Question

Strobilanthes kunthiana differs from bamboo in
(a) Being monocarpic
(b) Length of the juvenile phase
(c) Being polycarpic
(d) None of these

Answer 1

Hint: This is the period of growth within an individual plant or an animal after its birth and before it reaches reproductive maturity.

Complete answer:
The Strobilanthes kunthiana differs from bamboo in the length of the juvenile phase. The juvenile phase of Strobilanthes kunthiana varies from 8-16 years, whereas the juvenile phase of bamboo varies from 3-120 years.
A monocarpic shrub Strobilanthes kunthiana is found in the Shola forests of the Western Ghats in Southern India. Whereas Bambusa vulgaris (bamboo) is growing in almost all parts of the country except Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, the Western Ghats, and the Islands. Bamboo is also a
monocarpic plant.
Some other examples of monocarpic plants are rice, wheat, radish, carrot, etc,.

Additional Information:
- Strobilanthes kunthiana is commonly known as kurinji or neelakurinji. The Nilgiri Hills get their name from the purplish-blue flowers of Neelakurinji.
- It is a semelparous species with synchronized flowering and mast seeding once in 12 years.
- The survival of the plant is being helped by the mass flowering after every 12 years. This mass flowering produces so many seeds that predators cannot eat them all.
- All the bamboo plants simultaneously burst into bloom. After this, they all die in some kind of "mass suicide."

So, the correct option is 'Length of juvenile phase'.

Note:
- Plants that produce flowers and seeds only once in their lifetime are called monocarpic plants. They die after producing flowers, so they have a single reproductive episode before death. This kind of reproduction is also called semelparity.
- Plants having multiple reproductive cycles throughout their lifetime are called polycarpic plants. So they produce flowers and seeds many times a year. This kind of reproduction is also called iteroparity
- Synchronized flowering is also called mast flowering or gregarious flowering. When plants grow all flowers together at the same time, such a flowering pattern is called synchronized.