Categories
Herbs & Plants

Celtis occidentalis

Botanical Name : Celtis occidentalis
Family: Cannabaceae
Genus: Celtis
Species:C. occidentalis
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Rosales

Common Names:Hackberry, Common hackberry, Nettletree, Sugarberry, Beaverwood, Northern hackberry, and American hackberry

Habitat : Celtis occidentalis is native to Eastern N. America – Quebec to Manitoba, North Carolina, Missouri and Oklahoma It grows in dry to moist and rich woods, river banks, rocky barrens etc. Frequently found on limestone soils.

Description:
Celtis occidentalis is a deciduous tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 20 m (65ft) at a fast rate.The bark is light brown or silvery gray, broken on the surface into thick appressed scales and sometimes roughened with excrescenses; pattern is very distinctive.

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The branchlets are slender, light green at first, finally red brown, at length become dark brown tinged with red. The winter buds are axillary, ovate, acute, somewhat flattened, one-fourth of an inch long, light brown. Scales enlarge with the growing shoot, the innermost becoming stipules. No terminal bud is formed. The leaves are alternately arranged on stems, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, more or less falcate, two and a half to four inches (102 mm) long, one to two inches wide, very oblique at the base, serrate, except at the base which is mostly entire, acute. Three-nerved, midrib and primary veins prominent. They come out of the bud conduplicate with slightly involute margins, pale yellow green, downy; when full grown are thin, bright green, rough above, paler green beneath. In autumn they turn to a light yellow. Petioles slender, slightly grooved, hairy. Stipules varying in form, caducous.

It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

The flowers appear in May, soon after the leaves. Polygamo-monœ cious, greenish. Of three kinds—staminate, pistillate, perfect; born on slender drooping pedicels. The calyx is light yellow green, five-lobed, divided nearly to the base; lobes linear, acute, more or less cut at the apex, often tipped with hairs, imbricate in bud.

Corolla: Wanting.
There are five stamens, which are hypogynous; the filaments are white, smooth, slightly flattened and gradually narrowed from base to apex; in the bud incurved, bringing the anthers face to face, as flower opens they abruptly straighten; anthers extrorse, oblong, two-celled; cells opening longitudinally.

Pistil: ovary superior, one-celled; style two-lobed; ovules solitary.
Fruit: Fleshy drupe, oblong, one-half to three-fourths of an inch long, tipped with remnants of style, dark purple. Borne on a slender stem; ripens in September and October. Remains on branches during winter.
Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Firewood, Aggressive surface roots possible, Street tree, Woodland garden. Succeeds in any reasonably good soil, preferring a good fertile well-drained loamy soil. Succeeds on dry gravels and on sandy soils. Tolerates alkaline soils. Established plants are very drought resistant. Wind resistant. Trees transplant easily. Trees prefer hotter summers and more sunlight than are normally experienced in Britain, they often do not fully ripen their wood when growing in this country and they are then very subject to die-back in winter. Plants in the wild are very variable in size, ranging from small shrubs to large trees. They are fast-growing, and can be very long-lived, perhaps to 1000 years. Only to 200 years according to another report. They usually produce good crops of fruit annually. Trees respond well to coppicing, readily sending up suckers after cutting or the top being killed off in a fire. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Special Features: North American native, Naturalizing, Wetlands plant, Attracts butterflies, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[200]. Stored seed is best given 2 – 3 months cold stratification and then sown February/March in a greenhouse. Germination rates are usually good, though the stored seed might take 12 months or more to germinate. The seed can be stored for up to 5 years. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. The leaves of seedlings often have a lot of white patches without chlorophyll, this is normal and older plants produce normal green leaves. Grow the seedlings on in a cold frame for their first winter, and plant them out in the following late spring or early summer. Give them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. Cuttings.

Edible Uses:
Fruit – raw. Very sweet and pleasant tasting, they can be eaten out of hand or can be used for making jellies, preserves etc. The fruit is often produced abundantly in Britain, it is about the size of a blackcurrant, but there is very little flesh surrounding a large seed and it is therefore a very fiddly crop. The fruit is dark orange to purple- or blue-black when fully ripe, usually about 7-11mm in diameter, though occasionally up to 20mm. The flesh is dry and mealy but with a pleasant sweet taste. Seed. No more details. The fruit and seed can be ground up finely together and used as a flavouring. The N. American Indians ate them with parched corn.
Medicinal Uses:
An extract obtained from the wood has been used in the treatment of jaundice. A decoction of the bark has been used in the treatment of sore throats. When combined with powdered shells it has been used to treat VD.

Other Uses:
A dye is obtained from the roots. No more details are given. Fairly wind-tolerant, it can be planted as part of a shelterbelt. Wood – rather soft, weak, coarse-grained, heavy. It weighs 45lb per cubic foot and is sometimes used commercially for cheap furniture, veneer, fencing fuel etc.

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/Celtis_occidentalis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Celtis+occidentalis

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Goitre

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A goitre (or goiter) (Latin struma), also called a bronchocele, is a swelling in the neck (just below Adam’s apple or larynx) due to an enlarged thyroid gland.The swelling of the gland in the neck becomes visible and the gland at times becomes exceedingly large, thereby causing difficulty in respiration and swallowing of foods and drinks.

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Classification
They are classified in different ways:

A “diffuse goitre is a goitre that has spread through all of the thyroid (and is contrasted with a “simple goitre”, “single thyroid nodule” and multinodular goitre“).

“Toxic goitre” refers to goitre with hyperthyroidism. These are derived from inflammation, neoplasm, and some kinds of activating autoimmune disease (Grave’s disease).

“Nontoxic goitre” (associated with normal or low thyroid levels) refers to all other types (such as that caused by lithium or certain other autoimmune diseases).

Causes

The most common cause for goitre in the world is iodine deficiency (E01); this condition is commonly called endemic goitre. It is curable by mass food-supplementation with iodine (in the form of iodide or iodate), and today remains a problem only in the least affluent countries which lack economic resources to fortify foods with iodine as part of public health programs.

Other causes are:
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (E06.3)
Graves-Basedow disease (E05.0)
Juvenile goitre due to congenital hypothyroidism (E03.0)
Neoplasm of the thyroid
Thyroiditis (acute, chronic) (E06)
Side-effects of pharmacological therapy (E03.2)

Occurrence
Iodine is necessary for the synthesis of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine (T3 and T4). In conditions producing endemic goitre, when iodine is not available, these hormones cannot be made. In response to low thyroid hormones, the pituitary gland releases thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). Thyroid stimulating hormone acts to increase synthesis of T3 and T4, but in excess it also causes the thyroid gland to grow in size as a type of compensation.

Goitre is more common among women, but this includes the many types of goitre caused by autoimmune problems, and not only those caused by simple lack of iodine
.

Treatment
Treatment for goitre may not be necessary if the goitre is not caused by disease and is small. Removal of the goitre may be necessary if it causes difficulty with breathing or swallowing. There is now an alternative to surgery in large goiters. Radioiodine therapy with or without the pre-injection of a synthetic thyroid stimulating hormone, TSH, can relieve obstruction and reduce the size of the goiter by 30-65%. But removal of certain types of diffuse goitre mentioned above will result in removing the entire thyroid as well. The complete removal of the thyroid gland destroys the body’s ability to produce thyroid hormone. In this case, supplements of oral thyroid hormone are necessary to avoid harm from hypothyroidism.

In ayurveda this is called gladanda.According to ayurveda this is caused by the aggravation of Kapha and diminution of pitta.

Kanchanara is the drug of choice for the treatment of this condition. The bark of this tree is given to the patient in the form or a decoction. It is administered in a dose of 30ml,twice daily on an empty stomach. Kanchanara Guggulu, which contains this drug as an important ingredient, is popularly used for the treatment of this disease. It is given in a dose of four tablets three times a day followed by milk or warm water.

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Healing Options

Ayurvedic Suppliments: 1. Kanchanar Guggulu 2. Arogyavardhini Bati

Diet Old rice, barley, moong dal, patola, drumstick, cucumber, sugarcane, juice, milk and milk products are useful in this conditions. Sour and heavy articles of food are contra-indicted.

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Lifestyle: Exercise of the neck is useful in this condition

History and future
Goitre was previously common in many areas that were deficient in iodine in the soil. For example, in the English Midlands, the condition was known as Derbyshire Neck. In the United States, goiter was found in the Great Lakes, Midwest, and Intermountain regions. The condition now is practically absent in affluent nations, where table salt is supplemented with iodine. However, it is still prevalent in India, Central Asia and Central Africa.

Some health workers fear that a resurgence of goiter might occur because of the trend to use rock salt and/or sea salt, which has not been fortified with iodine.

New research indicates that there may in fact be a tendency to inherit an increased vulnerability to goitre.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.

Help taken from:/en.wikipedia.org and Allayurveda.com

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