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The Goodness of Guava

Green apple guavas are less rich in pigment an...
Green apple guavas are less rich in pigment antioxidants (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Guavas are also low in fat and calories
Guavas are said to be one of the best fruits available. They are not only a rich source of vitamin C (five times more than an orange) they also contain high amounts of calcium that is unusual in a fruit.

It is also a valuable source of vitamin A and B, nicotinic acid, phosphorous, potassium, iron, folate and is high in fibre. Guavas are also low in fat and calories, with only about 25 calories per fruit. Its juice is an amazing relief for inflammation and a great help for weight loss.

Source: The Times Of India

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Snake Groud

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Botanical Name : Trichosanthes cucumerina
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus:     Trichosanthes
Species: T. cucumerina
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Eudicots
Order:     Cucurbitales

Common names:Snake gourd, serpent gourd, chichinda, and padwal
Snake Groud (Trichosanthes cucumerina) is a tropical or subtropical vine, raised for its strikingly long fruit, used as a vegetable and for medicine. Other names include (Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina ), serpent gourd, chichinga, and padwal. It is known as potlakaaya in Telugu, pudalankaai in Tamil, paduvalakaayi in Kannada and padavalanga in Malayalam. In Bengali It is called as chi chinga

Habitat :Snake gourd is found in the wild across much of South and Southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), and southern China (Guangxi and Yunnan). It is also regarded as native in northern Australia. and naturalized in Florida,[6] parts of Africa and on various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

 

The narrow, soft-skinned fruit can reach 150 cm long. Its soft, bland, somewhat mucilaginous flesh is similar to that of the luffa and the calabash. It is most popular in the cuisine of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The shoots, tendrils, and leaves are also eaten as greens.

click to see. the pictures

Description
: This vegetable produces long and curved fruits that appear like snakes hanging on the supports or ground. This subtropical plant grows very fast in warm climates and produces lots of fruits for a long time. It is best to grow this vine plant along the supports for obtaining young straight fuits. Young fruits are harvested and cooked like Luffa. Seed has hard coat and may take a long time to germinate. There are several varieties with different fruit skin and length grown in Asia. An interesting plant for home garden and fresh market.
click & see
Propagation:
Snake Gourd has white male and female flowers and cylindrical , slender, tapering fruit(as shown in the picture)It turns orange when ripe and perple red at maturity. It needs insects to carry out the pollinating process for setting fruits. If the insects are not available in your area, the pollinating process can be done manually, by picking up male flowers and transferring pollens to femal flowers (face-to-face touching the center part of flowers). This process should be carried out when flowering is active during the daytime.

Medicinal Uses: The mineral and vitamin contents of the herb are calcium,phosphorous,iron,substential amount of carotene,little thiamine,riboflavin and niacin. Its calorific value is 18.
The plant is cardiac tonic.It counteracts feverishness. It is useful in restoring the disordered process of nutrition.It creats a coolingt effect on the body.It is low caloried food.Diabetics can safely reduce their weight while getting enough nutrition. It leaves are used in indigenous medicine in India.Its root serves as purgative and tonic where as its juice is strong purgative.

Indigestion: It aids to indigestion.Its leaves are useful as an emetic and purgative in children suffering from constipation.A teaspoonful of fresh juice can be given early morning to ailing children.The immature fruit can be eaten as fresh vegetable.

Heart disoders: The juice of fresh leaves is very useful in heart disorders like palpitations and pain in heart due to physical exertion.It should be taken thrice daily.

Jaundice: Infusion of the leaves of the herb is beneficial in the treatment of jaundice.It can be taken with decoction of coriander seeds thrice daily.

Fevers: A decoction of snake groud is useful in bilious fever. It is thirst reliever and laxative.Its efficiency increases if it is given with Chiratta and honey.In obstinate cases of fevers, a combined fution of this plant and coriander is more beneficial.A decoction of the leaves with the addition of coriander is also useful in bilious fever.

Other uses: The juice extracted from its leaves is used to induce vomiting.The latter is also applied locally as a liniment in case of liver congestion.In remitted fevers, it is applied over the whole body . The leaf juice is beneficial in the treatment of complete or partial baldness.

Precautions: The ripe fruit and its seeds are laxative but may cause indigestion. It should not be consumed as food.

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.evergreenseeds.com/sngosgo.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_gourd

Mirascles of bHerbs

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Grape

Botanical Name:: Vitis vinifera (LINN.)
Family:
N.O. Vitaceae

Other Species :
Vitis vinifera, the European winemaking grapevine. Native to southern, western and central parts of Europe.
Vitis labrusca, the North American table and grape juice grapevines, sometimes used for wine. Native to the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
Vitis riparia, a wild vine of North America, sometimes used for winemaking and for jam. Native to the entire Eastern U.S. and north to Quebec.
Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadines, used for jams and wine. Native to the Southeastern U.S. from Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico.
Vitis vulpina Frost grape. Native to the Midwest east to the coast up through New York.
Vitis cognitiae Ornamental Grape from East Asia, grown for its crimson autumn foliage.
There are many varieties of grapevines; most are cultivars of V. vinifera.


Synonym:
Grape Vine.
Parts Used: Fruit, leaves, juice.
Habitat: Asia, Central and Southern Europe, Greece, California, Australia, and Africa.


Description:

A grape is the non-climacteric fruit that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the family Vitaceae. Grapes grow in clusters of 6 to 300, and can be black, blue, golden, green, purple, red, pink, brown, peach or white. They can be eaten raw or used for making jam, grape juice, jelly, wine and grape seed oil. Cultivation of grapevines occurs in vineyards, and is called viticulture. One who studies and practises growing grapes for wine is called a viticulturist.

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Raisins are the dried fruit of the grapevine, and the name actually comes from the French word for “grape.” Wild grapevines are often considered a nuisance weed, as they cover other plants with their usually rather aggressive growth.

Since the early 21st century in the United States, other such industrialized countries, and the global functional food industry, there has been a rapidly growing recognition of red grapes for their consumer product popularity, nutrient content and antioxidant qualities, giving them commercial status as a “superfruit”.

The leaves of the grape vine itself are considered edible and are used in the production of dolmades.

Grapevines are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species – see list of Lepidoptera which feed on grapevines.

The name vine is derived from viere (to twist), and has reference to the twining habits of the plant which is a very ancient one; in the Scriptures the vine is frequently mentioned from the time of Noah onward. Wine is recorded as an almost universal drink throughout the world from very early times. The vine is a very longlived plant. Pliny speaks of one 600 years old, and some existent in Burgundy are said to be 400 and over.
The stem of old vines attains a considerable size in warm climates, planks 15 inches across may be cut therefrom, forming a very durable timber.

Artificial heat for forcing the grapes was not used till the early part of last century and the first accounts of vineries enclosed by glass date from the middle of that period.

The vine is propagated by seeds, layers, cuttings and grafting and succeeds in almost any gravelly soil; that of a volcanic nature produces the finest wines. It is a climbing shrub with simple, lobed, cut or toothed leaves (seldom compound) with thyrsoid racemes of greenish flowers, the fruit consisting of watery or fleshy pulp, stones and skin, two-celled, four-seeded.

ORIGIN, HISTORY OF CULTIVATION:
Vitis vinifera is thought to be native to the area near the Caspian sea, in southwestern Asia, the same region where apple, cherry, pear, and many other fruits are native. Seeds of grapes were found in excavated dwellings of the Bronze-age in south-central Europe (3500-1000 BC), indicating early movement beyond its native range. Egyptian hieroglyphics detail the culture of grapes and wine making in 2440 BC. The Phoenicians carried wine cultivars to Greece, Rome, and southern France before 600 BC, and Romans spread the grape throughout Europe. Grapes moved to the far east via traders from Persia and India. Grapes came to the new world with early settlement on the east coast, but quickly died out or did poorly. This was due to poor cold hardiness, insect, and disease resistance of Vinifera types. Spanish missionaries brought Vinifera grapes to California in the 1700s and found that they grew very well there. Today, US wine production is dominated by California, although Washington, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan also have significant commercial wine industries based on Vinifera grapes or French-American hybrids.
Vitis labrusca is found growing wild from Maine to the South Carolina Piedmont, west to Tennessee. Today, most Concord grapes are grown in New York and surrounding states.
Vitis rotundifolia is native from Virginia south through central Florida, and west to eastern Texas. This species has been enjoyed by southerners since antebellum times, and has received little attention outside of the southeast. Several thousand acres are cultivated in the southeastern states, mostly Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Plant

All Vitis are “lianas” or woody, climbing vines. Tendrils occur opposite leaves at nodes, and automatically begin to coil when they contact another object. Vinifera and American bunch grapes have loose, flaky bark on older wood, but smooth bark on 1-yr-old wood. Muscadine vines have smooth bark on wood of all ages. Leaves vary in shape and size depending on species and cultivar. Muscadine grapes have small (2-3″), round, unlobed leaves with dentate margins. Vinifera and American bunch grapes have large (up to 8-10″ in width) cordate to orbicular leaves, which may be lobed. The depth and shape of the lobes and sinuses (spaces between lobes) varies by cultivar. Leaf margins are dentate.

Flower
Flowers are small (1/8 inch), indiscrete, and green, borne in racemose panicles opposite leaves at the base of current season’s growth. There are 5 each of sepals, petals, and stamens. Ovaries are superior and contain 2 locules each with 2 ovules. The calyptra, or cap is the corolla, in which the petals are fused at the apex; it abscises at the base of the flower and pops off at anthesis. Species in Euvitis may have 100+ flowers per cluster, whereas muscadine grapes have only 10-30. Vinifera and Concord grapes are perfect-flowered and self-fruitful, whereas some muscadine cultivars have only pistillate flowers.

Flowering in grape occurs at the basal nodes of current season’s growth in all species (left). Perfect flowered muscadines have longer stamens, while the pistillate flowers have short, reflexed stamens (right).

Pollination
Most grapes are self-fruitful and do not require pollinizers; however, pistillate muscadines (e.g., ‘Fry’, ‘Higgins’, ‘Jumbo’) must be interplanted with perfect-flowered cultivars for pollination. Pollination is accomplished by wind, and to a lesser extent insects.

Fruit

Grapes are true berries; small (<1 inch), round to oblong, with up to 4 seeds (Figure 16.1). Berries are often glaucous, having a fine layer of wax on the surface. Skin is generally thin, and is the source of the anthocyanin compounds giving rise to red, blue, purple, and black (dark purple) colored grapes. Thinning is not practiced for most types; crop load is controlled through meticulous pruning (see below). However, French-American hybrids may require cluster thinning for development of quality and proper vine vigor.

Constituents: The leaves gathered in June contain a mixture of cane sugar and glucose, tartaric acid, potassium bi-tartrate, quercetine, quercitrin, tannin, amidon, malic acid, gum, inosite, an uncrystallizable fermentable sugar and oxalate of calcium; gathered in the autumn they contain much more quercetine and less trace of quercitrin.

The ripe fruit juice termed ‘must’ contains sugar, gum, malic acid, potassium bi-tartrate and inorganic salts; when fermented this forms the wine of commerce.

The dried ripe fruit commonly called raisins, contain dextrose and potassium acid tartrate.

The seeds contain tannin and a fixed oil.

The juice of the unripe fruit, ‘Verjuice,’ contains malic, citric, tartaric, racemic and tannic acids, potassium bi-tartrate, sulphate of potash and lime.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Grape sugar differs from other sugars chemically. It enters the circulation without any action of the saliva. The warming and fattening action of grape sugar is thus more rapid in increasing strength and repairing waste in fevers but is unsuitable for inflammatory or gouty conditions.

The seeds and leaves are astringent, the leaves being formerly used to stop haemorrhages and bleeding. They are used dried and powdered as a cure for dysentery in cattle.

The sap, termed a tear or lachryma, forms an excellent lotion for weak eyes and specks on the cornea.

Ripe grapes in quantity influence the kidneys producing a free flow of urine and are apt to cause palpitation in excitable and full-blooded people. Dyspeptic subjects should avoid them.

In cases of anaemia and a state of exhaustion the restorative power of grapes is striking, especially when taken in conjunction with a light nourishing diet.

In cases of small-pox grapes have proved useful owing to their bi-tartrate of potash content; they are also said to be of benefit in cases of neuralgia, sleeplessness, etc.

Three to 6 lb. of grapes a day are taken by people undergoing the ‘grape cure,’ sufferers from torpid liver and sluggish biliary functions should take them not quite fully ripe, whilst those who require animal heat to support waste of tissue should eat fully ripe and sweet grapes.

Dried grapes; the raisins of commerce, are largely used in the manufacture of galencials, the seeds being separated and rejected as they give a very bitter taste. Raisins are demulcent, nutritive and slightly laxative.

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.

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/v/vine–09.html

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Sitafal or Sugar -apple

Botanical Name : Annona squamosa
Family: Annonaceae
Genus: Annona
Species: A. squamosa
Order: Magnoliales

Habitat : Native to the tropical Americas and widely grown in India and Pakistan. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean; the species was described from Jamaica.

Description:
It is a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 6–8 meters (20–26 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 5–17 cm (2.0–6.7 in) long and 2–5 centimeters (0.79–2.0 in) broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 1.5–3 cm (0.59–1.2 in) across, with three large petals and three minute ones, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.

The fruit is usually round, slightly pine cone-like, 6–10 cm (2.4–3.9 in) diameter and weighing 100–230 g (3.5–8.1 oz), with a scaly or lumpy skin. There are variations in shape and size. The fruit flesh is sweet, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance. The texture of the flesh that coats the seeds is a bit like the center of a very ripe guava (excluding the seeds). It is slightly grainy, a bit slippery, very sweet and very soft. The seeds are scattered through the fruit flesh; the seed coats are blackish-brown, 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) long, and hard and shiny.

There are also new varieties being developed in Taiwan. There is a pineapple sugar-apple, which is similar in sweetness but has a very different taste. Like the name suggests, it tastes like pineapple. The arrangement of seeds is in spaced rows, with the fruit’s flesh filling most of the fruit and making grooves for the seeds, instead of the flesh only occurring around the seeds.

Sitafal is a very common fruit in Indian subcontinent. It is used in many flavouring products but, so far, the plant is known to have various curative properties………
Annona squamosa belongs to family Annonaceae and it is known as Sugar apple or Custard apple in English. A shrub or small tree up to 6 m high, Custard apple is edible fruit with white pulp that contains many black shiny seeds in it. It is commonly found in deciduous forests and also cultivated in many parts of India. Pulp of the fruit is eaten fresh or converted into juice or shake. Fruits are normally eaten fresh.

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In some regions of the world, the sugar-apple is also known as custard-apple, a different plant in the same genus.

Annona squamosa (Sugar-apple, Sweetsop or Custard Apple) is a species of Annona native to the tropical Americas. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean; the species was described from Jamaica.

It is a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 6-8 m tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 5-17 cm long and 2-5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-4, each flower 1.5-3 cm across, with six petals, yellow-green spotted purple at the base.

The fruit is usually round or oval, slightly pine cone-like, 6-10 cm diameter and weighing 100-230 g, with a scaly or lumpy skin. The fruit flesh is edible, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The seeds are scattered through the fruit flesh; they are blackish-brown, 12-18 mm long, and hard and shiny.

Nomenclature
Different cultures have many names for the species. In English it is most widely known as Sugar-apple or Sweetsop, also sometimes custard-apple (especially in India) though technically incorrectly, as this name usually refers to another closely related species. In Latin America regional names include anón, anón de azucar, anona blanca, fruta do conde, cachiman, and many others. In India it is known as aarticum, “shareefa”, sitaphal or seethaphal (literally meaning “sita fruit” and you can use your imagination to figure out why), and in Indonesia, srimatikiya. The Taiwanese call it Sakya (Traditional Chinese: ??; Pinyin: shìjia; Taiwanese: suck-khia, suck-kia) because one cultivar resembles the top part of Sakyamuni’s  head; it is also known as Buddha Head in Taiwan. Its name in Burmese is aajaa thee. In the Philippines it is called atis. In Thailand it is called Noi-Na  which is also the common name for a hand-grenade because of its explosive taste. In Vietnam, it is called trái mãng c?u ta or na. In Brazil, it is called fruta do conde or pinha.

Cultivation and uses
Tribal farmers in Patalkot prepare a wonderful pesticide from the leaves of Sweet Apple. For this, they crush 500gm leaves of the plant and mix it with cow urine and Tobacco powder and boil it with 10 liter water for 45 mins. The decoction obtained is the concentrated pesticide. 50 ml of this concentrate solution is thus mixed with 15 ltrs of water and sprayed on the insect infested soil.

Like most species of Annona, it requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 ° to 41 °C, and mean winter temperatures above 15 °C. It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 °C and killed by temperatures of a few degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring rainfall above 700 mm, and not producing fruit well during droughts.

In the Philippines, the fruit is commonly eaten by the Philippine Fruit Bat (Kabag or Kabog) which then spreads the seeds from island to island.

In the Philippines there is a company that produces Sugar apple wine.

It is a host plant for larvae of the butterfly Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)

It is quite a prolific bearer and will produce fruit in as little as two to three years. A tree five years old may have produce as much as 50 fruit. Poor fruit production has been reported in Florida because there are few natural pollinators (honeybees have a difficult time penetrating the tightly closed female flowers); however hand pollination with a natural fiber brush is effective in increasing yield.

Medicinal uses:
It is known for various medicinal properties too.

The roots of this plant are purgative in nature. Bark is a powerful astringent. Fruits are considered as a good tonic in Ayurveda. It enriches blood and it is used as expectorant. It is known to increases muscular strength. Seeds are cooling and it lessens burning sensation too. It relieves vomiting sensations. Patalkot herbal healers dry the unripe fruit and they prepare powder of it. This powder is mixed with gram-flour to kill intestinal worms. The seed powder is applied on head to kill lice in hair. Tribal ladies apply the seed powder on their scalp for hairwash. Leaves are known to heal ulcers and wounds. Fresh trodden leaves are inhaled to conquer hysteria. Decoction obtained from the leaves is said to be effective in cases of dysentery or severe diarrhea. The bark decoction is also good to stop diarrhea. According to Bhumkas (Local healers) in Patalkot, 500 gm leaves are boiled in water for 5 mins and if taken bath, it cures rheumatoid arthritis. Leaves are good to cure diabetes. Bhagats (Local healers) in Dang district of Gujarat state in India prescribe Sitafal leaves for the arthritis problems. Bark of the plant is crushed and made into powder form. One teaspoon of this powder is thus very effective in stomach problems. There are many other medicinal uses of this plant. Healers claim to cure almost 15 common ailments by fixing Sitafal in their formulations.

Sugar-apple fruit is high in calories and is a good source of iron. It is the most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropics and warmer subtropics; it was introduced to southern Asia before 1590. It is naturalized north to southern Florida in the United States and south to Bahia in Brazil, and is an invasive species in some areas.

It is used by some societies in India to prepare a hair tonic. The seeds are also ground and applied to rid the hair of lice.

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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.

Rosources:
http://medicinal-plants.suite101.com/article.cfm/sitafal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar-apple

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Pumpkin

Botanical Name: Pumpkin
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus : Cucurbita

Habitat: Pumpkin is believed to have originated in Mexico and South America.Now it is cultivated through out the world.
Description:
Pumpkin plants are short lived annual or perennial vines with branching tendrils and broad lobed leaves. The plant produces large yellow or orange flowers and a pepo fruit (berry with a thick rind) known as a pumpkin. The fruit can range greatly in size, from miniature pumpkins weighing a few ounces to giant pumpkins which can reach over 75 lbs (34 kg). The skin of the pumpkin is usually ribbed and is usually orange on color although some varieties are green, grey, yellow or red in color. Pumpkin plants are usually grown as annuals, surviving one growing season and the vines are capable of reaching 15 m (50 ft) in length if vines are allowed to root.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
A pumpkin is a squash fruit, usually orange in color when ripe (although there are also white, red, and gray varieties). Pumpkins grow as a gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (family Cucurbitaceae). Cultivated in North America, continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India and some other countries, Cucurbita species include Curcurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita mixta, and Cucurbita moschata — all plants native to the Western hemisphere. The pumpkin varies greatly in form, being sometimes nearly globular, but more generally oblong or ovoid in shape. The rind is smooth and its color depends on the particular species (very dark-green, very pale-green, & orange-yellow are common). The larger kinds acquire a weight of 40 to 80 lb (18 to 36 kg) but smaller varieties are in vogue for garden culture. Pumpkins are a popular food, with their insides commonly eaten cooked and served in dishes such as pumpkin pie; the seeds can be roasted as a snack. Pumpkins are traditionally used to carve Jack-o’-lanterns for use in Halloween celebrations.

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Botanically it is a fruit, referring to a plant part which grows from a flower; however, it is widely regarded as a vegetable in culinary terms, referring to how it is eaten.

Butternut squash is called “butternut pumpkin” in Australia, and “neck pumpkin” in parts of Pennsylvania, where it is commonly regarded as a pumpkin and used in similar ways to other pumpkin.

Pumpkins have historically been pollinated by the native squash bee Peponapis pruinosa, but this bee has declined, probably due to pesticide sensitivity, and today most commercial plantings are pollinated by honeybees. One hive per acre (4,000 m² per hive) is recommended by the United States of America (US) Department of Agriculture. Gardeners with a shortage of bees, however, often have to hand pollinate.

Inadequately pollinated pumpkins usually start growing but abort before full development. Often there is an opportunistic fungus that the gardener blames for the abortion, but the solution to this problem tends to be better pollination rather than fungicide.

Pumpkins have male and female flowers, the latter distinguished by the small ovary at the base of the petals. The bright, colorful flowers are short-lived and may open for as little as one day.

English: A Pumpkin flower attached to the vine.
English: A Pumpkin flower attached to the vine. (Photo credit: WikiImmature Female Pumpkin FloAlthough in the rest of the world pumpkins are grown for eating, in the US they are grown more for decoration than for food (particularly around Haloween). Popular contests continually lead growers to vie for the world record for the largest pumpkin ever grown. Growers have many techniques, often secretive, including hand pollination, removal from the vines of all but one pumpkin, and injection of fertilizer or even milk directly into the vines with a hypodermic needle

Pumpkin seeds
The hulled or semi-hulled seeds of pumpkins can be roasted and eaten as a snack, similar to the sunflower seed. Pumpkin seeds can be prepared for eating by first separating them from the orange pumpkin flesh, then coating them in a generally salty sauce (Worcestershire sauce, for example), after which the seeds are distributed upon a baking sheet, and then cooked in an oven at a relatively low temperature for a long period of time.

Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a good source of iron, zinc, essential fatty acids, potassium, and magnesium. Pumpkin seeds may also promote prostate health since components in pumpkin seed oil appears to interrupt the triggering of prostate cell multiplication by testosterone and DHT.Removing the white hull of the pumpkin seed reveals an edible, green-colored seed inside that is commonly referred to as a pepita in North and South America.

Austria is a well-known producer of pumpkin seed oil.

Cooking
When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked, or roasted, or made into various kinds of pie, a traditional staple of American Thanksgiving, alone or mixed with other fruit; while small and green it may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable marrow. It can also be eaten mashed or incorporated into soup. If you pour milk into a pumpkin and bake it you can make a pudding. In the Middle East pumpkin is used for sweet dishes, a well known sweet delicacy is called Halawa Yaqtin. In South Asian countries such as India pumpkin is cooked with butter, sugar and spices called Kadu ka Halwa.

Pumpkin Flower:

Apart from their wonderful taste pumpkin flower is a good source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Consuming 33 gram of pumpkin flowers offers 9.2 mg of Vitamin C, 19 µg of Vitamin B9, 32 µg of Vitamin A,0.23 mg of Iron,16 mg of Phosphorus,0.025 mg of Vitamin B2, 8 mg of Magnesium,0.2 mg of Selenium and 0.228 mg of Vitamin B3

Pumpkin trivia
The pumpkin is from the Squash (Marrow) family and is related to the zucchini (courgette).
The largest pumpkin on record weighed 1502 lbs (666 kg). The largest pumpkins are really squash, Cucurbita maxima. They were culminated from the hubbard squash genotype by enthusiast farmers through intermittent effort since the mid 1800s. As such germplasm is commercially provocative, a U.S. legal right was granted for the rounder phenotypes, levying them as constituting a variety, with the appellation “Atlantic Giant.” Processually this phenotype graduated back into the public domain, except now it had the name Atlantic Giant on its record (see USDA PVP # 8500204).
Pumpkins are orange because they contain massive amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta-carotene. These nutrients turn to vitamin A in the body.

Activities involving pumpkins:

Halloween

A pumpkin carved into a Jack-o’-lantern for Halloween.
Painted mini pumpkins on display in Ottawa, Canada.Using pumpkins as lanterns at Halloween is based on an ancient Celtic custom brought to America by Irish immigrants. All Hallows Eve on 31 October marked the end of the old Celtic calendar year, and on that night hollowed-out turnips, beets and rutabagas with candles inside them were placed on windowsills and porches to welcome home the spirits of deceased ancestors and ward off evil spirits and a restless soul called “Stingy Jack,” hence the name “Jack-o-lantern”.

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A pumpkin carved into a Jack-o’-lantern for Halloween.

Chucking
Pumpkin chucking is a competitive activity in which teams build various mechanical devices designed to throw a pumpkin as far as possible. Catapults, trebuchets, ballistas and air cannons are the most common mechanisms. Some pumpkin chuckers grow special varieties of pumpkin, bred and grown under special conditions intended to improve the pumpkin’s chances of surviving being thrown.

Pumpkin festivals
Pumpkin growers often compete to see whose pumpkins are the most massive. Festivals are often dedicated to the pumpkin and these competitions.

Half Moon Bay, California, holds the annual Pumpkin and Arts Festival which includes the World Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Farmers from all over the west compete to determine who can grow the greatest gourd . The winning pumpkin regularly tops the scale at more than 1200 pounds. The Pumpkin Festival draws over 250,000 visitors each year

Morton, Illinois, the self-declared pumpkin capital of the world,, has held a Pumpkin Festival since 1966. The town, where Nestlé’s pumpkin packing plant is located (and where 90% of canned pumpkins eaten in the US are processed), hosts a variety of activities during the Pumpkin Festival, including carnival games and pumpkin-related food. In 2006, 70,000 people attended the festival.

Medicinal Value and Uses:

As per Ayurveda:Pumpkin or white gourd is very good for the heart, destroys the excessive humors of bile and phlegm in the body, very nourishing, semen builder and nourishment to the pregnant woman during their pregnancies and also clears away the constipation during that time.

Pumpkin helps to prevent cancer
Pumpkin as World Healthiest Food

Learn more valuable uses of pumpkin

Click for Pumpkin Seeds and Prostate Health

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.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

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