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Herbs & Plants

Black Birch (Betula lenta)

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Betula lenta
Image via Wikipedia

Botanical Name: Betula lenta
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus:Betulenta
Species:B. lenta
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Fagales


Popular Name(s):Cherry birch, mahogany birch, mountain mahogany, spice birch, and sweet birch. Mountain Mahogany,

Parts Used: Inner bark, twigs & leaves
Flowers: April – May

Habitat: Black Birch is native to eastern North America. Forests or open woods, especially moist, north facing, protected slopes; in deep, rich, well-drained soils. Southern Quebec, southwest Maine to northern Georgia, Alabama; north to eastern Ohio.It is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southernmost Ontario and southern Michigan, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.

Description: Black Birch is a deciduous tree growing up to a height of 20 m. Its twigs, when scraped, have a strong scent of oil of wintergreen. The leaves are pointed, alternate, ovate, 5-10 cm in length and 4-8 cm in breadth. The male trees bear flowers about 3 inches long. Female catkins produce flowers about 1 inch long. It fruits are composed of numerous tiny winged seeds which are packed between the catkin bracts.

Medium-size tree with rounded crown and smooth, dark red to almost black bark. Broken twigs have wintergreen fragrance. Buds alternate, both side and end buds present, about 3/10 of an inch long, light brown, broadest near base and tapering to a point. Fruits are erect brown cones 1 to 1-1/2 inches long, containing many tiny, winged seeds. Fruits mature in late summer and early
fall. Cones persist into winter. Leaves oval, toothed, and up to 6 inches long.

The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3-6 cm long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit, maturing in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

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Black Birch was used commercially in the past for production of oil of wintergreen before modern industrial synthesis; the tree’s name reflects this scent of the shoots.

The sap flows about a month later than maple sap, and much faster. The trees can be tapped in a similar fashion, but must be gathered about three times more often. Birch sap can be boiled the same as maple sap, but its syrup is stronger (like molasses).

The Sweet Birch‘s leaves serve as food for some lepidopteran caterpillars. See List of Lepidoptera which feed on Birches.

History: The black birch was widely used by American Indians, in bark tea for fevers, stomachaches, lung ailments; twig tea for fever. Essential oil (methyl salicylate) distilled from bark was used for rheumatism, gout, scrofulas, bladder infection, and neuralgia.

Harvest: Twigs, red inner bark, and bark of larger roots year round, but best in late winter and spring. Sap in early spring, 3 to 4 weeks later than Sugar Maple.Harvest during Spring (sap & inner bark); All Year (twigs).

Constituents: Essential oil (methyl salicylate).
Nutrients: Vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and E. Calcium, chlorine, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and silicon.

Note: It has been recorded that during the civil war, the edible bark of Black Birch probably saved the lives of hundreds of confederate soldiers.

Edible Uses: Tea, flour.
Medicinal Properties & Uses: Black Birch has anthelmintic, astringent and diuretic properties.It is Anti-inflammatory, Analgesic, Anthelmintic, Astringent, Diuretic, Diaphoretic, Stimulant. A tea made from the inner bark is used as a mouthwash and in diarrhoea, rheumatism, gout and boils. It purifies the blood also.
Used in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery and cholera. The natural properties are cleansing to the blood and it is used specifically for rheumatism, dropsy, gout, stones in the kidneys and bladder, and to expel worms.
To alleviate pain or sore muscles, the oil has been applied as a counterirritant. The essential oil was formerly produced in Appalachia. But now, methyl salicylate is produced synthetically, using menthol as the precursor.
The oil of Birch is applied to the skin for eczema and cutaneous diseases; the tea is effective when gargled for canker and mouth sores.
The cambium (the layer directly under the bark) is eaten in the spring, cut into strips like vermicelli. The bark, in the form of an infusion is used as a general stimulant and to promote sweating. As a decoction or syrup, it is used as a tonic for dysentery and is said to be useful in genito-urinary irritation. The flavor of wintergreen and birch bark, in the form of a tea, was popular with Native Americans and European settlers. The juice of the leaves once made a gargle for mouth sores. Throughout the centuries, the sap has been used in making medicinal wine and were made into a diuretic tea. Also an ingredient in skin lotions.

Preparation And Dosages:
Bark – Strong decoction, (1 to 2 ounces, up to 4 times a day).
Leaves – Standard infusion as bath or wash as needed.

Tincture: Inner bark – (1:2, in 60% alcohol), 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

Black Birch Tea:Steep twigs or fresh or dried inner bark in water, or preferably, birch sap. (Do not boil. Boiling removes volatile wintergreen essence.) Sweeten to taste.

Black Birch is also a wild food.

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/Betula_lenta
http://www.indianspringherbs.com/BlackBirch_M.htm
http://www.herbsguide.net/black-birch.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Birch
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm

 

 

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Babul (Vachellia nilotica/Acacia arabica)

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Botanical Name: Vachellia nilotica
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Vachellia
Species: V. nilotica
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales

Synonyms: . Acacia  nilotica, Mimosa nilotica

Common Names:  Gum arabic tree, Babul/Kikar, Egyptian thorn, Sant tree, Al-sant or Prickly acacia; Thorn mimosa or Prickly acacia ( in Australia) Lekkerruikpeul or Scented thorn ( in South Africa) Karuvela maram (in South India)

In Bengal it is called Babla or Babul

Habitat:It is indigenous in Sind in Pakistan. Scented Thorn Acacia is native from Egypt south to Mozambique and Natal. Apparently, it has been introduced to Zanzibar, Pemba, India and Arabia. Acacia nilotica ‘Tomentosa’ is restricted to riverine habitats and seasonally flooded areas.

Description: It is a large tree with throns on it’s branches.It has darkish grey bark and yellowish flowers in spherical heads.

Click to see the picturer

The tree

flower

bark

Babul Tree

Acacia nilotica ‘Tomentosa’ is a tree 5-20 m high with a dense spheric crown, stems and branchlets usually dark to black coloured, fissured bark, grey-pinkish slash, exuding a reddish low quality gum. The tree has thin, straight, light, grey spines in axillary pairs, usually in 3 to 12 pairs, 5 to 7.5 cm long in young trees, mature trees commonly without thorns. The leaves are bipinnate, with 3-6 pairs of pinnulae and 10-30 pairs of leaflets each, tomentose, rachis with a gland at the bottom of the last pair of pinnulae. Flowers in globulous heads 1.2-1.5 cm in diameter of a bright golden-yellow color, set up either axillary or whorly on peduncles 2-3 cm long located at the end of the branches. Pods are strongly constricted hairy white-grey, thick and softly tomentose.

Food Uses
In part of its range smallstock consume the pods and leaves, but elsewhere it is also very popular with cattle. Pods are used as a supplement to poultry rations in India and Pakistan. Dried pods are particularly sought out by animals on rangelands. In India branches are commonly lopped for fodder. Pods are best fed dry as a supplement, not as a green fodder.

Medicinal Uses
According to Hartwell, African Zulu take bark for cough, Chipi use the root for tuberculosis. Masai are intoxicated by the bark and root decoction, said to impart courage, even aphrodisia, and the root is said to cure impotence.

The astringent bark is used for diarrhea, dysentery, and leprosy and the bruised leaves poulticed onto ulcers.

In West Africa, the gum or bark is used for cancers and/or tumors (of ear, eye, or testicles) and indurations of liver and spleen, condylomas, and excess flesh.

Sap or bark, leaves, and young pods are strongly astringent due to tannin, and are chewed in Senegal as an antiscorbutic.

In Ethiopia, it is used as a lactogogue.

In Tonga, the root is used to treat tuberculosis. In Lebanon, the resin is mixed with orange-flower infusion for typhoid convalescence. In Italian Africa, the wood is used to treat smallpox. Egyptian Nubians believe that diabetics may eat unlimited carbohydrates as long as they also consume powdered pods.

The bark of Babul tree is very useful in the treatment of Eczema and Leucorrhoea.The decoction of it’s bark mixed with rock salt should be use to gargle in treating Tonsillitis. The Babul leaves are beneficial in treating Epiphora(an eye disease). The various parts of Babul tree are useful in treating Diarrhoea of ordinary intensity.The leaves of Babul tree are effective in the treatment of Conjunctivitis.Fresh pods of Babul tree is effective in several Sextual Disorder. Chewing a fresh bark of Babul tree helps strengthen loose teeth and prevent gum bleeding.

As per ayurveda it subdues deranged kapha; astringent, beneficial in skin diseases; anthelmintic; antidotal. Its extract is astringent, subdues pitta and anila (vata); effective in the treatment of blood dysentery, haemorrhagic diseases, polyuria, leucorrhaea, fractures; sheeta (sheetaveerya) and styptic.

Parts Used: Pods, leaves, bark and gum.

Therapeutic Uses:

Pods: decoction beneficial in urinogenital diseases;


Leaves
: infusion of tender leaves used as an astringent and remedy for diarrhoea and dysentery;

Bark: decoction used as a gargle in sore throat and toothache; dry powder applied externally in ulcers; useful in vitiated kapha, pitta, ascites,chronic dysentery, diarrhea, leprosy, leucoderma, leucorrhoea, seminal weakness, uterovesiccal disorders, oral ulcers, odontopathy.


Gum:
astringent and styptic, useful in vitiated vata, pitta, cough, asthma, diarrhoea, dysentery, seminal weakness, leprosy, uriogenital discharges, burns haemorrhoids, colic.

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.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#babbula

en.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vachellia_nilotica

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Arjun (Terminalia arjuna)

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Botanical Name:Terminalia arjuna
Family:    Combretaceae
Genus:    Terminalia
Species:    T. arjuna
Kingdom:    Plantae
Order:    Myrtales

Common Names: Arjuna or Arjun tree in English,  Thella Maddi in Telugu and Marudha Maram in Tamil.

Habitat : Arjuna is  native  to Indian Subcontinent.  The arjuna is usually found growing on river banks or near dry river beds in West Bengal and south and central India.  It grows all over India,Burma,Bangladesh and Srilanka.

Description:
Arjuna is a large sized deciduous tree. Height of this plant is around 60-80ft with spreading branches. Bark smooth and flower is sessile type with often buttressed trunk, smooth grey bark, and drooping branchlets. Leaves; sub opposite, hard, oblong or elliptic, 10-20 cm long. Terminalia Arjuna Flowers; yellowish white. Fruits; 2.5-5 cm long, obvoid-oblong, with 5-7 equal, hard, leathery appearance, thick narrow wings, their striations curving upwards. Terminalia Arjuna Flowers in March to June and fruits in September to November.

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Cultivation Method: after collection of nature fruits dried into sunlight & then stored up to 6-12 months. Seeds are pretreated by soaking in water for 48 hrs before sowing in beds. 8-9 months old seedlings are better to transplant in the field.
Useful Parts: Every parts useful medicinal properties Arjun holds a reputed position in both Ayurvedic and Yunani Systems of medicine. According to Ayurveda it is alexiteric, styptic, tonic, anthelmintic, and useful in fractures, uclers, heart diseases, biliousness, urinary discharges, asthma, tumours, leucoderma, anaemia, excessive prespiration etc. According to Yunani system of medicine, it is used both externally and internally in gleet and urinary discharges. It is used as expectorant, aphrodisiac, tonic and diuretic.
Chemical Constituents: A glucoside – arjunetin – has been isolated from bark. Recently new flavance – arjunone has been isolated from fruits alongs with cerasidin, ?-sitosterol, friedlin, methyl oleanolate, gallic, ellagic and arjunic acids.
Principal Constituents ß-sitosterol, ellagic acid, and arjunic acid.

Ayurvedic Formulations: Arujanarishta, Arjunghrita, Arjunakhsirpak, Arvindasava, Devadarvy – arishta etc.
Medicinal uses: Arjuna (Kakubhah) is cooling and checks heart diseases, Haemorrhagic consumption and poisons (Toxaemia). It is useful in obesity (Medas) and in Diabetic wounds. It is astringent and checks Kapha and Pitta. As an astringent, it is used in tooth powders. Action:– Cardiac tonic.

Ayurvedic Uses:– It is a reputed heart tonic of the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia. It is observed large doses to depress the heart. Small doses taken over a long period with sugar and ghee steadily improves the condition of the heart giving it strength. It is used as a powder either alone or in combination with other herbs. This pure dried Arjun bark can be made into a tea by steeping for 10 minutes in hot water. The bark can be re used 3 times if carefully dried between use.Powdered from bark is used as astringent, cardiac tonic & asthma. Leaf juice is used to cure blood dysentery.
The bark of tree is a cardiac stimulant and has a cooling and tonic effect. It is useful in arresting secretion or bleeding. It helps to relieve fever. It is also useful in removing calculi or stones formed in the urinary system, in promoting flow of bile and in the healing of wounds. Asthma, acne, diarrhea or dysentery, earache.

The bark is useful as an anti-ischemic and cardioprotective agent in hypertension and ischemic heart diseases, especially in disturbed cardiac rhythm, angina or myocardial infarction. The bark powder possesses diuretic, prostaglandin enhancing and coronary risk factor modulating properties. It apparently has a diuretic and a general tonic effect in cases of cirrhosis of the liver.
Other Uses: Recommended for reclamation of saline, alkaline soils and deep ravines. Used for agro and social forestry. Timber is locally used for carts, agricultural implements, water troughs, traps, boat building, house building, electric poles, tool-handles, jetty-piles and plywood. Fodder is useful for tassar silkworm. It is one of the major tannin yielding trees. Bark (22 to 24%), leaf (10 to 11%) and fruit (7 to 20%) contains tannins.

The arjuna is one of the species whose leaves are fed on by the Antheraea paphia moth which produces the tassar silk (tussah), a wild silk of commercial importanc.

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/Terminalia_arjuna
www.mapbd.com and amazon.com,
http://www.bicco.com/herb_photo.html
http://www.bssmworld.com/herbal_health/terminalia_arjuna.htm

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Categories
Healthy Tips

Vitamine-C

Why do you need vitamin C?

Vitamin C is one of several antioxidants shown to play a key role in the prevention of many types of cancers. Vitamin C maintains collagen, a protein necessary for the formation of skin, ligaments and bones. It also enhances the immune system, helps heal wounds and mend fractures, and aids in resisting some types of bacterial and viral infections.

What are some good sources of vitamin C?

Citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mangos, etc.) are great sources of vitamin C, as are many green vegetables (especially asparagus, broccoli, spinach, green peppers, and peas). Other good sources of vitamin C include tomatoes, potatoes and cabbage.

What can happen if you don’t get enough vitamin C?

Scurvy (hemorrages, loose teeth, gingivitis (bad breath), bone disease), bleeding gums, increased chance for infection, colds or respiratory infections can be unpleasant consequences of vitamin C deficiency.

Source:ChiroFind.com

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