STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN - DECEMBER 2012

BATTICALOA FORT:

Photography: Anu Weerasuriya

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN-NOVEMBER 2012

                                 Kataragama Devale, Badulla:

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN - OCTOBER 2012

DATURA (ATTANA)

Family: Solanaceae

Plant Description: Shrub or small tree; leaves simple, alternate; flowers single, pendent, trumpet-like or funnel-shaped to 1 ft long, 5-lobed at tip, white or yellow.

Origin: South America

Poisonous Part: Flowers, leaves, seeds.

Symptoms: Hallucinations, dry mouth, muscle weakness, increased blood pressure and pulse, fever, dilated pupils, paralysis.

Toxic Principle: Atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine.

     - http://poisonouskp.blogspot.com/2009/08/datura.html

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN - SEPT 2012

Gin Pol (Nypa fruiticans)

It is from this tree that Gintota got its name.

Uses: The long, feathery leaves of the Nipa palm are used by local populations as roof material for thatched houses or dwellings. The leaves are also used in many types of basketry and thatching. The inflorescence can be tapped before it blooms to yield a sweet, edible sap collected to produce a local alcoholic beverage called Tuba. Tuba is also stored in Tapayan (balloon vases) for several weeks to make vinegar in the Philippines, commonly knowned as Sukang Paombong (pure vinegar made from the province of Paombong, Bulacan). Young shoots are also edible and the flower petals can be infused to make an aromatic tisane. Attap chee ("chee" meaning "seed" in several Chinese dialects) is a name for the immature fruits -- sweet, translucent, gelatinous balls used as a dessert ingredient in Malaysia and Singapore. On the islands of Roti and Savu, Nipah sap is fed to pigs during the dry season. This is said to impart a sweet flavour to the meat. The young leaves are used to wrap tobacco for smoking.

http://www.agri.ruh.ac.lk/medicinalplants/medicinal_plants/families/palmae/plants/gin_pol.html

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN - AUGUST 2012

                                                 

 Eastern Grey Heron

 Pond Heron

 Openbill Stork

 Purple Heron

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN - JULY 2012

Lighthouse, Dondra

Hambantota

STUDIO TIMES BULLETIN-JUNE 2012

PIDURANGALA ROCK

The Pidurangala rock is situated about a mile north of Sigiriya. The caves at Pidurangala are associated with the brief history of Sigiriya. Archaeological evidence indicates that the caves had been used by Buddhist anchorites in pre-Christian times. Close to the summit of the rock is a large cave in which reposed a colossal image of the recumbent Buddha, made of brick and stucco. One of the caves now serves as a vihara. Under its drip ledge is a record in Brahmi script.

-       The Handbook for the Ceylon Traveller, a Studio Times publication