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Herbs & Plants

Allium galanthum

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Botanical Name : Allium galanthum
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Tribe: Allieae
Genus: Allium
Species: A. galanthum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales
Synonyms: Allium pseudocepa Schrenk.

Common Names:   Snowdrop onion

Habitat ; Allium galanthum is native to Xinjiang, Mongolia, Altay Krai, and Kazakhstan. It grows on dry stony and gravelly slopes, cliffs and valleys at elevations of 500 – 1500 metres.
Description:
Allium galanthum is a BULB growing to 0.3 m (1ft). It forms a cluster of bulbs, each up to 3 cm in diameter. Scapes are up to 60 cm tall. Leaves are tubular, about half as long as the scapes. Umbels are spherical with a large number of white flowers.
It is in flower from Jul to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, insects.Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, it prefers a sunny position in a light well-drained soil. Succeeds in moist and acid soils. The plant is related to the cultivated onion, A. cepa, and could be of value in breeding programmes. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply. Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.
Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle – if you want to produce clumps more quickly then put three plants in each pot. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in spring once they are growing vigorously and are large enough. Division in spring. The plants divide successfully at any time in the growing season, pot up the divisions in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing well and then plant them out into their permanent positions.

Edible Uses: ....Bulb – raw or cooked. The bulb is 15 – 30mm in diameter. Leaves – raw or cooked. Flowers – raw. Used as a garnish on salads.
Medicinal Uses:
Although no specific mention of medicinal uses has been seen for this species, members of this genus are in general very healthy additions to the diet. They contain sulphur compounds (which give them their onion flavour) and when added to the diet on a regular basis they help reduce blood cholesterol levels, act as a tonic to the digestive system and also tonify the circulatory system.
Other Uses:
Repellent.

The juice of the plant is used as a moth repellent. The whole plant is said to repel insects and moles.

Known Hazards: Although no individual reports regarding this species have been seen, there have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in large quantities and by some mammals, of certain members of this genus. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allium_galanthum
http://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Allium+galanthum

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Herbs & Plants

Guamúchil (Sweet Tamarined)

Botanical Name :Pithecellobium dulce
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Pithecellobium
Species: P. dulce
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales

Other scientific Names: Inga camatchili,Inga dulcis,Inga lanceolata,Mimosa dulcis.Mimosa unguis,Acacia dulcis Roxb.

Common Names :Camachile (Pamp.),Kamarsiles (Tag.),Chamultis (Ig.),Kamatsele, Damortis (Ilk.)  Kamonsiles (Tag.),Damulkis (Bon.),Kamunsil (P. Bis.), Kamachili (Tag., Bik.)  Karamansili (Ibn.),Kamachilis (Tag.)  Komonsili (P. Bis.),Kamanchilis (P. Bis., Mag.) ,Komontos (Ting.),
Kamansile (Tag.)  Komontres (Ting.),Kamantilis (Pang.)   Madras thorn (Engl.),Sweet tamarind (Engl.)

It is known by the name Madras Thorn, but it is not native to Madras. The name Manila Tamarind is misleading, since it is neither closely related to tamarind, nor native to Manila. The name monkeypod is more commonly used for the Rain Tree (Albizia saman). Other names include Blackbead, Sweet Inga, Cuauhmochitl (Nahuatl), Guamúchil (Spanish), ‘Opiuma (Hawaiian), Vilayati ambli (Gujarati),  Jungle jalebi or Ganga imli (Hindi), Tetul (Bengali), Seeme hunase (Kannada),  Vilayati chinch (Marathi) , Kodukkappuli (Tamil), and Seema chinta (Telugu)

Referred to as manila tamarind because of the sweet-sour tamarind-like taste. Genus Pithecellobium derives from from the Greek words ‘pithekos’ (ape) and ‘lobos’ (pod), and the species name ‘dulce’ from the Latin ‘dulcis’ meaning sweet.

Habitat :Native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is introduced and extensively naturalised in the Caribbean, Florida, Guam and Southeast Asia.(Found throughout the Philippines at low or medium altitudes.) It is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.

Description:
Guamúchil is a tree that reaches a height of about 5 to 8 m (16 to 26 ft) with pendulous branches, with short, sharp stipular spines. Its trunk is spiny and its leaves are bipinnate and 4 to 8 cm long. Each pinna has a single pair of ovate-oblong leaflets that are about 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13 ft) long. The flowers are greenish-white, fragrant,in dense heads, 1 cm in diameter, sessile and reach about 12 cm (4.7 in) in length though appear shorter due to coiling. The flowers produce a pod with an edible pulp. The seeds are black.

You may click to see the picture:-

DIFFERENT PICTURES

The tree

Pithecellobium dulce old tree trunk

Pithecellobium dulce flowers

Pithecellobium dulce beans

Pods are turgid, twisted, and spiral, 10 to 18 cm long, 1 cm wide, and dehiscent along the lower suture. Seeds are 6-8, with an edible, whitish, pulpy aril. The arillus is sweet when the fruit is ripe.

Propagation & Cultivation : The seeds are dispersed via birds that feed on the sweet pod. Guamúchil is drought-resistant and can survive in dry lands from sea level to an elevation of 300 m (980 ft), making it suitable for cultivation as a street tree.Trees are very drought tolerant but also grow in areas of moderate rainfall. Grow in almost any soil type.

Edible Uses:
The seedpods contain a sweet pulp that can be eaten raw or prepared as a beverage.

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Constituents:
*Tannin, 25.36%; fixed oil, 18.22%, olein.
*A glycoside quercitin has been isolated.
*Seeds have been reported to contain steroids, saponins, lipids, phospholipids, glycosides, glycolipids and polysaccharides.
*Roots reported to be estrogenic.

Medicinal Uses:

Parts used : Bark, leaves.

Properties: Considered abortifacient, anodyne, astringent, larvicidal, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, antidiabetic.

Folkloric
• Frequent bowel movements: Decoction of bark taken as tea.
• The leaves, when applied as plasters, used for pain, venereal sores.
• Salted decoction of leaves, for indigestion; also used as abortifacient.
• Bark used in dysentery, dermatitis and eye inflammation.
• In Brazil, P. avaremotem, used as a cancer elixir.
• In Mexico, decoction of leaves for earaches, leprosy, toothaches and larvicide.
• In India, bark of the plant used as astringent in dysentery, febrifuge. Also used for dermatitis and eye inflammations. Leaves used as abortifacient.
• In Guiana, root bark used for dysentery and as febrifuge.

Studies :
Anti-Inflammatory / Antibacterial: Study of the fresh flowers of Pithecellobium dulce yielded a glycoside quercitin. The activity of the flavonol glycoside confirmed its antiinflammatory and antibacterial properties.
• Phenolics / Antioxidant: Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Folklore: Pithecellobium dulce Benth. Leaves: Study of the aqueous extract of Pithecellobium dulce leaves revealed phenolics including flavonoids and showed potent free radical scavenging activity..
• Anti-inflammatory Triterpene: Anti-inflammatory triterpene saponins of Pithecellobium dulce: characterization of an echinocystic acid bisdesmoside. A new bisdesmodic triterpenoid saponin, dulcin, was isolated from the seeds of PD
• Genotoxicity: Mutagenic and Antimutagenic Activities in Philippine Medicinal and Food Plants: In a study of 138 medicinal plants for genotoxicity, Pithecellobium dulce was one of 12 that exhibited detectable genotoxicity in any system.
Anti-tuberculosis / Antimicrobial: Hexane, chloroform and alcoholic leaf extracts were studied for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. The alcoholic extract showed good inhibitory activity and antimicrobial activity against secondary pathogens.
Anti-Diabetic: Study of ethanolic and aqueous leaf extract of P dulce in STZ-induced diabetic model in rats showed sigificant activity, aqueous more than the alcoholic extract, comparable to glibenclamide.
• Anti-Ulcer / Free Radical Scavenging: Study of the hydroalcoholic extract of PD was found to possess good antioxidant activity and suggests possible antiulcer activity with its free-radical scavenging and inhibition of H, K-ATPase activities comparable to omeprazole. Phytochemical screening yielded flavonoids – quercetin, rutin, kaempferol, naringin, daidzein.

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/Pithecellobium_dulce
http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kamatsile.html
http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/manila_tamarind.htm

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