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Sirish(Albizia lebbek)

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Botanical Name : Albizia lebbek
Family:   Fabaceae
Genus:   Albizia
Species:A. lebbeck
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:   Fabales
Synonyms:Mimosajebbeck L; M.sinssa Roxb;
Local Names:Siris;acacia amarilla; East Indian Wal nut
Vernacular Names: Sans, Hind: Sirish. Eng : East Indian walnut.

English names: lebbeck, lebbek tree, flea tree, frywood, koko and woman’s tongues tree

BENGALI NAME:SIRISH

Habitat: According to the NAS (1980) this is native to tropical Africa, Asia, and northern Australia, widely planted and naturalized throughout the tropics.

Description
Albizia lebbek is a deciduous tree to 30 m tall, with a dense shade-producing crown. Bark smoothish, light whitish or greenish gray. Leaves alternate, twice compound, with 2–4 pairs of pinnate pinnae, each with 4–10 pairs of leaflets, the ultimate leaflets entire, arcuate, oblong. Flowers white, with greenish stamens, in clusters resembling a white powder puff. Pods flat, reddish brown, several seeds, often rattling in the breeze. In Puerto Rico, flowers April to September, fruiting year-round, the fruits more prominent probably in the dry season.

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Cultivation
Immerse seed in boiling water, cool; soak for 24 hours, sowing in loam in wrapped pots 10 x 15 mm. Move seedlings to partial shade, watering and spraying as needed. Harden off for 2–3 months. Outplant at 3 x 3 or 4 x 4 m when at least 30 cm tall, at beginning of rainy season (Fabian, 1981).

Chemical Constituents: According to Roskoski et al (1980), studying Mexican material, the seeds contain 9.47% humidity, 3.57% ash, 33.60% crude protein, 3.13% crude fat, 13.17% crude fiber, 35.30% carbohydrates with a 78.25% in vitro digestibility. The pods contain 6.99% humidity, 5.47% ash, 17.86% crude protein, 2.6% crude fat, 45.08% crude fiber, and 22.00% carbohydrates with a 76.56% in vitro digestibility. The foliage contains 3.57% humidity, 7.06% ash, 28.87% crtide protein, 5.42% crude fat, 31.75% crude fiber, 23.33% carbohydrates, and 83.55% in vitro digestibility. Prohibitive levels of toxic compounds were not detected in any of the plant parts analyzed.

Uses
A fast growings nitrogen-fixing, heavy shade tree, recommended for reforestation and firewood plantations. Often planted as an avenue tree or as shade for coffee and tea. The wood is hard and strong, resembling walnut, and non siliceous. It produces a sawdust that may cause sneezing. Specific gravity 0.61; Air Dry Weight 39 lb/cu ft (ca 630 kg/cu m). The heartwood calorific value is 5,166 cals. Strong and elastic, the wood is used for cabinet wood, furniture and veneer, and serves well as firewood. The burr wood is prized for veneer. Bark has served for tanning. Foliage can be used as fodder. In the Sudan, goats eat fallen leaves and flowers. Bark containing saponin can be used in making soap, and containing tannin, can be used for tanning; used e.g. in Madras to tan fishing nets. It produces a gum which can be sold deceitfully as gum arabic. Host of the lac insect.

Its uses include environmental management, forage, medicine and wood. In India and Pakistan, the tree is used to produce timber. Wood from Albizia lebbeck has a density of 0.55-0.66 g/cm3 or higher.

Even where it is not native, some indigenous herbivores are liable to utilize lebbeck as a food resource. For example, the greater rhea (Rhea americana) has been observed feeding on it in the cerrado of Brazil.

Folk Medicine
According to Hartwell (1967–1971), the tree is used in folk remedies for abdominal tumors, in bolmes, enemas, ghees or powders. Reported to be astringent, pectoral, rejuvenant, and tonic, the siris tree is a folk remedy for boils, cough, eye ailments, flu, and lung ailments. The seed oil is used for leprosy, the powdered seed to scrofulous swellings. Indians use the flowers for spermatorrhea.

As per Ayurveda:
The plant is katu, sheela (sheelaveerya), beneficial in poisoning, derangedvata, scabies, dyscrasia, leprosy, pruritus and other skin diseases. Said to strengthen gums ,applied externally as plaster in leprous ulcers.

Parts used : seeds, leaves, bark

Therapeutic uses: seeds and bark are astringent, tonic, leaves are remedy for night blindness,

The root is used in hemicrania.-
The bark is bitter; cooling, alexiteric, anthelmintic; cures” vata “, diseases of the blood, leucoderma, itching, skin diseases, piles, excessive perspiration, inflammation, erysepelas, bronchitis; good in rat-bite.-

The flowers are given for asthma,

The root is astringent and prescribed for ophthalmia.-

The bark is anthelmintic; relieves toothache, strengthens the gums and the teeth; used in leprosy, deafness, boils, scabies, syphilis, paralysis, weakness.-

The leaves are useful in ophthalmia The leaves are good in night; blindness.-

The flowers are aphrodisiac, emollient, maturant: their smell is useful in hemicrania. The flowers are used as a cooling medicine, and also externally applied in boils, eruptions and swellings

The seeds are aphrodisiac, tonic to the brain; used for gonorrhoea, and tuberculous glands; the oil is applied topically in leucoderma.

The bark and seeds are astringent, given in piles, diarrhoea, etc.

The bark is applied to injuries to the eye..

The seeds form part of an anjan used for ophthalmic diseases.The oil extracted from them is ,considered useful in leprosy.

The powder of root- bark is used to strengthen the gums when they are spongy and ulcerative.

The seeds are considered astringent used in diarrhea, dysentery, piles. The flowers are emollient and applied to boils and carbuncles

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/Albizia_lebbeck

http://www.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#sariba
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Albizia_lebbek.html

Abelmoschus Moschatus (Hibiscus Abelmoschus)

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Botanical Name : Abelmoschus Moschatus
Family Name : Malvaceae
Order: Malvales
Genus: Abelmoschus
Species: A. moschatus
Kingdom: Plantae
Part Used : Seeds, Seeds Oil

Common Name : Ambrette Seeds, Hibiscus Abelmoschus, Musk Mallow, Musk Okra, Ornamental Okra, Annual Hibiscus, Yorka Okra, Galu Gasturi, Bamia Moschata,Tropical jewel hibiscus,Rose mallow seeds,Musk seeds,Muskdana,
synonyms. : Hibiscus abelmoschus L.
Habitat : Native in india,Now cultivated in many places. It grows on the open places in Nepal at elevations of 600 – 1100 metres. Flat areas, valleys, stream sides and scrub slopes in western and southern China

Description:Abelmoschus Moschatus is an aromatic and medicinal plant. The seeds have a sweet, flowery, heavy fragrance similar to that of musk. Despite its tropical origin the plant is frost hardy.

You may click to see the picture of Abelmoschus Moschatus

Abelmoschus Moschatus is a soft, herbaceous trailing plant to 2 metres in diameter with soft hairy stems. It has an underground tuber and dies back to this tuber in the dry season, emerging again with the first substantial rains of the wet season. It is a relative of the edible okra and tubers and foliage formed a source of food for aborigines.

Cultivation:
Easily grown in a rich well-drained soil in a sunny position. Tolerates a pH in the range 6 to 7.8. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to about -5°c and can be grown outdoors in the milder areas of the country. The plant grows as a shrub in frost-free climates but is usually cut back to the ground in British winters. So long as these winters are not too cold, however, it can usually be grown as a herbaceous perennial with new shoots being produced freely from the root-stock. These flower in the summer. It is probably wise to apply a good mulch to the roots in the autumn. It is best to cut back the stems to about 15cm long in the spring even if they have not been killed back by the frost. This will ensure an abundance of new growth and plenty of flowers in the summer. The musk mallow is widely cultivated in tropical climates for its many uses. There is at least one named form, selected for its ornamental value. ‘Mischief’ is somewhat smaller than the species, reaching a height of 50cm.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April in a greenhouse. The seed germinates best at a temperature around 24 – 24°c. When large enough to handle, prick out the seedlings into individual pots of rich soil and plant them out after the last expected frosts. The seed can also be sown in situ in late April in areas with warm summers. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July in a frame.

Edible Uses:
Young leaves and shoots – cooked in soups. Used as a vegetable. The leaves are also used to clarify sugar. Unripe seedpods – cooked as a vegetable in much the same way as okra (A. esculentus). Seed – cooked. It is fried or roasted and has a flavour similar to sesame seeds. The seed is also used as a flavouring for liqueurs or to scent coffee. An essential oil is obtained from the plant and is used to flavour baked goods, ice cream, sweets and soft drinks. Root. No more details are given, though the root is likely to have a bland flavour and a fibrous texture.

Uses (General & Midicinal) : Ambrette seeds come from a tropical hibiscus. The seeds contain an oil with a fatty-musky, slightly ambery odour. Its most important odoriferous components are the macrocyclic musks 5(Z)-tetradecen-14-olide and 7(Z)-hexadecen-16-olide, also called ambrettolide . The oil was formerly highly appreciated in perfumery, but has now been largely replaced by synthetic musks. The seeds have a strong aroma of musk, and have been known as grani moschi. Relaxing and stimulating powers are attributed to them; and some cases, apparently authentic, have been recorded, in which they seemed to have a decided influence in casting out the poison of snakes. Possibly a further and more careful investigation of their properties, would show them to be an agreeable and useful article in cases where mild nervous prostration required a diffusible stimulant and relaxant. At present, they seem to be used for nothing beyond giving flavor to the coffee of the Arabs.Seeds are used as an inhalation in hoarseness and dryness of throat.Leaves and roots are used in gonorrhoea and venereal diseases.

Abelmoschus moschatus seeds…..Internally as a digestive and breath-freshener . Externally for cramps, poor circulation, and aching joints, and in aromatherapy for anxiety and depression (oil)

Musk mallow oil was once used as a substitute for animal musk; however this use is now mostly discontinued as it can cause photosensitivity.

Different parts of the plant have uses in traditional and complementary medicine, not all of which have been scientifically proven. It is used externally to relieve spasms of the digestive tract, cramp, poor circulation and aching joints. It is also considered an insecticide and an aphrodisiac.

In industry the root mucilage provides sizing for paper; tobacco is sometimes flavoured with the flowers.
An emulsion made from the seed is antispasmodic and is especially effective in the digestive system. The seeds are also chewed as a nervine, stomachic and to sweeten the breath. They are also said to be aphrodisiac. The seeds are valued medicinally for their diuretic, demulcent and stomachic properties. They are also said to be stimulant, antiseptic, cooling, tonic, carminative and aphrodisiac. A paste of the bark is applied to cuts, wounds and sprains. The essential oil is used in aromatherapy for the treatment of depression and anxiety. It is also applied externally to treat cramp, poor circulation and aching joints.

Other Uses:
Essential; Fibre; Insecticide; Oil; Size.

An essential oil is obtained from the plant. It is used as a food flavouring and in perfumery as a musk substitute. However, it has been known to cause photosensitivity so this use has been largely discontinued. An oil obtained from the seed contains 18.9% linoleic acid. The oil is f high econmic value. Total yields of oil are not given. The seeds are used as an insecticide. Another report says that extracts of the fruits and upper parts of the plant show insecticidal activity. A fibre is obtained from the stem bark. It is used to make ropes. A mucilage obtained from the roots is used as a size for paper.

Resources:
http://www.motherherbs.com/abelmoschus-moschatus.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelmoschus_moschatus
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-herbs/abelmoschus-oschatus.html
http://toptropicals.com/pics/garden/m1/Podarki3/Abelmoschus_L1MKh.jpg

http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Abelmoschus+moschatus