A cryptocoryne pilgrimage

I had a dream. I was walking in a forest. I was searching.

I found a dried up sandy stream and followed it.

The stream became more rocky, I was alone, venturing deeper into the forest.

The scene changed suddenly, I was standing beside a small river now.

I thought the plants with large leaves along the river were Cryptocoryne ciliata...

... but there were not...

The scene changed again. I was walking along a small trail in the forest now. I could see these pretty plants along the way.

I walked along the river beside the path.

I thought I saw cryptocorynes but I was wrong again.

Suddenly I found myself climbing up a forest slope. This can't be the right path to locate cryptocorynes. I finally reached the top. There was a rocky stream, with coarse sandy infill.

I could not believe my eyes.

These looked like cryptocorynes.

There are!

Emersed cryptocorynes too! Are there spathes for me to confirm what I think these are?

 

Some horrific images suddenly filled my mind!

I woke up from the dream. I could however still see the images below clearly in my mind ...

Ati-Udayan - an ayurvedic medicinal plant

According to the ayurvedic doctor, Ati-Udayan is used in treatment for many types of illnesses, including but not limited to fever, cough, malaria, liver problems, etc. The raw dried rhizomes shown above is considered as a poison and should not be directly consumed without additional preparation. They should first be boiled in milk for a period of time, before they are being dried again and pounded into powder form. The powder can then be consumed by dissolving half a tea spoon of it in hot water. These Ati-Udayan rhizomes are now commonly being imported from India.

In case you have not guessed yet, Ati-Udayan is the Sri Lanka Sinhala name for Cryptocorynes.