Tag: August

Umbilicus rupestris

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Botanical Name :Umbilicus rupestris
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Umbilicus
Species: U. rupestris
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Saxifragales

Synonyms: U. pedulinus. Cotyledon umbilicus-veneris.

Common Names :Navelwort, Penny-pies, Wall Pennywort,Kidneywort

Habitat:
Umbilicus rupestri is native to Europe, from Britain and France south and east to N. Africa and the Mediterraean. It grows on Crevices of rocks and walls, especially in acid and damp conditions.But it avoids alkaline soils.

Description:
Umbilicus rupestris is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.3 m (1ft).It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan. The pallid spikes of bell-shaped, greenish-pink flowers appear from Jun to August, and the seeds ripen from Jul to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects? Self.The plant is self-fertile.
CLICK &V SEE THE PICTURES

Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil

Both the name “navelwort” and the scientific name Umbilicus come from the round shape of the leaves, which have a navel-like depression in the center.

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, succeeding in any near neutral, gritty, moisture retentive but well-drained soil in sun or light shade. Plants are often found growing on walls, even succeeding on old brick and mortar walls Plants are hardy to about -15°c. A very attractive plant for the rock garden[53], the leaves often stay green all winter.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer. Division in spring. Very easy, pant them straight out into their permanent positions. Leaf cuttings

Edible Uses: Leaves – raw or cooked. A very acceptable mild flavour in the winter and early spring, they can be used in quantity in salads at this time. The leaves become rather stronger-tasting in the summer and are not so pleasant then.

Medicinal Uses:
Analgesic; Diuretic; Poultice.
The leaves are mildly analgesic. The juice and extract of the plant have an old reputation for the treatment of epilepsy. The leaves are also made into a poultice and used in the treatment of piles, slight burns and scalds. A decoction of the leaves is considered to be cooling and diuretic and the juice taken inwardly is said to be excellent for treating inflammations of the liver and spleen.

Umbilicus rupestris is not the same “Pennywort” as the one used in Asian medicine, which is the unrelated Asiatic Pennywort, Centella asiatica.

Navelwort is also assumed to be the “Kidneywort” referred to by Nicholas Culpepper in the English Physician, although it may actually refer to the unrelated Anemone hepatica. Culpepper used astrology, rather than science, to classify herbs, and as such is not a reliable source. He claimed: “the juice or the distilled water being drank, is very effectual for all inflammations and unnatural heats, to cool a fainting hot stomach, a hot liver, or the bowels: the herb, juice, or distilled water thereof, outwardly applied, heals pimples, St. Anthony’s fire, and other outward heats. The said juice or water helps to heal sore kidneys, torn or fretted by the stone, or exulcerated within; it also provokes urine, is available for the dropsy, and helps to break the stone. Being used as a bath, or made into an ointment, it cools the painful piles or hæmorrhoidal veins. It is no less effectual to give ease to the pains of the gout, the sciatica, and helps the kernels or knots in the neck or throat, called the king’s evil: healing kibes and chilblains if they be bathed with the juice, or anointed with ointment made thereof, and some of the skin of the leaf upon them: it is also used in green wounds to stay the blood, and to heal them quickly.”

Umbilicus rupestris is used in homeopathic medicine. Navelwort is referred to as Cotyledon umbilicus by Homeopaths, since that was the original scientific name of navelwort when Homeopathy was developed. 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilicus_rupestris
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Umbilicus+rupestris

Tags August, Centella, Centella asiatica, France, Homeopathy, Plant, Traditional Chinese medicine, Umbilicus rupestris

Herbs & Plants

Gratiola officinalis

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Botanical Name : Gratiola officinalis
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Gratiola
Species: G. officinalis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Common Name :Hedge hyssop,common hedgehyssop or Herb of Grace

Habitat: Gratiola officinalis is native to Central and southern Europe. It grows on Wet grassland, fens, river banks, ditches etc

Description:
Gratiola officinalis is a perennial plant. The square stem rises from a creeping, scaly rhizome to the height of 6 to 12 inches, and has opposite stalkless, lanceshaped, finely serrate, smooth, pale-green leaves, and whitish, or reddish flowers, placed singly in the axils of the upper pairs of leaves, the corollas two-lipped, with yellow hairs in the tube.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
The plant is inodorous, but has a bitter, nauseous, somewhat acrid taste, which earns it the name of Hedge Hyssop.
It is hardy to zone 0. It is in flower from June to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Cultivation:
Prefers a rich moist alkaline soil in full sun. Succeeds in pond margins.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring[1]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Medicinal Uses:

Parts Used: Root, herb.

Constituents: Its active constituent is the bitter crystalline glucoside Gratiolin and a reddish, amorphous, bitter principle, Gratiosolin, likewise a glucoside.
Cardiac; Diuretic; Homeopathy; Purgative; Vermifuge.

Gratiola officinalis was once widely used as a medicinal herb but it is now considered to be obsolete because of its toxicity. The root and the flowering herb are cardiac, diuretic, violently purgative and vermifuge. The plant has been used in the treatment of liver problems, enlargement of the spleen, dropsy, jaundice, intestinal worms etc. The plant is harvested whilst in flower in the summer and dried for later use. Use with caution, in excess the plant causes abortion, kidney damage and bowel haemorrhage. See also the notes above on toxicity. A homeopathic remedy is made from the flowering plant. It is used in the treatment of cystitis, colic and certain stomach disorders

Known Hazards: All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hyshed49.html
http://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Gratiola+officinalis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratiola_officinalis

Tags August, Biology, Gratiola, Herb, Herbalism, June, Plant, Soil pH

Herbs & Plants

Honeysuckle

Botanical Name : Lonicera Periclymenum /Lonicera capri
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Genus: Lonicera
Species: L. periclymenum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Dipsacales

Synonyms: Dutch Honeysuckle. Goats’ Leaf.
(French) Chèvre-feuille.
(German) Geisblatt.
(Italian) Capri-foglio.

Common names : Honeysuckle, common honeysuckle, European honeysuckle or woodbin

Habitat : It is found as far north as southern Norway and Sweden. In the UK it is one of two native honeysuckles, the other being Lonicera xylosteum. It is often found in woodland or in hedgerows or scrubland.It grows in Woods, hedgerows, scrub and shady places, avoiding calcareous s

Description:
Lonicera periclymenum is a deciduous Climber growing to 4.5 m (14ft 9in) or more in height, it is a vigorous evergreen twining climber. The tubular, two-lipped flowers are creamy white or yellowish and very sweet smelling (especially during the night). The plant is usually pollinated by moths or long-tongued bees and develops bright red berries.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

CLICK & SEE

It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to August, and the seeds ripen from Jul to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, lepidoptera, self.The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.

Cultivation:
Succeeds in most soils from acid to base-rich. Prefers its roots in the shade with its shoots climbing up into the sun. Plants succeed even in quite deep shade. Established plants are fairly drought tolerant. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. A very ornamental plant, there are a number of named varieties. The flowers are very fragrant, especially in the evening when it attracts pollinating moths. New leaves often start to open in January with well-grown leaves in April. The leaves fall in November. Twining plants, they can bind themselves so tightly round young trees that they can prevent the trunk from being able to expand. A very good moth and butterfly plant, it is also an important food for many caterpillars including the larvae of the rare white admiral butterfly. The dense growth of the plant offers good nesting possibilities for birds.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 – 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season’s growth, 15 – 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage. Layering in autumn.

Edible Uses: Children (of all ages) suck the base of the flowers to extract the swweet nectar.

Medivinal Uses:
Parts Used: Flowers, seeds, leaves.

The plant has expectorant and laxative properties. A syrup made from the flowers has been used in the treatment of respiratory diseases whilst a decoction of the leaves is considered beneficial in treating diseases of the liver and spleen. It is used as a mouthwash for ulcers and is considered to be a good ingredient in gargles. The flowers are antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge and sudorific. The fruit is emetic and cathartic. The herbage is used as a cutaneous and mucous tonic and as a vulnerary. It is also diaphoretic. The leaves are laxative and slightly astringent. The seed is diuretic. The bark is anticatarrhal, depurative, diuretic and sudorific.

The Chinese use honeysuckle flowers extensively to treat sore throat, colds, flu, tonsillitis, bronchitis and pneumonia. Honeysuckle flower extracts are strongly active against many microorganisms that cause sore throat and respiratory conditions. It has broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against salmonella typhi, pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pneumoniae. It’s considered the echinacea of Chinese medicine. It’s also been shown to have an inhibitory effect with tuberculosis. A suggested help is making a tea with a handful of flowers per cup of oiling water and drinking up to three cups a day. The bark is diuretic and may be taken to relieve gout, kidney stones and liver problems. In winter a decoction of twigs and dried leaves can be drunk adding lemon and honey for flavor. The leaves are astringent and make a good gargle and mouthwash for sore throats and canker sores. The FDA has not put honeysuckle on its GRAS list

CHINESE: Clears heat and relieves fire toxicity: for hot, painful sores and swellings in various stages of development, especially of the breast, throat, or eyes. Also for Intestinal abscess. Expels externally-contracted wind-heat: for the early stages of warm-febrile diseases with such symptoms as fever, slight sensitivity to wind, sore throat, and headache. Also for externally-contracted summer heat. Clears damp-heat from the lower burner: for damp-heat dysenteric disorder or painful urinary dysfunction.

Other Uses
A climbing plant, it can be allowed to scramble on the ground where it makes a good ground cover. Plants should be spaced about 1.2 metres apart each way[

Known Hazards: Poisonous in large doses. It only has a very mild action.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_periclymenum
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lonicera+periclymenum
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/honeys31.html

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

Tags August, Caprifoliaceae, Flower, Honeysuckle, Lonicera, Lonicera Periclymenum, Plant, Seed

Herbs & Plants

Dodder (Cuscuta europaea)

Post author By Mukul
Post date February 17, 2014
No Comments on Dodder (Cuscuta europaea)

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Botanical Name :Cuscuta Europaea
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Cuscuta
Species: C. europaea
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Solanales

Synonyms: Beggarweed. Hellweed. Strangle Tare. Scaldweed. Devil’s Guts.

Common Names:Dodder, Greater dodder or European dodder, Cuscuta europaea

Habitat :Cuscuta Europaea is native to Europe. Now it can be found in Japan, Kashmir; N Africa, W Asia (including Pakistan), Europe, occasionally in North and South America.It grows in Open grassy localities, streamsides and hilly areas at elevations of 800 – 3,100 metres in China.

Description:
Cuscuta Europaea is an annual herbaceous plant.It is in flower from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
click to see the pictures
The long thin stems are yellowish or reddish. They have an inflorescence that is produced laterally along the stems, the flowers are arranged in compact glomerules with few to many flowers. The pedicels are up to 1.5 mm long. The 1.5 mm calyx is cup-shaped with 4 or 5 sepals that are triangular-ovate in shape. The 2.5-3 mm corolla is pink, with 4 or sometime 5 lobes. The corolla remains after anthesis and is often reflexed. The stamens are inserted below sinus and the filaments are longer than the anthers. The anthers are ovate-circular with very thin scales. The ovary is subglobose with 2 styles. The stigmas are divergent or curved. The 3 mm wide, rounded seed capsule, is capped by the withered corolla. Each capsule often has 4, pale brown, elliptic, seeds that are 1 mm long.

Cultivation:
This is a parasitic species that is devoid of leaves, roots or chlorophyll and so is totally dependant upon its host. A climbing plant, it must be grown close to a host plant around which it will twine itself and which it will penetrate with suckers in order to obtain nutriment. It Britain it is found most commonly growing on the roots of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and hops (Humulus lupulus), whilst in China it is found mainly on plants in the families Composite, Leguminosae and Chenopodiaceae, though it can also be found on many other herbaceous plants.

Propagation:
The seeds germinate in the ground in the normal manner and throw up thready stems, which climb up adjoining plants and send out from their inner surfaces a number of small vesicles, which attach themselves to the bark of the plant on which they are twining. As soon as the young Dodder stems have firmly fixed themselves, the root from which they have at first drawn part of their nourishment withers away, and the Dodder, entirely losing its connection with the ground, lives completely on the sap of its ‘host,’ and participates of its nature.

Medicinal Uses:
The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, where it is considered to have a bitter, acrid and sweet taste with a heating potency. It is aphrodisiac, renal and a hepatic tonic, being used to increase semen, to treat pain in the wrist and limbs, vaginal/seminal discharge, polyuria, tinnitus and blurred vision.

It was not only considered useful in jaundice but also in sciatica and scorbutic complaints. Gathered fresh and applied externally after being bruised, the plant has been found efficacious in dispersing scrofulous tumours. The whole plant, of whatever species, is very bitter, and an infusion acts as a brisk purge.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuscuta_europaea
http://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Cuscuta+europaea
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dodder16.html

Tags Asia, August, China, Cuscuta, Humulus Lupulus, Japan, Plant, Traditional Tibetan medicine

Herbs & Plants

Rumex alpinus

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Botanical Name :Rumex alpinus
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Rumex
Species: R. alpinus
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Caryophyllales

Synonyms: Herb Patience, Passion’s Dock.

Common Name :Monk’s-rhubarb, Munk’s rhubarb or Alpine dock

Habitat :Rumex alpinus is native to Central and Southern Europe and to Western Asia. It is naturalized in Britain.It can be found in arable land, fields, yards, rubbish dumps, roadsides and shores.This species prefers high-altitude environments rich in nitrates, at elevation of up to 2,000 to 2,400 metres (6,600 to 7,900 ft) above sea level.

Description
Rumex alpinus is a perennial plant with a creeping rhizome. It can reach a height of 60 to 200 centimetres (24 to 79 in). The stem is erect, striated and unbranched until just below the inflorescence. The leaves are very large, ovate-round, with long stout leaf stalks and irregular margins. The basal leaves have a hairless upper surface but have some hairs beside the veins on the lower surface. The upper leaves are alternate and are smaller and more elongated. Where their stalks meet the stem there is a membranous ochrea formed by the fusion of two stipules into a sheath which surrounds the stem and has a ragged upper margin. The flowers are arranged in much-branched, dense terminal compound panicles. The flowers are dioecious and anemophilous. The perianth segments are in two whorls of three. The outer ones are recurved and the inner ones form fruit valves, which are roundly, wider than long, with cordate bases and entire margins. There are six stamens, a pistil formed of three fused carpels, and three styles.

click to see the pictures

It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen from Jul to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Wind.The fruits are brown, three-sided achenes.

There are about ten or eleven kinds of native Docks.

Cultivation:
A very easily grown and tolerant plant, it succeeds in most soils, preferring a moist moderately fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position. Hardy to about -20°c. Alpine dock was at one time cultivated for its edible leaves, though it has now fallen out of favour to be replaced by less strong-tasting plants. This is a pity because it is a very productive and useful vegetable and can produce its leaves all through the winter if the weather is not too severe. A very important plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterflies.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. The seed can also be sown as soon as it is ripe when it will germinate rapidly and will provide edible leaves from early spring the following year. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. Division in spring. Division is easy at almost any time of the year, though the plants establish more rapidly in the spring. Use a sharp spade or knife to divide the rootstock, ensuring that there is at least one growth bud on each section of root. 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 are eaten raw or cooked. They can also be kept dried for later use. A strong flavour, the leaves can be used in salads in late autumn to the spring, but are better cooked like spinach. The fresh leaves can be available for most months of the year, only dying down for a short period in severe winters[K]. The leaves often become bitter in the summer. In taste trials, this has proved to be a very popular autumn and spring cooked leaf, making an excellent spinach.

Medicinal Uses:
The root is astringent and laxative. It has a regulatory effect on the digestive system, similar to but weaker than rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum). It can act either as a laxative or a cure for diarrhoea according to dosage. The root is harvested in early spring and dried for later use.

Other Uses:
Dye is made from the root. Brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots, they do not need a mordant

Known Hazards: Plants can contain quite high levels of oxalic acid, which is what gives the leaves of many members of this genus an acid-lemon flavour. Perfectly alright in small quantities, the leaves should not be eaten in large amounts since the oxalic acid can lock-up other nutrients in the food, especially calcium, thus causing mineral deficiencies. The oxalic acid content will be reduced if the plant is cooked. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition
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/d/docks-15.html#pat
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Rumex+alpinus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_alpinus

Tags August, July, June, Leaf, List of leaf vegetables, Oxalic acid, Rumex, Southern Europe

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