Categories
Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Asplenium rhizohyllum

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Botanical Name: Asplenium rhizohyllum
Family: Aspleniaceae
Genus: Asplenium
Species: A. rhizophyllum
Kingdom:Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class: Pteridopsida
Order: Polypodiales

Synonyms: Camptosorus sibiricus, Antigramma rhizophylla (L.) J.Sm., Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link

Common Name: American Walking Fern

Habitat : Asplenium rhizohyllum is native to North America. It is a close relative of Asplenium ruprechtii which is found in East Asia and also goes by the common name of “walking fern

Description:
Asplenium rhizophyllum is a small fern whose undivided, evergreen leaves and long, narrow leaf tips, sometimes curving back and rooting, give it a highly distinctive appearance. It grows in tufts, often surrounded by child plants formed from the leaf tips. The leaves of younger plants tend to lie flat to the ground, while older plants have leaves more erect or arching.
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Roots and stipes:
It does not spread and form new plants via the roots. Its rhizomes (underground stems) are upright or nearly so, short, about 1 millimetre (0.04 in) in diameter, and generally unbranched. They bear dark brown or blackish, narrowly triangular or lance-shaped scales which are strongly clathrate (bearing a lattice-like pattern). The scales are 2 to 3 millimetres (0.08 to 0.1 in) long and 0.5 to 1 millimetre (0.02 to 0.04 in) wide (occasionally as narrow as 0.2 millimetres (0.008 in)) with untoothed margins. The stipe (the part of the stem below the leaf blade) is 0.5 to 12 centimetres (0.20 to 4.7 in) long (occasionally up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long), and ranges from one-tenth to one and one-half times the length of the blade. The stipe is reddish-brown and sometimes shiny at the base, becoming green above, and narrowly winged. Scales like those of the rhizome are present at the stipe base, changing to tiny club-shaped hairs above.

Leaves:
The leaf blades are not subdivided, as in most other ferns, but are narrowly triangular to linear or lance-shaped. Their shape can be quite variable, even on the same plant. They measure from 1 to 30 centimetres (0.4 to 10 in) long and from 0.5 to 5 centimetres (0.2 to 2 in) across and have a leathery texture with sparse hairs, more abundant below than above. The rachis (leaf axis) is dull green in color and almost devoid of hairs. On the underside of the blade, the veins are difficult to see and anastomose (split and rejoin each other), forming a series of areoles (the small areas enclosed by the veins) near the rachis. Fertile fronds are usually larger than sterile fronds, but their shape is otherwise the same. The base of the blade is typically heart-shaped (with the stipe protruding from the cleft); the bulges on either side of the cleft are frequently enlarged into auricles (rounded lobes), or occasionally into sharply-pointed, tapering lobes. The leaf tips may be rounded but are typically very long and attenuate (drawn out); the attenuate tips are capable of sprouting roots and growing into a new plant when the tip touches a surface suitable for growth. On rare occasions, the auricles at the leaf base will also take on an attenuate shape and form roots at the tip. The ability of the leaf tips to root and form a new plant at some distance from the parent gives the species its common name. The young leaves forming from a bud at the leaf tip are round to pointed at their apex, not yet having developed the long-attenuate shape.

Specimens of A. rhizophyllum with forked blades have been found in Arkansas and Missouri. The fork usually occurs in the tip, perhaps due to growth after insect damage, but one specimen was found forking from the upper part of the stipe.

Sori and spores:
Fertile fronds bear a large number of sori underneath, 1 to 4 millimetres (0.04 to 0.2 in) long, which are not arranged in any particular order. The sori are often fused where veins join, and may curve to follow the vein to which they are attached. The sori are covered by inconspicuous thin, white indusia with untoothed edges. Each sporangium in a sorus carries 64 spores. The diploid sporophyte has a chromosome number of 72.
Cultivation: This fern prefers light to dense shade, moist humid conditions, and thin rocky soil. It requires a sheltered location where there is protection from the wind.
Medicinal Uses:
Used medicinally by the Cherokee Indians. Those that dreamt of snakes drank a decoction of liverwort (Hepatica acutiloba) and walking fern to produce vomiting, after which dreams do not return.

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/Asplenium_rhizophyllum
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/grasses/plants/walking_fern.htm

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Cordia salicifolia

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Botanical Name : Cordia salicifolia
Family: Boraginaceae
Subfamily: Cordioideae
Genus: Cordia
Kingdom: Plantae
Species: salicifolia

Synonyms: Cordia ecalyculata Vell.

Common Name : Chá de bugre

Ethnic names: Chá de bugre, porangaba, cafezinho, café do mato, claraiba, café de bugre, cha de frade, louro-salgueiro, louro-mole, boid d’inde, bois d’ine, coquelicot, grao-do-porco, bugrinho, chá-de-negro-mina, laranjeira-do-mato, rabugem.

Habitat : Cordia salicifolia is indigenous to Brazil and can be found growing predominately in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Acre and Goias It is also found in tropical forest areas of Argentina and Paraguay. In Brazil, the tree is botanically classified as Cordia salicifolia and in Paraguay the same tree is classified as Cordia ecalyculata.

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Description:
Chá de bugre is a small tree growing 8-12 meters in height with a trunk 30-40 cm in diameter. In Brazil, it is commonly called café do mato (coffee of the woods) because it produces a red fruit resembling a coffee bean which is roasted and brewed into tea as a coffee substitute. ...….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Chemical Constituents:
Despite the popularity of chá de bugre in Brazil very little has been done to analyze the phytochemicals in the plant. At present it is known to contain caffeine, potassium, allantoin and allantoic acid. The red fruits or berries of chá de bugre (resembling a coffee bean) contain caffeine. The allantoin and allantoic acid may explain the traditional use of the plant for wound healing. Main plant chemicals include allantoin, allantoic acid, caffeine, potassium.
Medicinal Uses:
Parts used in medicine: Leaves, Fruit, Bark

It is a great appetite suppressant – but rather than cutting off appetite all together (then causing intense hunger when it wears off at the wrong time) it gives one a sense of being full and satiated after eating only a few bites of food. This seems to promote much smaller meals, more often, which is what many practitioners believe is better for sustained weight loss and keeping the metabolism going throughout the day. It works best if taken 30 minutes to one hour prior to a meal. It is a mild diuretic and is useful in relieving water retention. It also helps to avoid the formation of fatty deposits. It is also considered a good general heart tonic which can help stimulate circulation and is used in Brazil and Haiti as a tea to help relieve coughs, regulate renal function, reduce uric acid and externally to heal wounds.

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.raintree-health.com/cha-de-bugre-powder-cordia-salicifolia/
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordia

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