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Herbs & Plants

Typhonium trilobatum (Bengali Name:Ghet kachu)

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Botanical Name :Typhonium trilobatum
Family:    Araceae (Arum family)
Subfamily:Aroideae
Tribe:    Areae
Genus:    Typhonium
KingdomPlantae
Order:    Alismatales

Synonyms: Arum trilobatum, Arum orixense

Common names: Bengal Arum, Lobed Leaf Typhonium • Tamil: karunai-k-kilanku, pitikarunai, karunai, karu karunai kilanku • Bengali: Ghat kanchu, Kharkon, Ghet kachu or Gher Kochu. • Assamese: Chema kachu

Tribal Names: Kharbas, Sarakao (Chakma); Kalman (Garo).

Habitat :Typhonium trilobatum is an aroid distributed throughout India,Burma & Bangladesh

Description:
Typhonium trilobatum is a  tuberous herb, with subglobose tuber up to 4 cm diam. Petiole 25-30 cm long; lamina hastate-subtrisect, segments all acuminate, front segment ovate, 8-18 cm long, lateral ones obliquely ovate, shorter, subbilobed at base. Peduncle thin, 5-7 cm long; tube of spathe oblong, 2.5 cm long, lamina oblong-ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 15 or more cm long, 5-7 cm broad, inside rose-purple. Spadix nearly 15 cm long. Female inflorescence short-cylindric, about 7 mm long; male inflorescence 1.25-1.5 cm long, rose-pink, situated above the female. Flowering: August.
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The plant has very narrow 3 ft flower heads emerging before leaves in spring, then unfurl into only kind of narrow, with intricate maroon and cream patterning. When the leaves do appear, they’re large and compound, similar to Cobra Lily, on a stalk that is light green and black-patterned. It emits a distinctive odour for a few hours when it first blooms, like most arums.

Edible Uses: Tubers are eaten in some tribal societies and the plant also has various medicinal uses.

Chemical Constituents:
Tubers and roots contain a volatile acrid principle, ?-sitosterol, two unidentified sterols and an unidentified crystalline compound (Ghani, 2003).

Medicinal Uses:
The plant is hypnotic. Fresh corms are very acrid and a powerful stimulant; employed as a poultice in tumours. The corms are reported to relax the bowels and provide relief in haemorrhoids and piles. They are eaten with bananas to cure the stomach complaints. The Garo of Madhupur applies root paste locally on ulcer of cattle.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhonium
http://www.mpbd.info/plants/typhonium-trilobatum.php
http://flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Bengal%20Arum.html

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Herbs & Plants

Paeonia officinalis

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Botanical Name : Paeonia officinalis
Family: Paeoniaceae
Genus:    Paeonia
Species: P. officinalis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Saxifragales

Synonym: Paeonia Corallina.

Common Names : European peony or common peony

Habitat :Paeonia officinalis is  native to Europe.

Description:
Paeonia officinalis is an herbaceous perennial plant, growing to 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall and wide, with leaves divided into 9 leaflets, and bowl-shaped deep pink or deep red flowers, 10–13 cm (4–5 in) in diameter, in late spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere).
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Cultivated in Europe for five hundred years, P. officinalis was first used for medicinal purposes, then grown as an ornamental. Many selections are now used in horticulture, though the typical species is uncommon. Paeonia officinalis is still found wild in Europe.

The cultivar ‘Rubra Plena’ (deep crimson double flowered) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit.

Cultivation:
Peonies are extremely hardy and will grow in almost any soil or situation, in sun or shade. The best soil, however, is a deep, rich loam, which should be well trenched and manured, previous to planting.

Propagation is by division of roots, which increase very quickly. The best season for transplanting is towards the end of August, or the beginning of September. In dividing the roots, care must be taken to preserve a bud upon the crown of each offset.

Single varieties are generally propagated from seeds, sown in autumn, soon after they are ripe, upon a bed of light soil, covering them with 1/2 inch of soil. Water well in dry weather and keep clear from weeds. Leave the young plants in this bed two years, transplanting in September.

Medicinal Uses:

Part Used: The root, dried and powdered. It is dug in the autumn, from plants at least two years old. The roots should be cleansed carefully in cold water with a brush and only be allowed to remain in the water as short a time as possible. Then spread out on trays in the sun, or on the floor, or on shelves in a kitchen, or other warm room for ten days or more. When somewhat shrunken, roots may be finished off more quickly in greater heat over a stove or gas fire, or in an open oven, when the fire has just gone out. Dried roots must always be dry to the core and brittle.

Antispasmodic, tonic. Paeony root has beensuccessfully employed in convulsions and spasmodic nervous affections, such as epilepsy, etc.

It was formerly considered very efficacious for lunacy. An old writer tells us: ‘If a man layeth this wort over the lunatic as he lies, soon he upheaveth himself whole.’

The infusion of 1 OZ. of powdered root in a pint of boiling water is taken in wineglassful doses, three or four times daily.

An infusion of the powdered root has been recommended for obstructions of the liver, and for complaints arising from such obstructions.

Homeopathic remidies of Peony :

Other Uses:
This is a compact woodland peony that is best suited to open woodland areas, shade gardens, shaded areas of the border or cottage gardens. It also could be effective as a low herbaceous hedge or edger. Flowers are extremely showy, and foliage remains attractive throughout the growing season either alone or in combination with other flowering/foliage shade perennials such as hostas.

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.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/paeony01.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paeonia_officinalis
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e905

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Herbs & Plants

Rubia tinctorum

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Botanical Name :Rubia tinctorum
Family: Rubiaceae
Tribe:     Rubieae
Genus:     Rubia
Species: R. tinctorum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Gentianales

Synonyms: Krapp. Dyer’s Madder. Robbia.
(French) Garance.   Galium rubia. Rubia acaliculata. Rubia iberica. Rubia sativa.

Common Names :Madder or Common madder

Habitat:  Rubia tinctorum  is native to Southern Europe, including southern Britain, and Mediterranean countries. It grows on neglected ground, hedgerows and among rubble.

Description:
Rubia tinctorum is an evergreen Perennial plant growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a medium rate.The evergreen leaves are approximately 5–10 cm long and 2–3 cm broad, produced in whorls of 4–7 starlike around the central stem. It climbs with tiny hooks at the leaves and stems. The flowers are small (3–5 mm across), with five pale yellow petals, in dense racemes, and appear from June to August, followed by small (4–6 mm diameter) red to black berries. The roots can be over a metre long, up to 12 mm thick and the source of red dyes known as rose madder and Turkey red. It prefers loamy soils (sand and clay soil) with a constant level of moisture. Madder is used as food plants for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

Cultivation:   
Prefers a light sandy soil in full sun. Plants grown in fertile well-limed soils produce more pigment in the root. This plant was at one time widely cultivated for the red dye obtained from its roots, this dye is now manufactured chemically. However, it is still cultivated in Europe as a medicinal dye plant. The plant produces many side roots that can travel just under the surface of the soil for some distance before sending up new shoots. This species is closely related to R. peregrina.

Propagation:    
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for the first year. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. Division in spring or at any time in the growing season if the divisions are kept well watered until established. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer

Medicinal Uses:

Parts : used :root
Constituents:The root contains rubian, rubiadin, ruberythric acid, purpurin, tannin, sugar and especially alizarin. Pseudopurpurin yields the orange dye and xanthopurpurin the yellow. The astringent taste, slight odour and red colour, are imparted to water or alcohol.

The most interesting of the colouring substances is the alizarin, and this is now termed dihydroscyanthraquinone. This occurs as orange-red crystals, almost insoluble in water, but readily soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed oils and alkaline solutions. The alcoholic and aqueous solutions are rose-coloured, the ethereal, golden-yellow; the alkaline, violet and blue when concentrated, but violet red when sufficiently diluted. A beautiful rose-coloured lake is produced by precipitating a mixture of the solutions of alizarin and alum.

Alizarin was recognized by Graebe and Liebermann, in 1868, as a derivative of anthracene – a hydrocarbon contained in coal-tar, and in the same year they elaborated a method for preparing it commercially from anthracene. Upon this arose rapidly a great chemical industry, and the cultivation of Madder has, of course, decreased correspondingly until it may be said that the coaltar products have entirely displaced the natural ones.

The root is aperient, astringent, cholagogue, diuretic and emmenagogue. It is taken internally in the treatment of kidney and bladder stones. The root is seldom used in herbal medicine but is said to be effective in the treatment of amenorrhoea, dropsy and jaundice. The roots are harvested in the autumn from plants that are at least 3 years old. They are peeled and then dried. When taken internally the root imparts a red colour to the milk, urine and bones, especially the bones of young animals, and it is used in osteopathic investigations.

When taken into the stomach it imparts a red colour to the milk and urine, and to the bones of animals without sensibly affecting any other tissue. The effect is observed most quickly in the bones of young animals and in those nearest to the heart. Under the impression that it might effect some change in the nervous system, it has been prescribed in rachitis (rickets), but without noticeable favourable results. Dosage, 1/2 drachm three or four times daily.

 
Other Uses:
A very good quality red dye is obtained from the roots. Some reports say that 2 year old roots are used in the spring and autumn whilst others say that 3 year old roots are used. The roots can be dried for later use. The dye can also be extracted from the leaves. It has been used since ancient times as a vegetable red dye for leather, wool, cotton and silk. For dye production, the roots are harvested in the first year. The outer brown layer gives the common variety of the dye, the lower yellow layer the refined variety. The dye is fixed to the cloth with help of a mordant, most commonly alum. Madder can be fermented for dyeing as well (Fleurs de garance). In France, the remains were used to produce a spirit as well. This dye is also used medicinally. The leaves and stem are prickly, the whorls of leaves having spines along the midrib on the underside. This feature enables them to be used for polishing metalwork

Known Hazards: Potential to cause cancers, particularly liver and kidney. From the information currently available it is not recommended as a herbal medicine .

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.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Rubia+tinctorum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubia_tinctorum
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/madder02.html

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Herbs & Plants

Spiranthes spiralis

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Botanical Name : Spiranthes spiralis
Family: Orchidaceae
Genus:     Spiranthes
Species: S. spiralis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Asparagales

Synonyms : Spiranthes autumnalis
Spiranthes is the Greek word for twisted, spiralis is Latin for twisted or spiral.Both refer to the inflorescence.

Common Names:Lady’s Tresses, Autumn lady’s-tresses

Habitat : Spiranthes spiralis grows on   dry, hilly fields all over Europe – towards the Caucasus.
Spiranthes spiralis is a palearctic orchid which in Europe blooms in August and September. It is characterised by a spiral inflorescence produced after the leaves have died down. The inflorescence can be very small (as little as 50 millimetres or 2.0 inches high) especially in short grazed grassland. In Western Europe it occurs most frequently in close cropped grassland overlying chalk or limestone.

Description:
Spiranthes spiralis is a short tuberous perennial which reaches heights between 5 and 30 centimeters. The stem is stickily-hairy.The plant has two tubers as storage organs, rarely, one or three. From Autumn two new tubers are formed and the old tubers lowly die off. The shiny oval-elliptical foliage leaves form a basal rosette close to the ground and to one side of the flower-spike. There are from three to seven and they have a length of 1.5 to 3.5 cm and a width of 1 to 1.5 cm. The leaves are often withered by flowering time. The stem leaves are scale-like and overlapping;the bracts are shorter than the flowers.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
The flowers are white, 6-7mm long. There are up to 20 borne in a slender spiral 3 to 12 cm long.The outer 2 sepals are spreading, the upper sepal and the petals fuse to form a tube with the lip. The lip has up-curved edges and is yellowish-green. The edge of the lip is notched and appears viewed up close as frayed.

Medicinal Uses:
A tincture of the root is used in homeopathy for skin affections, painful breasts, pain in the kidneys and eye complaints. click & see 

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.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/ladtru07.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiranthes_spiralis

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Herbs & Plants

Sedum album

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Botanical Name : Sedum album

Family: Crassulaceae
Genus:     Sedum
Species: S. album
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Saxifragales

Synonym: Small Houseleek (Culpepper).

Common Names: White stonecrop,

Habitat : Sedum album   is found in the northern temperate regions of the world,(Europe. Long naturalized in Britain.) often growing in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. It is not very common, and is found wild on rocks and walls. As a rule, however, when growing on garden walls and the roofs of cottages and outhouses,

Description:
Sedum album is a tufted perennial herb that forms mat-like stands. Much of the year the stems are short, semi prostrate and densely clad in leaves. At the flowering time in July and August, the stems lengthen and are erect, occasionally branched and often pinkish-brown.The flowering stems are 6 to 10 inches high, with a few leaves growing alternately on them and terminated by muchbranched, flat tufts (cymes) of numerous, small, star-like flowers, about 1/6 inch in diameter, the white petals twice as large as the green sepals.

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The leaves are alternate, fleshy and nearly cylindrical with a blunt, rounded tip. They are also sometimes tinged with pink, especially in drought-stressed plants. The starry flowers form a dense cyme. The calyx has five fleshy sepals fused at the base, the corolla consists of five regular white petals, there are ten stamens, a separate gynoecium and five pistils. The fruit is five united, many-seeded follicles.

It owes its presence indirectly to human agency, and is to be considered a garden escape. The root is perennial and fibrous, the flowerless stems prostrate, of a bluish-green colour, round and leafy. The leaves are bright green and very succulent, oblong, cylindrical, blunt and spreading, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long.

This Stonecrop, which flowers in July and August, is not to be confounded with another white-flowered Stonecrop (Sedum Anglicum), which flowers earlier – June and July – and is an annual. It is a plant of smaller and compacter growth, the leaves shorter and less cylindrical, with less numerous flowers, the white petals of which are spotted with red.

Cultivation:     
A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but prefers a fertile well-drained soil. Established plants are drought tolerant, they grow well in dry soils and succeed on a wall. Requires a sunny position. Plants spread rapidly and aggressively at the roots. If clearing the plant from an area it is quite important to try and remove every part of the plant since even a leaf or a small part of the stem, if left on the ground, can form roots and develop into a new plant. This species has white flowers. All members of this genus are said to have edible leaves, though those species that have yellow flowers can cause stomach upsets if they are eaten in quantity. Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits.

Propagation:   
Seed – surface sow in spring in well-drained soil in a sunny position in a greenhouse. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If sufficient growth is made, it is possible to plant them out during the summer, otherwise keep them in a cold-frame or greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in early summer of the following year. Division is very easy and can be carried out at almost any time in the growing season, though is probably best done in spring or early summer. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Edible Uses: Leaves – raw or cooked. Usually eaten as a pickle, though it can also be added to salads or cooked with other leafy vegetables.

Medicinal Uses:
Parts Used: Leaves, stalks.

Antiinflammatory;  Poultice.

The leaves and stems are applied externally as a poultice to inflammations and are especially recommended for treating painful haemorrhoids.

The older herbalists considered the White Stonecrop to possess all the virtues of the Houseleek. The leaves and stalks were recommended and used for all kinds of inflammation, being especially applied as a cooling plaster to painful haemorrhoids. Culpepper tells us: ‘it is so harmless an herb you can scarce use it amiss.’ It was the custom, too, to prepare and eat it as a pickle, in the same way as the juicy Samphire.

Other Uses:
The plant spreads aggressively and can be used for ground cover in a sunny position amongst plants tall enough not to be overrun by it. It is best planted about 45cm apart each way. Strong growing bulbs such as some lilies will grow happily through this ground cover

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/Sedum_album
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/stonec91.html
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Sedum+album

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