Categories
Herbs & Plants

Tabebuia impetiginosa

[amazon_link asins=’B00024D268,B01BK3RROC,B00020HHHC,B01N2YR5Y9′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’81f3aed7-5568-11e7-94cb-5dfcb7049f89′]

Botanical Name :Tabebuia impetiginosa
Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Tecomeae
Genus: Tabebuia
Species: T. impetiginosa
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Common Names: Pink Ipê or Pink Lapacho,Pau d’arco , lapacho, taheebo

Habitat : Tabebuia impetiginosa  is a native Bignoniaceae tree of America, distributed from northern Mexico south to northern Argentina. It is a common tree in Argentina’s northeastern region, as well as in southeastern Bolivia. It is said to be indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago.

Description:
Tabebuia impetiginosa is a  large deciduous tree, with trunks sometimes reaching 8 dm width and 30 m height. Usually a third of that height is trunk, and two thirds are its longer branches. It has a large, globous, but often sparse canopy. The tree has a slow growth rate. Leaves are opposite and petiolate, 2 to 3 inches long, elliptic and lanceolate, with lightly serrated margins and pinnate venation. The leaves are palmately compound with usually 5 leaflets.

click to see the pictures…..>..(01)....(1).….…(2)………..(3).(4)..(5)….

Its bark is brownish grey, tough and hard to peel. The wood is of a pleasant yellowish colour, barely knotted and very tough and heavy (0,935 kg/dm³). It’s rich in tannins and therefore very resistant to weather and sun. It is not very useful for furniture since it is so hard to work by hand. It can be found as beams or fulfilling other structural uses where needed outdoors.

Pink Lapacho flowers between July and September, before the new leaves appear. In India, the flowering season is December to January, after the leaves are shed. The flower is large, tubular shaped, its corolla is often pink or magenta, though exceptionally seen white, about 2 inches long. There are 4 stamens and a staminode. The fruit consists of a narrow dehiscent capsule containing several winged seeds.

The flowers are easily accessible to pollinators. Some hummingbirds – e.g. Black Jacobin (Florisuga fusca) and Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) – seem to prefer them over the flowers of other Tabebuia species, while for others like the Stripe-breasted Starthroat (Heliomaster squamosus) it may even be a mainstay food source

Medicinal Uses:
Medicinal Uses: * Candida/yeast * Liver
Properties: * Antifungal * AntiViral * Hepatic * Tonic
Parts Used: Inner bark
Constituents:  lapachol, lapachone, and isolapachone, tannins

The Mayans and Incas of South America regarded Tabebuia impetiginosa as an important healing herb, but the scientific study is still very preliminary; the bottom line is that pau d’arco seems to be more promising for fungal infections than malignant cancers.1 There is a great deal of practical evidence, however, that Tabebuia impetiginosa can be used with success to treat colds, flu, sore throat, and yeast infections. Laboratory evidence suggests that the herb contains compounds that protect against tropical diseases, specifically malaria, schistosomiasis, and tropical fevers. The herb is added to ointments to treat psoriasis, and taken orally to relieve  ulcers.
The inner bark of Tabebuia impetiginosa is used in traditional medicine. It is dried, shredded, and then boiled, making a bitter brownish-colored tea known as Lapacho or Taheebo. The unpleasant taste of the extract is lessened when taken in pill form, or as tinctures. Lapacho bark is typically used during flu and cold season and for easing smoker’s cough. It apparently works by promoting the lungs to expectorate and free deeply embedded mucus and contaminates during the first three to ten days of treatment.

In the past decades it has been used by herbalists as a general tonic, immunostimulant, and adaptogen. It is used in herbal medicine for intestinal candidiasis.

However, the main active compound lapachol has since turned out to be toxic enough to kill fetuses in pregnant rats and reduce the weight of the seminal vesicle in male rats in doses of 100 mg/kg of body weight. Still, lapachol has strong antibiotic and disinfectant properties, and may be better suited for topical applications. Lapachol induces genetic damage, specifically clastogenic effects, in rats. Beta-lapachone has a direct cytotoxic effect and the loss of telomerase activity in leukemia cells in vitro.

One study has shown that recurrence of anal condylomata after surgical treatment is reduced by an admixture of the plants Echinacea, Uncaria, Tabebuja (sic), papaya, grapefruit and Andrographis.

The ethnomedical use of Lapacho and other Tabebuia teas is usually short-term, to get rid of acute ailments, and not as a general tonic. Usefulness as a short-term antimicrobial and disinfecting expectorant, e.g. against PCP in AIDS patients, is yet to be scientifically studied. Tabebuia impetiginosa inner bark seems to have anti-Helicobacter pylori activity. and has some effects on other human intestinal bacteria

Other Uses:
It is also used as a honey plant, and widely planted as ornamental tree in landscaping gardens, public squares and boulevards due to its impressive and colorful appearance as it flowers. Well-known and popular, it is the national tree of Paraguay. It is also planted as a street tree in cities of India, like in Bangalore.

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.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail289.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Ip%C3%AA

Enhanced by Zemanta
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Spathodea

[amazon_link asins=’3841756808,B0764MD52Z,3841755372,B01MCTYAQJ,B0764LFJRK,B01LW1DN53,B071ZN33VX’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=”]

Botanical Name : Spathodea campanulata
Family: Bignoniaceae
Tribe: Tecomeae
Genus: Spathodea
Species: S. campanulata
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonym(s): Spathodea nilotica Seem.

Common Names : Fountain Tree, African Tulip Tree, Pichkari or Nandi Flame
(Cantonese) : neerukayi mara
(English) : African tulip tree, flame of the forest, fountain tree, Nandi flame, Nile flame, squirt tree, tulip tree, Uganda flame
(French) : immortel éntranger
(Hindi) : rugtoora
(Luganda) : kifabakazi
(Malay) : panchut-panchut
(Sinhala) : kudaella gaha, kudulu
(Spanish) : amapola, espatodea, mampolo, tulipán africano
(Swahili) : kibobakasi, kifabakazi
(Tamil) : patadi
(Trade name) : flame of the forest, Nandi flame

Habitat :Spathodea campanulata  is native to Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
Exotic : Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Sri Lanka, Zanzibar

It grows naturally in Africa in secondary forests in the high forest zone and in deciduous, transition, and savannah forests. It colonizes even heavily eroded sites, though form and growth rate suffer considerably on difficult sites.

The species is found throughout tropical Africa and is widely grown as an ornamental.

Description:
Spathodea campanulata is medium sized, reaching a height of 10-35 m, deciduous, with a round, heavy crown of dense, dark foliage, sometimes somewhat flattened; young bark pale, grey-brown and smooth but turns grey-black, scaly and cracked vertically and horizontally with age. The opposite imparipinnate leaves are exstipulate. Each leaf consists of 5-7 pairs of opposite leaflets and a terminal one. The leaflets are oblong-elliptic, about 1 cm long and 0.5 cm broad, entire, broadly acuminate, unequal at the base, dark green on top and light green on the underside; there are glandular swellings at the base of the lamina (usually a pair); the midrib and nerves are yellow, raised and very slightly pubescent; the venation is reticulate; the short, thick petiole is about 0.7 cm long; there are conspicuous lenticels on the rachis; rachis base is swollen. Flowers large, red, hermaphrodite, orange inside; calyx green, about 1 cm long and split on the posterior side, ribbed and tomentellous; petals 5, each about 1.5 cm long; stamens 4 with orange filaments; style extruding with a 2-lipped stigma; flower buds curved and contain a red sap. A yellow-flowered variety has been reported. Fruit upstanding, dark brown, cigar-shaped, woody pod, 15-25 cm long and split on the ground into 2 boat-shaped valves, releasing many flat-winged seeds; 1-4 pods usually develop from 1 flower cluster; seeds thin, flat and surrounded by a filmy wing. The generic name comes from the Greek word ‘spathe’ (blade), from the shape of the corolla. The specific name means pertaining to a Campanula, a name coined in 1542 by Fuchs for the type of corolla with a broad rounded base and a gradually expanded tube corresponding to the sound bow of a church bell.

Click to see the pictures.>……..(01)....(1):…….(2) :….(3):…..(4) :...(5)

The flower bud is ampule-shaped and contains water. These buds are often used by children who play with its ability to squirt the water. The sap sometimes stains yellow on fingers and clothes. The open flowers are cup-shaped and hold rain and dew, making them attractive to many species of birds. In Neotropical gardens and parks, their nectar is popular with many hummingbirds, such as the Black-throated Mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis), the Black Jacobin (Florisuga fusca), or the Gilded Hummingbird (Hylocharis chrysura). The wood of the tree is soft and is used for nesting by many hole-building birds such as barbets. It was discovered way back in 1787 on the Gold Coast of Africa

Propagation :
Natural reproduction takes place on bare ground, in grass, and under weeds and brush. Seeds may be collected by harvesting the pods after they turn brown and allowing them to air-dry until they split open. The germinating seeds are fragile and should be covered by a thin film of peat or sand and should not be exposed to hard rain. Vegetative reproduction is easily carried out with cuttings or root suckers.

Medicinal Uses:
The bark has laxative and antiseptic properties, and the seeds, flowers and roots are used as medicine. The bark is chewed and sprayed over swollen cheeks. The bark may also be boiled in water used for bathing newly born babies to heal body rashes.

Edible Uses: The seeds are edible and used in many parts of Africa.

Other Uses:  Timber: In its original habitat, the soft, light brownish-white wood is used for carving and making drums.This tree is  recommended as a shade tree for parks and yards; it has been used for coffee shade.Spathodea  campanulata helps rehabilitate disturbed lands through its quick invasion and rapid growth. Ornamental:Spathodea campanulata has been planted as an ornamental throughout the tropics. The flowers bloom with great profusion, and the trees can be seen from great distances. It is not browsed by domestic animals and is popular as a decorative tree for avenues. Boundary or barrier or support: The species, either planted or growing naturally, is frequently used for living fence posts.

Known Hazards: The hard central portion of the fruit is used to kill animals.

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.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=1539
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:African_Tulip_Tree_(Spathodea_campanulata)_at_Secunderabad_W_IMG_6626.jpg

Enhanced by Zemanta
css.php