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Herbs & Plants

Lactuca debilis

 

Botanical Name: Lactuca debilis
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Lactuca/Ixeris
Class :Magnoliopsida
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Synonyms:
*Chondrilla debilis (Thunb.) Poir.
*Prenanthes debilis Thunb. ex Murray
*Youngia debilis (Thunb.) DC.

Common Names: ShaTanKuMaiCai (Chinese)

Habitat:Lactuca debilis is native to E. Asia – Japan, Korea.(Distribution: Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Fujian, Henan, Guangdong) It grows in the cultivated fields and waste ground in lowlands all over Japan.

Description:
Lactuca debilis is a perennial herb growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in this country, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. We suggest growing it in a sunny position and a well-drained soil.

Propagation :
Seed – we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame in spring and only just covering the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division can be tried in spring or autumn.

Edible Uses: Young plant – cooked

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:
http://www.catalogueoflife.org/col/details/species/id/7cf42c4435ead3c7f10126700ea8fbbf/synonym/4c5e1ce197569dd01df2de2365c372cc
http://base.sp2000.cn/colchina_e15/show_species_details.php?name_code=d42d47c8-8b3d-4898-bc07-ca1d6ac74bf4
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lactuca+debilis

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Herbs & Plants

Illicium verun

Botanical Name: Illicium verun
Family: Schisandraceae
Genus: Illicium
Species:I. verum
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:Austrobaileyales

Synonyms: Illicium san-ki Perr

Common Names: Ba Jiao Hui Xian, Staranise tree, Star anise, Star anise seed, Chinese star anise or badiam

Habitat : Illicium verun is native to E. Asia – China, Vietnam. It grows on the light woodland and thickets. Forests at elevations of 200 – 1600 metres in S and W Guangxi Province, China.

Description:
Illicium verum is an evergreen Tree growing to 5 m (16ft) by 3 m (9ft).
It is frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Mar to May, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Cultivation:
Prefers a light, moist well-drained loam and a sheltered position Prefers a humus-rich lime-free soil. Succeeds in sun or semi-shade. This species is not very cold-hardy, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c and requires a very sheltered position or the protection of a wall when grown in Britain. Chinese anise is extensively cultivated in China for its fruit and medicinal essential oil. It is planted in the grounds of temples in Japan, and also on tombs. Plants seldom grow larger than about 3 metres in Britain, but eventually reach about 18 metres tall in their native habitat.
Propagation:
Seed – it does not require pre-treatment and can be sown in early spring in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts, and give some protection from the cold over the winter for the first year or two. Layering in early spring. Takes 18 months. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, August in a frame. Pot up the cuttings when they start to root and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter, planting out after the last expected frosts.

Edible Uses:
Star anise contains anethole, the same ingredient that gives the unrelated anise its flavor. Recently, star anise has come into use in the West as a less expensive substitute for anise in baking, as well as in liquor production, most distinctively in the production of the liquor Galliano. It is also used in the production of sambuca, pastis, and many types of absinthe.[citation needed] Star anise enhances the flavour of meat. It is used as a spice in preparation of biryani and masala chai all over the Indian subcontinent. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, and in Indian cuisine where it is a major component of garam masala, and in Malay and Indonesian cuisines. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking. It is also a major ingredient in the making of ph?, a Vietnamese noodle soup.It is also used in the French recipe of mulled wine : called vin chaud (hot wine).

Medicinal Uses:
Star anise is the major source of the chemical compound shikimic acid, a primary precursor in the pharmaceutical synthesis of anti-influenza drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Shikimic acid is produced by most autotrophic organisms, and whilst it can be obtained in commercial quantities elsewhere, star anise remains the usual industrial source. In 2005, a temporary shortage of star anise was caused by its use in the production of Tamiflu. Later that year, a method for the production of shikimic acid using bacteria was discovered. Roche now derives some of the raw material it needs from fermentation by E. coli bacteria. The 2009 swine flu outbreak led to another series of shortages, as stocks of Tamiflu were built up around the world, sending prices soaring.

Star anise is grown in four provinces in China and harvested between March and May. It is also found in the south of New South Wales. The shikimic acid is extracted from the seeds in a 10-stage manufacturing process which takes a year.

In traditional Chinese medicine, star anise is considered a warm and moving herb, and used to assist in relieving cold-stagnation in the middle jiao.

Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), a similar tree, is highly toxic and inedible; in Japan, it has instead been burned as incense. Cases of illness, including “serious neurological effects, such as seizures”, reported after using star anise tea, may be a result of deliberate economically motivated adulteration with this species. Japanese star anise contains anisatin, which causes severe inflammation of the kidneys, urinary tract, and digestive organs. The toxicity of I. anisatum, also known as shikimi, is caused by its potent neurotoxins anisatin, neoanisatin, and pseudoanisatin, which are noncompetitive antagonists of GABA receptors.

Star anise is used in the East to relieve colic and rheumatism and to flavor cough medicines. It warms the abdomen, dispels gas, regulates energy, treats belching, vomiting, abdominal pains and hernia.

The fruit is also often chewed in small quantities after meals in order to promote digestion and to sweeten the breath. The fruit has an antibacterial affect similar to penicillin. The fruit is harvested unripe when used for chewing, the ripe fruits being used to extract essential oil and are dried for use in decoctions and powders. A homeopathic remedy is prepared from the seed.

Other Uses:   The pounded bark is used as an incense.

Known Hazards : The fruit is poisonous in quantity.

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/Illicium_verum
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Illicium+verum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illicium_verum

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Herbs & Plants

Zanthoxylum piperitum

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Botanical Name : Zanthoxylum piperitum
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Zanthoxylum
Species:Z. piperitum
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Sapindales

Synonyms : Fagara piperita

Common Names : Japanese pepper, Japanese pricklyash, or Sansh (Japanese)

Habitat :Zanthoxylum piperitum is native to E. Asia – N. China, Japan, Korea. It grows in scrub and hedges in hills and mountains in Japan.

Description:
Zanthoxylum piperitum is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2 m (6ft) by 2 m (6ft). The tree blooms in April to May, forming axillary flower clusters, about 5mm, and yellow-green in color. It is dioecious, and the flowers of the male plant can be consumed as hana-sansh, while the female flowers yield berries or peppercorns of about 5mm. For commercial harvesting, thornless varieties called the Asakura sansho are widely cultivated. Around September to October, the berries turn scarlet and burst, scattering the black seeds within.The plant is not self-fertile.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES:

The branch grows pairs of sharp thorns, and has odd-pinnately compound leaves, alternately arranged, with 5?9 pairs of ovate leaflets having crenate (slightly serrated) margins.

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Easily grown in loamy soils in most positions, but prefers a good deep well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or semi-shade. A very ornamental plant, it is hardy to about -15°c. Flowers are formed on the old wood. The bruised leaves are amongst the most powerfully aromatic of all leaves. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Self-sown seedlings have occasionally been observed growing in bare soil under the parent plant.
Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed may requires up to 3 months cold stratification, though scarification may also help. Sow stored seed in a cold frame as early in the year as possible. Germination should take place in late spring, though it might take another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in early summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Root cuttings, 3cm long, planted horizontally in pots in a greenhouse. Good percentage. Suckers, removed in late winter and planted into their permanent positions.

Edible Uses:
The finely ground Japanese pepper, kona-zansh?, is nowadays usually sold in sealed packets, and individual serving sizes are included inside heat-and-serve broiled eel packages. While red chili pepper is never used on eel, otherwise, in many usages, the Japanese red chili pepper, or the shichimi blend of peppers can be used in lieu of Japanese pepper alone, according to taste: e.g., to flavor miso soup, various noodles in broth or dipped in tsuyu, Japanese pickles (tsukemono), teriyaki or fried chicken.

Young leaves and shoots, pronounced ki no mé or ko no mé (Japanese: lit. “tree-bud”) herald the spring season, and often garnish grilled fish and soups. They have a distinctive flavor and is not to the liking of everyone. It is a customary ritual to put a leaf between cupped hands, and clap the hands with a popping sound, this supposedly serving to bring out the aroma. The young leaves are crushed and blended with miso using pestle and mortar (suribachi and surikogi) to make a paste, a pesto sauce of sorts, and then used to make various aemono (or “tossed salad”, for lack of a better word). The stereotypical main ingredient for the resultant kinome-ae is the fresh harvest of bamboo shoots, but the sauce may be tossed (or delicately “folded”, to use a pastrymaking term) into sashimi, clams, squid or other vegetable such as tara-no-me (Aralia elata shoots).
The immature green berries, blanched and salted, are called ao-zansh? (lit. “green sansho”). The berries are traditionally simmered into dark-brown tsukudani, but nowadays are also available as shoyu-zuke, which is just steeped in soy sauce. The berries are also cooked with small fry fish and flavored with soy sauce (chirimen jako[ja]), a specialty item of Kyoto, since its Mount Kurama outskirts is a renowned growing area of the Japanese pepper.

The thornless variety Asakura sansho derives its name from its place of origin, the Asakura district in the now defunct Yokacho[ja], integrated into Yabu, Hy?go.

Wakayama Prefecture boasts 80% of domestic production. Aridagawa, Wakayama procuces a specialty variety called bud? sansh? (“grape sansho”), which bears large fruits and clusters, rather like a bunch of grapes.

Confections:
In central and northeastern Japan, a non-sticky rice-cake type confection called goheimochi [ja], which is basted with miso-based paste and grilled, sometimes uses the Japanese pepper as flavor additive to the miso. Also being marketed are sansho flavored arare (rice crackers), snack foods, and sweet sansho-mochi.

Medicinal Uses:
Antiperiodic, antitussive, carminative, diuretic, parasiticide, stimulant. The fruit contains a essential oil, flavonoids and isoquinoline alkaloids. It is anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal and stomachic. It inhibits the synthesis of prostaglandin and, in larger doses, is toxic to the central nervous system. It is used in Korea in the treatment of tuberculosis, dyspepsis and internal parasites. The resin contained in the bark, and especially in that of the roots, is powerfully stimulant and tonic.

The husks are used medicinally. In traditional Chinese medicine it finds uses similar to the hua jiao or Sichuan pepper.

In Japanese pharmaceuticals, the mature husks with seeds removed are considered the crude medicine form of sansh?. It is an ingredient in bitter tincture[lange]. It also contains aromatic oils geraniol, dipentene, citral, etc.

Other Uses:
Timber uses: The thick wood of the tree is traditionally made into a gnarled and rough-hewn wooden pestle, to use with the aforementioned suribachi.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanthoxylum_piperitum
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Zanthoxylum+piperitum

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Fruits & Vegetables Herbs & Plants

Luffa Acutangua (Bengali Jhingha)

Botanical Name : Luffa Acutangua
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Luffa
Species: L. acutangula
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Cucurbitales

Common Names: Angled luffa, Chinese okra, Dish cloth gourd, Ridged gourd, Sponge gourd, Vegetable gourd, Strainer vine, Ribbed loofah, Silky gourd, Ridged gourd, Silk gourd, and Sinkwa towelsponge

Names in other languages:

Assamese: Jeeka
Bengali : Jhingge , Jhinga and Sataputi
Burmese: Bjuda; also Boun Loun
Hindi: Torai, Turai
Gujarati: Turiya
Kannada: Heere kayi
Tagalog: Patola
Lao: Mark noy
Vietnamese: Muop Khia
Tamil: Peerkangai
Telugu: Beera kaaya
Thai: Buap liyam
Marathi: Dodaki
Konkani: Gossale
Indonesian: Gambas, Oyong
Javanese: Oyong
Mandarin Chinese: Pinyin: Guangdongsigua
Cantonese Chinese: Sin qua or sing kwa(Australian spelling), Ling Jiao Si Gua, You Lin Si Gua, Sze Gwa, Sigwa
Hokkian: Kak kuey
Malayalam: Peechinga
Malay: Petola segi
Sinhalese: Watakolu
Japanese: Ito uri, Tokado hechima

Habitat : Luffa Acutangua is native to India and naturalized throughout tropics and subtropics of the world.

Description:
Luffa Acutangua is a large climber, with usually 3-fid tendrills. Leaves orbicular in outline, 15-20 cm long, palmately 5-7 angled or sublobate, scabrid. Flowers yellow, large; male flowers in axillary 12-20 flowered racemes; female flowers solitary. Fruit 15-30 cm long, clavate-oblong, tapering towards the base, longitudinally ribbed.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES :

Chemical Constituents:
The plant contains a bitter substance luffin. Seeds contain 20% of a saponin glycoside, enzyme and a fixed oil (Chopra et al., 1992). Flowers and fruits contain free amino acids, arginine, glycine, threonine, lysine, alanine, asparagines, aspartic and glutamic acids and leucines. Ripe seeds contain bitter glycosidic principles, cucurbitacins B, D, G and H (luffins) and oleanolic acid; roots contain cucurbitacin B and traces of C (Ghani, 2003).
Edible Uses: 
The young fruit of some cultivars are used as cooked vegetables or pickled or eaten raw, and the shoots and flowers are sometimes also used……..CLICK  & SEE

Young fruit can be eaten raw like cucumber or cooked like squash, while the young leaves, shoots, flower buds, as well as the flowers can be eaten after being lightly steamed. The seeds can be roasted as a snack, or pressed to produce oil.

Medicinal Uses:
Luffa Acutangua plant is bitter tonic, emetic, diuretic and purgative and useful in asthma, skin diseases and splenic enlargement. It is used internally for rheumatism, backache, internal hemorrhage, chest pains as well as hemorrhoids. Externally, it is used for shingles and boils. The dried fruit fibers are used as abrasive sponges in skin care, to remove dead skin and to stimulate the circulation. The fruits are anthelmentic, carminative, laxative, depurative, emollient, expectorant, tonic and galactagogue and are useful in fever, syphilis, tumours, bronchitis, splenopathy and leprosy. The vine is most commonly grown for the fibrous interior of the fruits. Kernel of seed is expectorant, demulcent and used in dysentery. Seed oil is used in leprosy and skin diseases. Fruit is intensely bitter and fibrous. It has purgative property and is used for dropsy, nephritis, chronic bronchitis and lung complaints. It is also applied to the body in putrid fevers and jaundice.

Other Uses: Like Luffa aegyptica, the mature fruits are harvested when dry and processed to remove all but the fruit fibre, which can then be used as a sponge or as fibre for making hats
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:
http://www.mpbd.info/plants/luffa-acutangula.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luffa_acutangula
http://www.hear.org/pier/species/luffa_acutangula.htm
file:///C:/Users/COOLE_~1/AppData/Local/Temp/lnc85ewj.tmp/JNPPR-2012-2-1-127-134.pdf

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Herbs & Plants

Ipomoea nil

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Botanical Name : Ipomoea nil
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Ipomoea
Species: I. nil
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Solanales

Synonyms: Pharbitis nil – (L.)Choisy.

Common Names :Picotee morning glory, Ivy morning glory, and Japanese morning glory.Aguinaldo azul claro.

Habitat :Blue Morning Glory is native to most of the tropical world, and has been introduced widely.Grows in thickets on mountain slopes, waysides, fields and hedges from sea level to 1600 metres in China.

Description:
Ipomoea nil  is an annual Vines and Climbers, growing to 5m at a fast rate. Stems twining, pubescent, 0.5-2 m; leaves ovate to almost round, 3-lobed, or almost entire, slim, 5-15 cm, lobes ovate, acuminate or pointed, base heart-shaped; peduncles with 1-5 flowers; pedicels short; sepals 1.5-2.5 cm, linear with wider base, pubescent; corolla blue, 3-4 cm, limb 4-5 cm wide; ovary 3-locular, capsule globose, 8-12 mm, seeds pubescent.

CLICK  &  SEE  THE  PICTURES

It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Cultivation:
Requires a fertile well-drained loam in a sunny position. The plant is not frost hardy, but can be grown outdoors as a tender annual in temperate zones. A very ornamental plant, there are several named varieties. Closely related to I. purpurea.

Propagation:
Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water, or scarify the seed, and sow in individual pots in a greenhouse in early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 – 3 weeks at 22°c. Plants are extremely resentful of root disturbance, even when they are quite small, and should be potted up almost as soon as they germinate. Grow them on fast in the greenhouse and plant them out into their permanent positions after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away actively.

Medicinal Uses:
Anthelmintic; Antifungal; Antispasmodic; Antitumor; Diuretic; Hallucinogenic; Laxative; Parasiticide.

The seed is anthelmintic, anticholinergic, antifungal, antispasmodic, antitumour, diuretic and laxative. It is used in the treatment of oedema, oliguria, ascariasis and constipation. The seed is also used as a contraceptive in Korea. The seed is used in the treatment of edema, oliguria, ascariasis and constipation.  The seed contains small quantities of the hallucinogen LSD. This has been used medicinally in the treatment of various mental disorders.   Therapeutic benefits are somewhat enhanced when used in combination with costus and ginger.  Simply add 1-2 grams of each to the above decoction. The pounded plant is used as a hair wash to rid the hair of lice.

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/Ipomoea_nil
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Ipomoea+nil
http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/vinales/eng/ipomoea_nil.htm

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