Spices and Medicinal Plants Questions and Answers

Answer: A

Katha (catechu) is obtained from the heartwood of the khair tree, Acacia catechu. The heartwood is chipped and boiled in water and the extract is concentrated and dried to give katha, which is used with betel leaf and in dyeing and tanning.

It is not obtained from leaves, pods or roots.

The khair tree is a thorny, nitrogen-fixing tree of dry forests. After the sapwood is removed, chips of the dark heartwood are boiled and the extract is evaporated to make katha and cutch, used in pan and in tanning and dyeing.

Answer: A

The key gives 2 to 3 cuttings a year from mentha, meaning the crop is cut for herbage two or three times in a year. I could not find a source comparing the other ranges, so this rests on the official key.

The ranges 5-6, 6-7 and 7-8 are higher than the key's figure, and the question gives no information that would support them.

Mentha is a perennial herb harvested more than once, and each harvest is a cut of the herbage. The key counts the cuts per year as two to three.

Answer: C

The key gives foxglove. Foxglove (Digitalis) is the source of the heart drug digoxin, so it is a medicinal plant in the strict sense. Lavender, Ocimum species and davana are mostly known as aromatic plants grown for essential oil, though they too have medicinal uses.

The question is poorly separated, since the other three also have medicinal uses, but the key picks the plant whose main commercial value is as a drug.

Answer: D

The Poshita variety of ashwagandha was developed by CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow, which has released improved varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants.

ICAR-NBPGR, IGFRI and IIHR are not the developers of Poshita.

CSIR-CIMAP at Lucknow breeds medicinal and aromatic crops and has released improved varieties of ashwagandha. The Poshita variety is credited to this institute in the key.

Answer: A

The Suruchi ginger variety was released from OUAT, Bhubaneswar (Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology). The key gives this answer.

ICAR-IISR, Calicut released other ginger varieties such as Varada; CPCRI and YSPUHF are not ginger variety sources.

Suruchi is a ginger variety released from Odisha, where ginger is an important crop. It is among the varieties that carry the name of the university that released them.

Answer: C

The oil of Cymbopogon martinii var. Sofia is called ginger grass oil, which the key gives as ‘ginger oil’. The variety Sofia is the source of gingergrass oil, and the variety Motia of the oil called palmarosa or rosa oil.

Mint oil comes from Mentha and cochin oil is a coconut oil, so they are not this oil.

Gingergrass oil is obtained from the Sofia variety of Cymbopogon martinii, while the Motia variety gives palmarosa oil, which is used in perfumery in place of rose oil. The key calls Sofia oil ginger oil.

Answer: C

The root of sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentina) is the commercially important part, since it contains the alkaloid reserpine used to treat high blood pressure.

The flower, leaf and seed are not the source of the drug.

The root of sarpagandha contains reserpine and related alkaloids, which are used to lower blood pressure and as a sedative. The wild plant has been over-collected for this purpose.

Answer: A

The key gives bergamot mint for Kiran and Gomati. I could not confirm this from a source: bergamot mint (Mentha citrata) is a CIMAP-recommended species with several released varieties, which fits the key.

Spearmint, Japanese mint and peppermint have their own varieties.

Bergamot mint has a linalool-rich oil. Kiran and Gomati are named in the key as varieties of it.

Answer: B

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) belongs to the Apiaceae (umbelliferae) family, with coriander and fennel.

Poaceae is the grass family, Araceae the arum family, and Azoaceae is not the family of cumin.

Cumin, coriander, fennel and carrot are members of the Apiaceae, the family with umbrella-shaped flower clusters.

Answer: A

The ascending order of area is (iv) Black pepper, (ii) Turmeric, (i) Ginger, (iii) Chilli.

The Horticulture and Soil Conservation figures for 2019-20 (provisional), printed in the Economic Review of Tripura, give chilli 2,812 ha, ginger 1,875 ha, turmeric 1,680 ha and black pepper 223 ha.

Arranged from the smallest area to the largest: black pepper 223, turmeric 1,680, ginger 1,875, chilli 2,812. Options B, C and D are other orders and do not match these areas.