quite adequate or one polystyrene fish box per two people. Even at this you could very well end up producing far more mushrooms than you can eat!
Further information on growing mushrooms and purchasing spawn can be acquired from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad.
Send your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Answers to selected questions will appear in a future edition of ‘The Review’
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