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Herbs & Plants

Cycas media

Botanical Name : Cycas media
Family: Cycadaceae
Genus: Cycas
Species: C. media
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Cycadophyta
Class: Cycadopsida
Order: Cycadales

Common Names:Cycas or Cycads
In many areas cycads are also referred to as palms or ferns, particularly in local vernacular languages, and in Mexico they are also referred to as a type of corn, probably in reference to the female cones in Zamiaceae. A thorough compilation of local and vernacular names for cycads around the world has been prepared by Bonta and Osborne (2003).

Habitat : Cycas media is  native to woodlands of Queensland, Australia.Widely distributed in Australia, from the top of Cape York down to Rockhampton, as well as on some offshore islands, and New Guinea.Typically found near the coast on scrubby hillsides and gullies up onto the ridges. Most areas show signs of burning off.

Description:
Cycas media is a palm-like tall shrub. The leathery, thick leaves are divided and grow from the center in a palm-like arrangement.Height of caudex 2.7m, diameter 64.0cm and unbranched. Number of seed sporophylls from crown about 40. Number of ovules about 200 which average 4 to 6 per sporophyll. Length of sporophyll 37.5cm, original colour of seed green but yellow when ripe. Length of seed 40.0mm and breadth 30.0mm.

Frond leaves 42 to 45, length of leaf 1.2m, length of rachis 1.5m. short spines on rachis below leaves 5 to 7 each side, approximately 2.5-3.0cm, pairs of leaflets 45 to 50 pairs.

 

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Length at top of frond 25cm across pair, middle measurement 77cm across pair. Lower measurement 39cm across pair, with a prominent midrib nerve. The fronds are glossy green below and yellow green beneath. Some leaf rachis are squarish and others round when viewed at cut end. Average height of tallest specimens about 3.0-3.5m.

Medicinal Uses:
Seeds used in folk medicine.  They have been used mainly topically to treat sores and skin diseases. In India the seeds are used as a remedy for insomnia.

Other Uses:
All plant parts are considered highly toxic. However, the seeds are eaten by Aborigines after careful and extensive preparation to remove the toxins

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.conifers.org/zz/Cycadales.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycas_media

http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/PlantNet/cycad/images/Cycas_media_1.jpg

http://www.pacsoa.org.au/cycads/Cycas/media.html

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Herbs & Plants

Buri Plam

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Botanical Name :Corypha elata Roxb.
Family: Arecaceae/Palmae
Subfamily: Coryphoideae
Tribe: Corypheae
Genus: Corypha
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Arecales
Species: C. utan

Other scientific Names :Corypha umbraculifera Blanco   ,Sagus rumphii Perr. ,Livistona vidalii Becc  ,Corypha sylvestris Mart. ,Corypha gebanga Blume  ,Corypha utan

Common Names : Gebang Palm, or Cabbage Palm, Bagatai (Is.), Buli (Tag.),Buri ( Bis., Bik., Pamp., Tag.),  Busi (Pamp., Bis., Tag.,Ibus (Tag.),Piet (Tag., Pamp.),Silad (Bik.) Silag (Ilk., Pang.) ,Silal (Sub.) ,Sirar (Bag.) ,Taktak (Is.) ,Gebang (Span.), Buri palm (Engl.), Gao xing li ye ye zi (Chin.)

Parts Used
: Roots, trunk.

Habitat :
Buri Plam  grows in areas from India through to the Philippines, down to Australia’s Cape York Peninsula.Widely scattered in some regions; abundant in low and medium altitudes.Growing along watercourses, floodplains and grasslands, the Palm and Cycad Socieites of Australia write about the Corypha utan palms occurring in Cape York:

Buri Plam is undoubtedly one of the most imposing species in the Australian palm flora (with its massive pachycaul trunks and hapaxanthic flowering and fruiting extravaganza

Description:
The buri palm is the most stately and largest of the Philippine palms. Trunk is straight and erect, up to 1 meter in diameter and 20 meters in height. Leaves are large and fan-shaped, rounded in outline, up to 3 meters long, palmately split into about 100, lanceolate, 1.5 to 6 cm wide, segments extending one-half to two-thirds to the base; petioles are very stout, up to 3 meters long, 20 cm thick at the base, the margins armed with stout black spines. Inflorescence is pyramidal, up to 7 meters high, the lower branches up to 3.5 meters long, the upper gradually shorter, the ultimate branches about 1 meter long. Flowe rs are numerous, greenish-white, 5-6 mm in diameter. Fruits are globose, fleshy, 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter. Seeds are hard, about 1.5 cm in diameter.

click & see the pictures

You may click to see more pictures:

These palms (like all Corypha) only flower towards the end of their lifetime, but when they do flower they send up a massive inflorescence up to 5m high, and with up to 1 million flowers .

Chemical constituents and properties:
*Sucrose is the produce of the sugar cane.
*Sugar is demuilcent, antiseptic, cooling, laxative and diuretic.
*Roots are demulcent, emollient, diuretic and stimulant.

Edible Uses:
*Trunk yields a large quantity of starch.
*Buds (ubod) used for salads or eaten as vegetable.
*Kernels of young fruits are edible and made into sweetmeats.
*It produces a fermented drink (tuba), alcohol, vinegar, syrup and sugar.

Medicinal Uses:
*Folkloric
*Decoction of young plant used for febrile catarrh.
*In Malaya, starch used for bowel complaints and the juice of roots used for diarrhea.
*In Celebes, roots chewed for coughs.


Others Uses:

*Ornaments: Mature seeds used for rosary beads and buttons.

*Fiber: Petiole yields the “buntal fiber,” used in making the famous Baliuag and Lucban hats. Also, used for making rope. From the leaf is obtained a fiber, similar to raffia, used in making cloth, strings, and other fancy articles. Fiber from the ribs of unopened leaves used in making Calasiao or Pototan hats. Strips of unopend

*leaf usedin making hats, mats, sails, baskets.

*Leaf: Mature leaf used for covering tobacco bales; rarely, as thatch for hiouses; the ribs used for making 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.stuartxchange.com/Buri.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corypha_utan

http://www.indi-journal.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/corypha-elata.jpg

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Herbs & Plants

Kanchan (Bauhinia acuminata)

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Botanical Name :Bauhinia acuminata
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Genus: Bauhinia
Tribe: Cercideae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Species: B. acuminata
Common names :Dwarf White Bauhinia, White Orchid-tree and Snowy Orchid-tree,
Mountain Ebony
Indian Name :Kanchan

Habitat : Native to tropical southeastern Asia. The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia (Java, Borneo, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands), and the Philippines. It grows on  open valleys with good loamy soil at elevations of 150 – 1800 metres.
.

Description:
Semi-deciduous large shrub or small tree with white butterfly-like flowers, everblooming (Flower season: Spring through fall). Drought tolerant. Bauhinia acuminata is very sensitive to cold wind; while similar looking Bauhinia racemosa (with pointed petals) is hardier species. Pea shaped pod with 4 to 6 seeds.

click to see the pictures…...(01)....(1).…..(2)...…(3)......(4).…....(5)......………….
Bauhinia acuminata is a species of flowering shrub. It grows two to three meters tall. Like the other Bauhinia species, the leaves are bilobed, shaped like an ox hoof; they are 6 to 15 centimeters long and broad, with the apical cleft up to 5 cm deep; the petiole is 1.5 to 4 centimeters long. The flowers are fragrant, 8 to 12 centimeters in diameter, with five white petals, ten yellow-tipped stamens and a green stigma. The fruit is a pod 7.5 to 15 centimeters long and 1.5 to 1.8 centimeters broad.

It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant. It may be found as an escape from cultivation in some areas, and has become naturalised on the Cape York Peninsula, Australia.

Cultivation:
Prefers a fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil, requiring a warm sheltered position in full sun[200, 260]. When grown in warm Temperate zones, this species can withstand short periods of temperatures as low as -5°c[200]. In Britain, it is only likely to succeed outdoors in the very mildest parts of the country, and even then would probably require the protection of a south-facing wall. There are some cultivars, developed for their ornamental value.

Propagation:
Seed – pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water then sow in mid spring in a greenhouse. When large enough t handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in early summer, after the last expected frosts and consider giving some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, with the leaves removed, in moist sand July/August in a frame[200]. Gentle bottom heat is usually required. Layering.

Edible Uses: The young leaves, flowers and fruits are boiled and eaten as a vegetable, or are pickled.

Medicinal Uses:
The bark is alterative, anthelmintic, astringent and tonic. The juice of the bark is used in the treatment of amoebic dysentery, diarrhoea and other stomach disrders. A paste of the bark is useful in the treatment of cuts and wounds, skin diseases, scrofula and ulcers. The dried buds are used in the treatment of piles, dysentery, diarrhoea and worms. The juice of the flowers is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery and other stomach disorders. The root is used as an antidote to snake poison. A decoction of the root is used to treat dyspepsia.

Other Uses:
The bark is a source of tannins. It is used for dyeing. Wood – used for house construction and making household implements. A very popular ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical climates, grown for its scented flowers. The leaves, shoots and pods of B. variegata are used as fodder for livestock, including sheep, goats and cattle. Average leaf yield from a mature tree is about 20-22 kg fresh weight per annum. Erosion control or dune stabilization, Shade and shelter, Windbreak. Fuels:Charcoal, Fuelwood.

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/Bauhinia_acuminata
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54414/
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/bauhinia_acuminata.htm

http://www.pfaf.org/USER/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Bauhinia+variegata

 

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