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Herbs & Plants

Tinospora sagittata

 

Botanical Name : Tinospora sagittata
Family :Menispermaceae
Genus: Tinospora
Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Plants
Division: Vascular plants
Class:Dicotyledonous flowering plants
Order: Ranunculales

Synonyms:
*Tinospora szechuanensis SY Hu
*Tinospora imbricata SY Hu
*Tinospora capillipes Gagnep.
*Limacia sagittata Olive.

Description:
Tinospora sagittata is an evergreen Perennial Climber growing to 20 m (65ft 7in). It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from Oct to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

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It is a herbaceous vines. Roots with small and yellow tuberous swelling. Stems slender, striate, often puberulent. Petiole 2.5-6 cm, puberulent or subglabrous, striate; leaf blade lanceolate-sagittate or sometimes lanceolate-hastate, rarely ovate or elliptic-sagittate, 7-15(-22) × 2-7.5 cm, papery to thinly leathery, usually abaxially puberulent on veins, sometimes adaxially or both surfaces glabrous, base often with deep sinus, basal lobes rounded, obtuse or mucronate, often extending backward, sometimes incurved into 2 folded lobes, rarely extending outside, apex acuminate, sometimes caudate, palmately 5-veined, reticulation prominent or not abaxially. Inflorescences axillary, often a few or many flowers fascicled, cymes, sometimes pseudopanicles, 2-10(-15) cm or sometimes longer; peduncles and pedicels filamentous; bracteoles 2, closely annexed with sepals. Male flowers: sepals 6, sometimes more, often unequal, outermost whorl minute, often ovate or lanceolate, 1-2 mm, inner whorl conspicuously larger, elliptic to broadly elliptic, obovate to broadly obovate, or narrowly lanceolate to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, to 5 mm; petals 6, lobe subrounded or broadly obovate, rarely rhomboidal, often with claw, basal margin often reflexed, 1.4-2 mm. Female flowers: sepals similar to male; petals cuneate, ca. 0.4 mm; staminodes 6, ?oblong, ca. 0.4 mm; carpels 3, subglabrous. Drupes semiglobose, 6-8 mm wide; endocarp 5-8 × 5-8 mm, abaxially rounded or obscurely ridged, smooth or sparsely weakly papillose, adaxial aperture large, broadly elliptic; condyle deeply intrusive.

Cultivation & propagation: The plant grows well in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil. It is propagated through seeds.

Medicinal Uses:
The roots are anodyne, antiphlogistic, depurative and febrifuge. A decoction is used internally, or the mashed root is used as a poultice, in the treatment of laryngitis, dysentery, boils and abscesses, poisonous snakebites

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://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fsv.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTinospora_sagittata
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200008455
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tinospora+sagittata

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Gentiana puberulenta

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Botanical Name : Gentiana puberulenta
Family: Gentianaceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Sub Class: Asteridae
Order: Gentianales
Genus: Gentiana
Species : Gentiana puberulenta Pringle – downy gentian

Common Names : Downy gentian

Habitat : Gentiana puberulenta is native to Central N. America – Manitoba to Ontario, south to Kansas and Arkansas. It grows on the prairies and other grassy places.

Description:
Gentiana puberulenta is a perennial flowering plant, growing to 0.4 m (1ft 4in).
It is hardy to zone (UK) 6. It is in flower from Aug to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bumblebees, butterflies.
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Leaves and stems:
Leaves are simple and opposite, lance-shaped to lance-oblong, ¾ to 2¾ inches long and ¼ to ¾ inch wide, stalkless and toothless, with glossy surfaces and fine, short hairs along the midrib and/or edges, but only towards the base. Leaf pairs are at right angles to the pair above and below. Stems are erect to ascending, rarely branched, typically tinged reddish and are covered in minute, soft hairs, often in faint lines.

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Flower:
Clusters of 1 to 9 flowers at the top of the stem and in the upper leaf axils. Flowers in the terminal cluster are stalkless and those in the axils are short stalked. Flowers are bright blue to deep blue-violet, 1½ to 2¼ inches across when fully open, upright, bell-like with 5 widely spreading, sharply pointed, oval to triangular lobes. Between the lobes is connective, pleat-like tissue, ragged on the outer edge and sometimes lighter colored. Inside the tube, the base of the petals is white with dark blue stripes or streaks; the outer surface of the petals is darker, almost purplish black. The column of white, creamy-tipped stamens in the center often become spreading with age. The calyx is short tubular with four narrow, leafy bracts widely spreading below the flower.

Cultivation:
In general, gentians require a moist well-drained soil in a sheltered position, a certain minimum of atmospheric humidity, high light intensity but a site where temperatures are not too high. They are therefore more difficult to grow in areas with hot summers and in such a region they appreciate some protection from the strongest sunlight. Most species will grow well in the rock garden. This species requires a fairly dry site with good drainage. Plants are intolerant of root disturbance. A moisture loving plant, preferring to grow with full exposure to the sun but with plenty of underground moisture in the summer, it grows better in the north and west of Britain. This species is closely related to G. affinis.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame. It can also be sown in late winter or early spring but the seed germinates best if given a period of cold stratification and quickly loses viability when stored, with older seed germinating slowly and erratically. It is advantageous to keep the seed at about 10°c for a few days after sowing, to enable the seed to imbibe moisture. Following this with a period of at least 5 – 6 weeks with temperatures falling to between 0 and -5°c will usually produce reasonable germination. It is best to use clay pots, since plastic ones do not drain so freely and the moister conditions encourage the growth of moss, which will prevent germination of the seed. The seed should be surface-sown, or only covered with a very light dressing of compost. The seed requires dark for germination, so the pots should be covered with something like newspaper or be kept in the dark. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. The seedlings grow on very slowly, taking 2 – 7 years to reach flowering size. When the plants are of sufficient size, place them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in March. Most members of this genus have either a single tap-root, or a compact root system united in a single root head, and are thus unsuitable for division. Cuttings of basal shoots in late spring.

Medicinal Uses:
The root is said to be an antidote to snakebites. This N. American species has medicinal properties practically identical with the European gentians. The following notes are based on the general uses of G. lutea which is the most commonly used species in the West. Gentian root has a long history of use as a herbal bitter in the treatment of digestive disorders and is an ingredient of many proprietary medicines. It contains some of the most bitter compounds known and is used as a scientific basis for measuring bitterness. It is especially useful in states of exhaustion from chronic disease and in all cases of debility, weakness of the digestive system and lack of appetite. It is one of the best strengtheners of the human system, stimulating the liver, gall bladder and digestive system, and is an excellent tonic to combine with a purgative in order to prevent its debilitating effects. The root is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, bitter tonic, cholagogue, emmenagogue, febrifuge, refrigerant, stomachic. It is taken internally in the treatment of liver complaints, indigestion, gastric infections and anorexia . It should not be prescribed for patients with gastric or duodenal ulcers. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. It is quite likely that the roots of plants that have not flowered are the richest in medicinal properties.

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.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Gentiana+puberulenta
http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer/species.cfm?id=14245
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/downy-gentian

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Viola canadensis

Botanical Name : Viola canadensis
Family:  Violaceae – Violet family
Genus : Viola L. – violet
Species :Viola canadensis L. – Canadian white violet
Kingdom : Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision:  Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division : Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class : Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order : Violales

Synonyms:Viola canadensis Linnaeus var. rugulosa (Greene) C.L. Hitchcock ,Viola canadensis Linnaeus var. canadensis sensu NM authors,Viola canadensis Linnaeus var. neomexicana (Greene) House,Viola rydbergii Greene

Common Name : Canada Violet,Canadian white violet, Canada Violet, tall white violet, or white violet.

Habitat : It is native to Canada and the eastern United States.Viola canadensis is our most common white violet in the Gila National Forest. It is found along moist streambanks under trees, occasionally in large numbers.It is threatened or endangered in some areas, and abundant in others. There are four varieties.

Description:
General: perennial with short, thick rootstocks and often
with slender stolons. Stems 10-40 cm tall, hairless to
short-hairy.

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Leaves: basal and alternate, the stalks as much as 30
cm long. Leaf blades heart-shaped, abruptly pointed, about
4-8 cm long, from (usually) short-hairy on one or both
surfaces to hairless. Stipules lanceolate, 1-2 cm long,
entire, hairless to hairy on the edges only. The apex of the leaf is acute.

Flowers: one to few from the upper portion of the stem,
the stalks shorter than the leaves. The 5 sepals lanceolate,
often short-hairy and with hairy edges, the spur short. The
5 petals about 1.5 cm long, white to pinkish, yellow-based,
the 3 lower ones purplish-lined, the side bearded, all (but
especially the upper pair) more or less purplish-tinged on
the outside and sometimes less conspicuously so on the
inside. Style head sparsely long-bearded.The throat of the flower is marked with yellow with faint purple guidelines.

Flowering time: May-July.

Fruits: capsules, 4-5 mm long, granular on the surface
to short-hairy, with 3 valves, splitting open explosively and
shooting out seeds, the seeds brownish.

Medicinal Uses:
A tea made from the roots has been used in the treatment of pain in the bladder region.  The roots and leaves have traditionally been used to induce vomiting, they have also been poulticed and applied to skin abrasions and boils.

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://montana.plant-life.org/species/viola_canad.htm
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm
http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages/gilaflora/viola_canadensis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_canadensis

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