Categories
Herbs & Plants

Saussurea graminifolia

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Botanical Name : Saussurea graminifolia
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cynareae
Genus: Saussurea
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Common Name: Saussurea graminifolia, Mi mao feng mao ju

Habitat ; Saussurea graminifolia is native to E. Asia – western Himalayas at elevations up to 4,000 metres (Bhutan, NW India, Kashmir, Nepal.)It grows in scree, rocky slopes and dry steppe in the alpine zone.

Description:
Saussurea graminifolia is a perennial herb, growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). Caudex branched, with sterile leaf rosettes and flowering stems. Stem solitary, erect, simple, densely white lanate. Basal leaves sessile, narrowly linear, 3-14 × 0.1-0.2 cm, abaxially grayish white and densely lanate, adaxially green and glabrous, base widened and sheathlike, margin revolute and entire, apex acuminate. Stem leaves similar to basal leaves, reflexed, basally widened to a purple membranous sheath. Capitulum solitary, terminal on stem. Involucre subglobose, 1.8-2.5 cm in diam. Phyllaries in 4 or 5 rows, lanate; outer phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic, 7-15 × 2-4 mm, apically purple, apex long acuminate and reflexed; middle phyllaries narrowly ovate-elliptic, 9-15 × 1.5-3 mm; inner phyllaries linear, 10-15 × 1-2 mm. Corolla purple, 1.1-1.2 cm, glabrous, tube 4-5 mm, limb 6-7 mm, lobes 3-3.5 mm. Achene cylindric, ca. 3 mm, glabrous, apex with a short crown. Pappus pale yellowish brown; outer bristles 1-3 mm; inner bristles 1-1.2 cm. Fl. and fr. Jul-Sep. 2n = 32*.The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES 

Cultivation :
Succeeds in most soils in a sunny well-drained position.

Propagation:
Seed – we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame in the spring. Surface sow, or only just cover the seed, and make sure that the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Division in spring might be possible.

Medicinal Uses:
Antitussive; Aphrodisiac; Blood purifier; Emmenagogue.

The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, it is said to have a sour and sweet taste with a heating potency. Antitussive, aphrodisiac, blood purifier and emmenagogue, it is used in the treatment of coughing due to a loss of potency of the spleen, irregular menses, seminal/vaginal discharge, excessive bleeding from the womb and pain of the waist due to a loss of renal potency.

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/Saussurea
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242346727
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Saussurea+graminifolia

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Anthoxanthum odoratum

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Botanical Name: Anthoxanthum odoratum
Family
Poaceae
Genus:
Anthoxanthum
Species:
A. odoratum
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Poales

Common Names: Sweet vernal grass, Holy grass, Vanilla grass or Buffalo grass

Habitat : Anthoxanthum odoratum grass found wild in acidic grasslands in Eurasia.  It is also grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be found on unimproved pastures and meadows. Odoratum is Latin for “smell as well”. It does not grow well in very dry or waterlogged soil

Description:
Anthoxanthum odoratum  is a perennial  grass plant. It can grow up to 100 cm.  The stems are 25–40 centimetres (9.8–15.7 in) tall, with short but broad green leaves 3–5 millimetres (0.12–0.20 in) wide, which are slightly hairy. It flowers from April until June, i.e. quite early in the season, with flower spikes of 4–6 centimetres (1.6–2.4 in) long and crowded spikelets of 6–10 millimetres (0.24–0.39 in), oblong shaped, which can be quite dark when young. The lower lemmas have projecting awns.

CLICK &  SEE THE PICTURES

The ligules are quite long, up to 5mm, blunt, with hairy fringes around the side.

The scent is particularly strong when dried, and is due to coumarin, a glycoside, and benzoic acid – it smells like fresh hay with a hint of vanilla. The seed head is bright yellow in colour.
The Sweet-scented Vernal Grass – with yellow anthers, not purple, as so many other grasses – gives its characteristic odour to newly-mown meadow hay, and has a pleasant aroma of Woodruff. It is, however, specially provocative of hay fever and hay asthma. The flowers contain Coumarin, the same substance that is present in the Melilot flowers, and the volatile pollen impregnates the atmosphere in early summer, causing much distress to hay-fever subjects. The sweet perfume is due chiefly to benzoic acid.

Cultivation:
It is grown by scattering seed on tilled ground in the spring through fall, germinating in 4 to 5 days. It prefers sandy loam and acidic conditions (a low pH).
Succeeds in most soils. Dislikes shade. This is one of the earliest grasses to flower in the year, it produces a lot of pollen and is a major irritant to people who suffer from hay fever. The dried plant releases a strong and persistent fragrance with a refreshing pungent smell that is difficult to describe but is somewhat like newly-mown hay.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April in situ, only just covering the seed. The seed usually germinates in 2 – 3 weeks. Division in spring. Very easy, it can be done successfully at almost any time of the year, though it is best to pot up the divisions in a cold frame if you are doing it outside the growing season.

Edible Uses:
Seed. The seed is very small and its use would be fiddly. A tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves. A sweet pleasant fragrance. Some caution is advised, see notes at top of the page.

Parts uses in medicine: The flower.
Medicinal Uses:

The whole plant, and especially the flowering stems, is anticoagulant, antispasmodic and stimulant.   It is normally only applied externally, where it is used in the treatment of rheumatic pain, chilblains, nervous insomnia etc. It is said that a tincture made from this grass with spirit of wine is an effective and immediate cure for hay fever.

A medicinal tincture is made from this grass with spirit of wine, and it said that if poured into the open hand and sniffed well into the nose, almost immediate relief is afforded during an attack of hay fever. It is recommended that 3 or 4 drops of the tincture be at the same time taken as a dose with water, repeated if required, at intervals of twenty to thirty minutes.
Other Uses:
Basketry; Pot-pourri; Strewing.

The aromatic leaves and dried flowers are used as a strewing herb, they are also woven into baskets and used in pot-pourri. The plant contains coumarin – this is used medicinally and also in rat poisons where it prevents the blood from co-aggulating and thus means that the slightest cut can kill the rat.
Known Hazards : The plant contains coumarins, this is what gives it the scent of newly mown hay. When used internally, especially from dried plants, it can act to prevent the blood from co-aggulating.
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/Anthoxanthum_odoratum
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/grasse34.html
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Anthoxanthum+odoratum

 

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Prairie Clover

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Botanical Name : Dalea purpurea
Family :Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Dalea L. – prairie clover
Species: Dalea purpurea Vent. – purple prairie clover
Kingdom :Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division :Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class :Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass; Rosidae
Order :Fabales

Synonyms: Petalostemon violaceum. Michx.

Common Name : Clover, Velvet Prairie,Prairie Clover

Habitat :Native in Eastern and central United States. It grows in dry desert and alluvial soils to 2000 metres. Sandy prairies in Texas.

Description:
Purple prairie clover is a perennial forb, 8 to 35 inches (20-90 cm) tall, with a woody stem. The numerous leaves are 0.4-1.6 inches (1-4 cm) long, with 3 to 7 leaflets. The inflorescence is a 0.4- to 2.6-inch (1-7 cm) spike located at the ends of the branches. Branches are numerous, usually 3 per stem, but sometimes as many as 10 to 12. The mature purple prairie clover has a coarse, nonfibrous root system with a strong woody taproot that is 5.5 to 6.5 feet (1.7-2.0 m) deep. The taproot gives rise to several minutely branched lateral roots. The fruit is a 1- to-2-seeded pod enclosed in bracts

click to see the pictures…>..…(01)......(1).……..(2).….…(3).……….…………………..
Bloom Time: June – August
Bloom Color: Rose/Purple

Cultivation :
Requires a well-drained soil in full sun. A deep-rooted plant, it prefers a sandy loam with added leaf mould. This species is well-suited to informal and naturalistic plantings, especially as part of a collection of native species. Plants are monocarpic, living for a number of years without flowering and then dying after flowering. The stems, leaves and flowers are dotted with glands, making the plant look blistered. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagation :
Seed – pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and sow in early spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summe

Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Root.
 Tea.…….The root was used for chewing. A pleasant sweet flavour. The dried leaves are a tea substitute

Medicinal Uses:
This was one of the favored plants of the Native Americans of the prairies. A tea made from the leaves was applied to open wounds and a tea made from the bruised leaves steeped in hot water was used to aid in the healing of wounds as well. Some tribes pulverized the root and made a tea from that powder that was a very healthy drink and a preventative medicine. Some tribes used the entire plant as a prophylactic. Early settlers mixed the bark of the white oak tree and the flowers of this species to make a medicine for diarrhea.  The Chippewa Indians made a decoction of the leaves and blossoms to be used in the treatment of heart problems. The Meskwaki Indians used it to treat diarrhea, and they also made an infusion of the roots in the treatment of measles. The Navajo used the plant to treat pneumonia.

A poultice of the steeped bruised leaves has been applied to fresh wounds. A decoction of the leaves and blossoms has been used in the treatment of heart problems, diarrhoea. An infusion of the roots has been used in the treatment of measles.
Other Uses: Broom……The tough, elastic stems have been made into brooms.

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.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/plant.asp?code=J970
http://www.prairienursery.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_plant_info&products_id=197
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/dalpur/all.html#DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DAPU5&photoID=dapu5_4v.jpg

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Dalea+purpurea

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Categories
Herbs & Plants

Broom Moss

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Botanical Name :Dicranum scoparium
Family: Dicranaceae
Genus: Dicranum
Species: D. scoparium
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Bryophyta
Class: Bryopsida
Subclass: Dicranidae
Order: Dicranales

Common Name :Broom Moss

Habitat :Broom Moss is native to North America, including the Great Lakes region.Grows on  Soil, humus, humus over rock, decaying stumps and logs, tree bases in dry to mesic woodlands.

Description:
Plants in loose to dense tufts, light to dark green, glossy to sometimes dull. Stems 2-10 cm, tomentose with white to brown rhizoids. Leaves very variable, usually falcate-secund, rarely straight and erect, slightly contorted and crisped when dry, sometimes slightly rugose or undulate, (4-)5-8.5(-15) × 0.8-1.8 mm, concave proximally, keeled above, lanceolate, apex acute to somewhat obtuse; margins strongly serrate in the distal 1/3 or rarely slightly serrulate; laminae 1-stratose; costa percurrent, excurrent, or ending before apex, 1/10-1/5 the width of the leaves at base, usually with 2-4 toothed ridges above on abaxial surface, with a row of guide cells, two thin stereid bands, adaxial epidermal layer of cells not differentiated, the abaxial layer interrupted by several enlarged cells that form part of the abaxial ridge, not extending to the apices; cell walls between lamina cells not bulging; leaf cells smooth; alar cells 2-stratose, well- differentiated, sometimes extending to costa; proximal laminal cells linear-rectangular, pitted, (25-)47-100(-132) × (5-)7-12(-13) µm; distal laminal cells shorter, broad, sinuose, pitted, (11-)27-43(-53) × (5-)8-12(-20) µm

Click to see the pictures…..…(01)......(1)……....(2).……....(3).…………………

Capsules mature spring.

Medicinal Uses:
The CH2Cl2 extract of Dicranum scoparium was found to possess pronounced antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli.

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/Dicranum_scoparium
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200000987
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DISC71&photoID=disc71_005_ahp.jpg
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

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Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Bilateral Hydronephrosis

Alternative Names: Hydronephrosis – bilateral

Definition
Bilateral hydronephrosis is the enlargement (distention) of the urine collecting structures and pelvis of both kidneys. Bilateral means both sides.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Click to See : Unilateral hydronephrosis

Causes
Bilateral hydronephrosis occurs when urine is unable to drain from the kidney down the ureters into the bladder. Hydronephrosis is not itself a disease, but rather a physical result of whatever disease is keeping urine from draining out of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.

Disorders associated with bilateral hydronephrosis include:
*Acute bilateral obstructive uropathy
*Bladder outlet obstruction
*Chronic bilateral obstructive uropathy
*Neurogenic bladder
*Posterior ureteral valves
*Prune belly syndrome

*Uteropelvic junction obstruction

*Vesicoureteric reflux

Symptoms
Signs of hydronephrosis are generally seen during pregnancy ultrasound studies. There are no symptoms in the fetus.In the newborn, any urinary tract infection is reason to suspect some type of obstructive problem in the kidney. An older child who gets repeat urinary tract infections should be evaluated for possible obstruction.

Urinary tract obstruction usually has no other symptoms beyond an increased number of urinary tract infections.

Diagnosis:

Exams and Tests
Bilateral hydronephrosis may be seen on:

*CT scan of the abdomen or kidneys
*IVP
*Pregnancy (fetal) ultrasound
*Renal scan
*Ultrasound of the abdomen or kidneys

Treatment
Placing a Foley catheter may relieve the obstruction. Other treatment options include draining the bladder or relieving pressure with nephrostomy tubes placed through the skin (percutaneous) or stents placed in the ureters to allow urine to flow from the kidney to the bladder.

Once the blockage is treated, the underlying cause (such as an enlarged prostate) must be identified and treated.

Prognosis:
Advances in fetal ultrasound have given specialists the ability to diagnose problems caused by bilateral obstruction of the urinary tract in the developing fetus. If an obstruction is detected in a fetus, intrauterine surgery (performed while the fetus is still inside the mother’s uterus), or shortly after birth, will improve kidney function.

Newborns diagnosed with obstruction while still in the uterus can receive prompt surgical correction of the defects, often with good results.

Possible Complications :-
Renal insufficiency or failure may develop as a complication of many of the disorders associated with hydronephrosis.

When to Contact a Medical Professional
This disorder is usually discovered by the health care provider.

Prevention
A fetal ultrasound can reveal an obstruction of the urinary tract and allow for early surgery with better outcomes in the newborn. Other causes of obstruction, such as kidney stones, can be diagnosed early if individuals recognize early warning signs of obstruction and kidney disease.

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.

Resources:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000474.htm

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