Categories
Herbs & Plants

Bunchberry

Botanical Name :Cornus canadensis
Family: Cornaceae
Genus: Cornus
Subgenus: Chamaepericlymenum
Species: C. canadensis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Cornales

Common Name :Bunchberry,Canadian Dwarf Cornel, Canadian Bunchberry, or Crackerberry,Creeping Dogwood

Habitat:It is native to northern China, far eastern Russia, Japan, and North America in montane and boreal coniferous forests, where it is found growing along the margins of moist woods, on old tree stumps, in mossy areas, and amongst other open and moist habitats.

Description:
Cornus canadensis is a slow-growing perennial herbaceous subshrub growing 10–20 cm tall, generally forming a carpet-like mat. The above-ground shoots rise from slender creeping rhizomes that are placed 2.5–7.5 cm deep in the soil, and form clonal colonies under trees. The vertically produced above-ground stems are slender and unbranched. The leaves are oppositely arranged on the stem, but are clustered with six leaves that often seem to be in a whorl because the internodes are compressed. The leafy green leaves are produced near the terminal node and consist of two types: 2 larger and 4 smaller leaves. The smaller leaves develop from the axillary buds of the larger leaves. The shiny dark green leaves have 2 to 3 mm long petioles and leaf blades that are obovate. The blades have entire margins and are 3.5 to 4.8 cm long and 1.5 to 2.5 cm wide, with 2 or 3 veins and cuneate shaped bases and abruptly acuminate apexes. In the fall, the leaves have red tinted veins and turn completely red. Inflorescences are made up of compound terminal cymes, with large showy white bracts. The bracts are broadly ovate and 0.8 to 1.2 cm long and 0.5 to 1.1 cm wide, with 7 parallel running veins. The lower nodes on the stem have greatly reduced rudimentary leaves. In late spring to mid summer, white flowers are produced that are 2 mm in diameter with reflexed petals that are ovate-lanceolate in shape and 1.5 to 2 mm long. The calyx tube is obovate in shape and 1 mm long covered with densely pubescent hairs along with grayish white appressed trichomes. Stamens are very short, being 1 mm long. The anthers are yellowish white in color, narrowly ovoid in shape. The styles are 1 mm long and glabrous. Plants are for the most part self-sterile and dependent on pollinators for sexual reproduction. Pollinators include bumblebees, solitary bees, beeflies, and syrphid flies. The fruits look like berries but are drupes. The drupes are green, globose round in shape, and turn bright red at maturity in late summer; each fruit is 5 mm in diameter and contains typically one or two ellipsoid-ovoid shaped stone………

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Cultivation:
Bunchberry prefers cool, acidic soils and will not tolerate summersoil temperatures above 65º F. Adequate moisture and good drainage are key and Bunchberry will even grow in rocky crevices if rainfall is sufficient. It can also be grown in bog gardens. It is not tolerant of alkaline soils.

Edible Uses:
The fruits are edible with a mild flavour somewhat like apples. The large seeds within are somewhat hard and crunchy. Birds are the main dispersal agents of the seeds, consuming the fruit during their fall migration. In Alaska, bunchberry is an important forage plant for mule deer, black-tailed deer and moose, which consume it throughout the growing season.

Medicinal Uses:
The flavonoids have earned this plant a reputation as an anti-inflammatory and general analgesic among contemporary herbalists, and researchers are investigating its properties as an anti-cancer agent.  Modern interest in bunchberry’s pharmaceutical qualities may have stemmed from its Native American reputation as an antidote to a variety of poisons.  The leaves have been known to be burned and powdered, then applied to topical sores.  A mild tea made from the roots has been used to treat colic in infants.  The leaves and stems are analgesic, cathartic and febrifuge. A tea has been used in the treatment of aches and pains, kidney and lung ailments, coughs, fevers etc.   The fruits are rich in pectin which is a capillary tonic, antioedemic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and hypotensive. Pectin also inhibits carcinogenesis and protects against radiation.  The mashed roots have been strained through a clean cloth and the liquid used as an eyewash for sore eyes and to remove foreign objects from the eyes.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornus_canadensis
http://www.abnativeplants.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantdetail&plant_id=116

http://www.paghat.com/bunchberry.html

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Bulbous Buttercup

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Botanical Name :Ranunculus bulbosus
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Ranunculus
Species: R. bulbosus
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales

Common Names: Bulbous Buttercup,St Anthony’s turnip

Habitat :The native range of Bulbous Buttercup is Western Europe between about 60oN and the Northern Mediterranean coast. It grows in both the eastern and western parts of North America as an introduced weed Bulbous buttercup grows in lawns, pastures and fields in general, preferring nutrient-poor, well-drained soils. Although it doesn’t generally grow in proper crops or improved grassland, it is often found in hay fields  and in coastal grassland.

Description:
Bulbous Buttercup  is a perennial weed of the Buttercup Family. It has attractive yellow flowers, and deeply divided, three-lobed long-petioled basal leaves. Bulbous buttercup is known to form tufts.

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The stems are 20-60 cm tall, erect, branching, and slightly hairy flowering.  There are alternate and sessile leaves on the stem. The flower forms at the apex of the stems, and is shiny and yellow with 5-7 petals. The flowers are 1.5-3 cm wide. The plant blooms from April to July.

Chemical constituents:
This plant, like other buttercups, contains the toxic glycoside ranunculin. It is avoided by livestock when fresh, but when the plant dries the toxin is lost, so hay containing the plant is safe for animal consumption.

Medicinal Uses:
In spite of its toxic nature, this plant is listed as an herbal remedy used in homeopathy for subepidermal blistering of the skin, especially in summer

The root has been placed in a tooth cavity to act as a painkiller.  A decoction of the plant has been used in the treatment of venereal disease.  It is directly applied to remove warts.  The juice is topically applied to rheumatic and gouty joints to relieve these conditions.  A tincture may be both externally applied and taken internally to treat shingles and sciatica

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranunculus_bulbosus
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://luirig.altervista.org/schedeit/pz/ranunculus_bulbosus.htm

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Liver

Liver is a very important organ of our body. It controles the whole digestive system of our body.

It’s important to love your liver. It performs hundreds of tasks that are vital to life, from storing energy and fighting infection, to getting rid of waste products and toxins from the body. We look at its role, the causes of damage and some of the more common liver-related conditions.

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You may click below to learn the importance of LIVER

1.Why the liver is one of the most important organs in the body.

2.How to keep liver healthy .

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3.Causes of liver disease

4.Different Stages of liver damage

5.Liver damage symptoms and tests

6.Treatments for liver disease

7.Liver transplant

COMMON CONDITIONS AFFECTING THE LIVER
—————————————————————————

•Cirrhosis – the causes, symptoms and treatment
•Gallstones this common condition can cause abdominal pain and nausea
•Haemochromatosis when the body absorbs an excessive amount of iron
•Hepatitis A – an infection of the liver caused by a virus
•Hepatitis B – usually transmitted through contact with infected blood or body fluids
•Hepatitis C – there are a number of ways to reduce the risk of infection
Primary biliary cirrhosis – when the immune system attacks the bile ducts
Obstetric cholestasis – a condition affecting the liver that can occur during pregnancy
•Jaundice – this condition causes a yellow discolouration of the skin

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose

Source:BBC Health.

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Buffalo gourd

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Botanical Name :Cucurbita foetidissima
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucurbita
Species: C. foetidissima
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Cucurbitales

Common Names : Buffalo gourd, Calabazilla, Chilicote, Coyote gourd, Fetid gourd, Missouri gourd, Stinking gourd, Wild gourd, Wild pumpkin

Habitat :Buffalo gourd is a xerophytic tuberous plant found in the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico

Description:
Buffalo gourd is a large plant which is sprawling and prostrate. The leaves can reach large dimensions. The flowers are large and yellow orange with a fringed or rolled margin. The fruits are ovoid and marked with light and dark green when fresh. Cucurbita foetidissima is found at lower to middle elevations. The crushed leaves of this plant have a foul smell, said to resemble the odor of a sweaty armpit. Other members of this family include pumpkin, cucumber and various squashes. Most of these have seeds that look similar to pumpkin or cucumber seeds.
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Edible Uses:
A member of the cucumber family, the fruit is consumed by humans and animals. The fruit is eaten cooked like a squash when very young. As the fruit becomes fully mature, it is too bitter for humans to eat.

Medicinal Uses:
Several  plant parts of buffalo gourd have medicinal attributes that tribes implement into their culture. The Isleta-Pueblo Indian boiled the roots applying the infusion to chest pains. The Tewa grind the root into a powder drinking it with cold water for laxative effects (not safe: can cause diarrhea and irritation of the digestive tract). Cahuilla Indians used to chew the pulp of the gourd and apply the pithy mass to open sores, or boil the dried root and drink the decoction as either an emetic or a physic.  A poultice of the mashed plant has been used to treat skin sores, ulcers etc. The complete seed, together with the husk, is used as a vermifuge. This is ground into a fine flour, then made into an emulsion with water and eaten. It is then necessary to take a purgative afterwards in order to expel the tapeworms or other parasites from the body. As a remedy for internal parasites, the seeds are less potent than the root of Dryopteris felix-mas, but they are safer for pregnant women, debilitated patients and children. The juice of the root is also disinfecting and remedies toothache. The baked fruit rubbed over rheumatic areas will relieve pain. The seeds and flowers help control swelling. The seed also acts as an effective vermicide (kills worms– Grind seed into a fine flour; mix with water and drink). The poultice of the smashed plant will remedy skin sores and ulcers.  Mix root with olive oil; apply to infected area. The pulp of the gourd was mixed with soap and applied to sores and ulcers that other poultices and plasters had failed to cure.  The supperating parts were liberally dusted with a quantity of pulverized dried seeds.  The root was used to cure a bad case of piles or kill a mass of maggots infesting an open wound.

Other Uses:
When the fruit  gets fully matured   it is used for decorative purposes or in making musical instruments, particularly rattles. The seeds are the source of buffalo gourd oil.

It grows fast (including a massive underground tuber) with little water, and some have proposed growing it for fuel or biofuel ethanol

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/cucurbita_foetidissima.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbita_foetidissima
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Buckler Fern

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Botanical Name : Dryopteris dilatata
Family: Dryopteridaceae
Genus: Dryopteris
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Pteridopsida
Order: Dryopteridales

Synonyms:
Dryopteris austriaca (Jacq.) Schinz. & Thell., misapplied
Polypodium dilatatum Hoffmann
Aspidium dilatatum Sm.
Dryopteris spinulosa ssp. dilatata (Hoffm.) C. Chr.
Lastrea dilatata Presl
Nephrodium dilatatum Desv.
Polystichum dilatatum (Hoffm.) Schumacher
Thelypteris dilatata House

Common Names :Buckler Fern, Broad,Wood ferns, Male ferns,Broad buckler fern,Shield Fern

Habitat : Buckler Fern is native to Europe, including Britain, Iceland and N. Russia south and east to Spain and temperate Asia.  It  grows in woods, hedgebanks, wet heaths, shady rock ledges and crevices.

Description:

Rhizome: erect, branching.

Frond: 100 cm high by 25 cm wide, deciduous, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 3:1.

Stipe: grooved, scales ovate-lanceolate, dark brown with a darker central stripe, vascular bundles: 3-7 in a c-shaped pattern.

Blade: 3-pinnate, ovate to lanceolate, herbaceous to somewhat leathery, linear to ovate scales below, absent above.

Pinnae: 12 to 15 pair, opposite; pinnules nearest pinnule of the lowest pinnae longer than the next one; costae grooved above, continuous from rachis to costae; margins serrate, spinulose, bending under; veins free, forked.

Sori: round, in 1 row between midrib and margin, indusium: reniform, attached at a sinus, sporangia: brown then black, maturity: midsummer to mid fall.

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Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, it prefers an acid to neutral soil, succeeding in ordinary fertile soil in a shady position. Prefers a moist soil, but is drought tolerant when well established. Plants are evergreen in mild winters. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation:
Spores – can be sown at any time of the year in a greenhouse. Surface sow on a sterilised compost and keep moist, possibly by placing the pot in a plastic bag. Germinates in 1 – 3 months at 20°c. Pot up small clumps of the plants when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a shady part of the greenhouse until large enough to plant out. Division in spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Medicinal Uses:
The root contains ‘filicin’, a substance that paralyses tapeworms and other internal parasites and has been used as a worm expellent. It is one of the most effective treatments known for tapeworms. Its use should be immediately followed by a non-oily purgative such as magnesium sulphate in order to expel the worms from the body. An oily purge, such as caster oil, increases the absorption of the fern root and can be dangerous. The root is harvested in the autumn and can be dried for later use, it should not be stored for longer than 12 months. This remedy should be used with caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. The root is toxic and the dosage is critical.  The root is also used in the treatment of dandruff.

Dryopteris filix-mas was throughout much of recent human history widely used as a vermifuge, and was the only fern listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.

Other uses:
Buckler Fern is highly desired as garden ornamental plants, especially D. erythrosa (autumn fern, often sold in garden outlets) and D. filix-mas, a very popular garden fern in the British Isles and Europe, with numerous cultivars.

The leaves can be used as a packing material for fruit etc. Plants can be grown as a ground cover when spaced about 60cm apart each way.

 Known Hazards: A  number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. The fresh plant contains thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase. However, there have been reports for other species of ferns suggesting that even cooked fronds can have a long term harmful effect. Some caution is therefore advised.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryopteris
http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dryopteris_dilatata
http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/listSpecies.cfm?Auto=17

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Dryopteris+dilatata

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