Categories
Herbs & Plants

Hibiscus cannabinus

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Botanical Name : Hibiscus cannabinus
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Malvoideae
Tribes: Hibisceae
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:Malvales
Genus: Hibiscus
Sectio: Hibiscus sect. Furcaria
Species: Hibiscus cannabinus
Common Names : Kenaf, Brown Indianhemp
Europe:
English: kenaf (Persian origin), Deccan hemp, Java jute…
French: chanvre de Bombay, chanvre du Deccan, chanvre de Guinée, chanvre de Gambo, chanvre de roselle, jute de Java, jute de Siam, kénaf, ketmie à feuilles de chanvre (Belgium), roselle

German: Ambari, Dekkanhanf, Gambohanf, Hanfeibisch, Javajute, Kenaf, Rosellahanf, Roselle, Siamjute
Portuguese: cânhamo rosella, juta-de-java, juta-do-sião, quenafe

Spanish: cáñamo de la India, cáñamo de gambo, cáñamo Rosella, pavona encendida, yute de Java, yute de Siam

Americas:
Brazilian Portuguese: papoula-de-são-francisco, cânhamo-brasileiro, quenafe

Africa:
Afrikaans: stokroos
Egypt & Northern Africa: til, teel, or teal

West Africa: dah, gambo, and rama

Asia
Himachal(Pangolu) fiber known as sunn used to make rope used for beds and to tie cattle and all other possible uses.
India (Manipur): Shougri
India (Bihari): Kudrum
India (Bengal): mesta
India (Marathi): Ambaadi
India (Tamil): pulicha keerai , Palungu
India (Telugu): Gongura, Taag-Ambadi ,  Punti Kura
Iran (Persian): Hanf (guttural H)
Taiwan: ambari

Habitat : Hibiscus cannabinus is probably native to southern Asia, though its exact natural origin is unknown.
Description:
Hibiscus cannabinus is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant (rarely a short-lived perennial) growing to 1.5-3.5 m tall with a woody base. The stems are 1–2 cm diameter, often but not always branched. The leaves are 10–15 cm long, variable in shape, with leaves near the base of the stems being deeply lobed with 3-7 lobes, while leaves near the top of the stem are shallowly lobed or unlobed lanceolate. The flowers are 8–15 cm diameter, white, yellow, or purple; when white or yellow, the centre is still dark purple. The fruit is a capsule 2 cm diameter, containing several seeds.It is in flower from Aug to September, and the seeds ripen from Oct to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.The plant is self-fertile….CLICK  & SEE  THE  PICTURES
Cultivation:
Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in full sun[200]. Tolerates most soils but prefers a light sandy soil. Plants are adapted to a wide range of soils and climatic conditions. Kenaf is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 57 to 410cm, an annual temperature range of 11.1 to 27.5°C and a pH in the range of 4.3 to 8.2 (though it prefers neutral to slightly acid). The plant is frost sensitive and damaged by heavy rains with strong winds. Kenaf is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, where it is grown mainly as a fibre crop but also for its seeds and leaves. It is not very hardy outdoors in Britain, it really requires a frost free climate. It can, however, probably be grown as an annual. A fast-growing plant, it can be harvested in 3 – 4 months from seed. The plant requires temperatures in the range of 15 – 25°c. It succeeds as a crop as far north in N. America as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. Plants are daylight sensitive, they remain vegetative and do not flower until the daylength is less than 12.5 hr/day. Two weeks of very cloudy days will induce flowering as daylength approaches 12.5 hr. The plant has a deep-penetrating taproot with deep-seated laterals. Plants, including any varieties, are partially self-fertile.

Propagation:
Seed – sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing them as annuals, plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and protect them with a frame or cloche until they are growing away well. If hoping to grow them as perennials, then it is better to grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year and to plant them out in early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Overwinter them in a warm greenhouse and plant out after the last expected frosts.

Edible Uses:
Young leaves – cooked. Used as a potherb or added to soups. The leaves have an acid flavour like sorrel. Seed – roasted or ground into a flour and made into a kind of cake. Root – it is edible but very fibrousy. Mucilaginous, without very much flavour. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. The yield varies from 2 – 10 tonnes per hectare.

Medicinal Uses:
The juice of the flowers, mixed with sugar and black pepper, is used in the treatment of biliousness with acidity. The seeds are aphrodisiac. They are added to the diet in order to promote weight increase. Externally, they are used as a poultice on pains and bruises. The leaves are purgative. An infusion of the leaves is used in the treatment of coughs. In Ayurvedic medicine, the leaves are used in the treatment of dysentery and bilious, blood and throat disorders. The powdered leaves are applied to Guinea worms in Africa. The peelings from the stems have been used in the treatment of anaemia, fatigue, lassitude, etc

Other Uses:
Yields a fibre from the stem, a very good jute substitute though it is a bit coarser. The fibre strands, which are 1.5 – 3 metres long, are used for making rope, cordage, canvas, sacking, carpet backing, nets, table cloths etc. For the best quality fibre, the stems should be harvested shortly after the flowers open. The best fibre is at the base of the stems, so hand pulling is often recommended over machine harvesting. Yields of about 1.25 tonnes of fibre per hectare are average, though 2.7 tonnes has been achieved in Cuba. The pulp from the stems has been used in making paper. The seed contains between 18 and 35% of an edible semi-drying oil. It is rather similar to groundnut oil, obtained from Arachis hypogaea. The oil is also used for burning, as a lubricant and in making soap, linoleum, paints and varnishes. The seed yield varies from 2 to 10 tonnes per acre (or is it per hectare). The stems have been used as plant supports for growing runner beans etc. The soot from the stems has been used as a black pigment in dyes. The stem has been used as a base for drilling fire.
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/Kenaf
https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_cannabinus
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hibiscus+cannabinus

Categories
Exercise News on Health & Science

Will the Wii Keep You Fit?

Wii Fit,” which lets you use the game platform as an exercise tool, is already a runaway hit in Japan and Britain. It was recently released in the United States.

CLICK & SEE

The newest component of this game is a balance board — a motion-sensitive platform that looks like a double-wide bathroom scale. It can detect how much weight you place on each foot and which way you’re leaning.

Before you start playing, you create a profile, entering your height and age. The game then measures your weight, your body mass index and your “Wii Fit age.” Once you’ve been assessed, you then start your workout, which can include yoga, strength training, aerobics and balance games.
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Sources:

* ABC News May 19, 2008

Categories
Healthy Tips

Some Tips to Actually Enjoy Exercising

A lot of people complain about not having enough time to stay in shape. Are you one of them? Does exercise always get bumped to the bottom of your list of things to do? The problem may have nothing to do with time   it might just be that you hate exercise…

If that’s  the case, some of these tips may be just what you need to change your attitude, and in return, exercise might just change your whole life. For the full list of all 13 tips, see the Lifehack link below, but here are a few good ones:

  • Tune Your Challenge Level   Don’t start out by running until you are winded and dry-heaving into a ditch, and don’t just mess around in the gym without doing anything strenuous at all. Instead, make it your goal to set a workout routine that is challenging, but not overwhelming. Challenge is key to enjoyment.
  • Set Goals   Don’t just set weight-loss or muscle gain goals, set fitness goals. Set goals to beat your past records in distance, push-ups, or chin-ups you can do, weight you can lift, or degree you can stretch. Make it a game where you strive to beat your previous high-score.
  • Music   This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but music can enhance a workout, making it far more enjoyable and less like   work.
  • Short Workouts   Don’ t have time or enthusiasm to last an hour? Just go for twenty or thirty minutes. Shorter, but higher-intensity workouts can be better than longer ones and you can become more focused as a result.
  • Make Exercise Your Stress Relief    Many swear by using the gym to relieve stress. Exercising can be cathartic and release negative feelings if you get used to using it that way. Then instead of avoiding the gym because of a stressful day, it will be your reason to go.

Click to learn Lifehack.org October 19, 2007

Source:Mercola.com

Categories
Exercise Healthy Tips

8 Secrets to Optimizing Your Exercise Plan

Simple ideas you can use to meet fitness goals in less time.
We’d be lucky if having the motivation to move was all it took to make exercise a part of our daily activities. When it comes to making motion an aim we often find ourselves face-to-face with the most persistent of obstacles. Here are some tips for conquering time when it threatens to bump exercise plans from your date book:

1. Book yourself.
Don’t have time for all this exercise? Sometimes it’s a matter of perception — other people’s. If coworkers, friends, or even family can’t understand why you take time for exercise but not for what they think is important, keep your priorities to yourself — but schedule your exercise in your date book. That way, when sticking to your guns on workouts, you can merely say you’re keeping a prior appointment.

2. Keep it interesting. Some people have a high tolerance for routine — and may even elevate it to ritual. But if your attention span is closer to monkey than monk, try to introduce variety into your workout on a regular basis. One way to do it: Change two things about your routine every week. It could be as simple as adding repetitions, resistance, or sets — or substituting one exercise for another. Change isn’t just an antidote to boredom, it allows you to continually challenge muscles in new ways, which makes you stronger faster.

3. Try slow motion. Want to try a difficult challenge that’s easy on joints? Lift a light weight only one time — but do it very slowly. Pick out a weight about half what you’d normally lift 10 times. Take 15 to 20 seconds to lift the weight, hold for another 15 to 20 seconds, then take another 15 to 20 seconds to bring it back down. The constant stress through the entire range of motion will work muscles in an entirely new way.

4. Judge gym transit time. Made the decision to join a health club? When choosing, follow the golden rule of gym location: Keep it within a 15-minute drive. Any farther and your chances of actually getting there for a workout drop considerably.

5. Spread the effort. If doing an entire full-body workout all at once is too fatiguing or demanding on your time, try doing only one part of the workout each day. If your workout has 12 exercises, for example, do the first three on Monday, the next three on Tuesday, and the rest on Wednesday. On Thursday, start the routine again. That way, you’re still doing each exercise three times during a one-week period without exhausting yourself with your routine.

6. Hold on to your gains.
While giving your muscles a chance to rest is important to making them stronger, there’s inevitably a point of diminishing returns when it comes to slacking off. How much rest is too much? A good rule of thumb is to expect about a 10 percent loss of your strength gains after about 10 days. The more training you’ve done, the slower your strength will decline. The bottom line: To maintain your gains, you need to keep exercising regularly.

7. Count backward. Problem: Strength exercises are no fun when the last repetitions are tough to do. Interpretation: If you’re challenging your muscles enough to want to quit, you’re probably doing them at just the right intensity. Mental trick: Your final repetitions will seem easier if you count backward from your target instead of forward from zero because you’ll be thinking about how few you have left, rather than how many you’ve already done.

8. Get off the floor safely. For exercises and stretches that require you to get on all fours, it’s easier to get back up again if you walk your hands back until you’re in a kneeling position, place one foot on the floor in front of you with your knee bent at about 90 degrees, then use your leg as a support for your hands as you stand or ease yourself into a chair.

From : The Everyday Arthritis Solution

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