Tag: Botanical name

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Typhonium trilobatum (Bengali Name:Ghet kachu)

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Botanical Name :Typhonium trilobatum
Family:    Araceae (Arum family)
Subfamily:Aroideae
Tribe:    Areae
Genus:    Typhonium
Kingdom:  Plantae
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.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
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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Eriodictyon glutinosum

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Botanical Name: Eriodictyon glutinosum
Family: Boraginaceae
Subfamily: Hydrophylloideae
Genus: Eriodictyon
Species: E. californicum
Kingdom: Plantae

Synonyms: Mountain Balm. Consumptive’s Weed. Gum Bush. Bear’s Weed. Holy or Sacred Herb. Eriodictyon Californicum (Hook and Arn.).
Common Names: Yerba Santa, California yerba santa

Other Name: Holy or Sacred Herb

Habitat: Eriodictyon glutinosum is native to California and Northern Mexico,found growing abundantly in clumps on dry hills in California and Northern Mexico.

Description: Eriodictyon glutinosum is a low, shrubby evergreen plant, 2 to 4 feet high. The stem is smooth, usually branched near the ground, and covered with a peculiar glutinous resin, which covers all the upper side of the plant. Leaves, thick and leathery, smooth, of a yellowish colour, their upper side coated with a brownish varnish-like resin, the under surface being yellowish-white reticulated and tomentose, with a prominent midrib, alternate, attached by short petioles, at acute angle with the base; shape, elliptical, narrow, 2 to 5 inches long 3/4 inch wide, acute and tapering to a short leaf-stalk at the base. The margin of the leaf, dentate, unequal, bluntly undulate. The flowers, bluish, in terminal clusters of six to ten, in a one-sided raceme, the corolla funnel-like, calyx sparsely hirsute….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Cultivation:
Requires a position in full sun in a well-drained sandy soil[200]. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to about -5°c. It is probably best grown against a sunny wall. If the plant needs pruning to keep it within bounds, then this is best carried out in spring or early summer. Do not cut back to wood more than 2 years old. This plant is remarkable for the coating of varnish-like resin that covers the upper leaf surface. The foliage is very aromatic.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow on the young plants for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring or early summer. Give some protection from the cold for at least their first couple of winters outdoors.
Edible Uses: The fresh leaves are chewed for their refreshing taste and to relieve thirst. An aromatic sweet tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves. An extract of the leaves is used as a flavouring in baked goods, sweets, ice cream and soft drinks.

Medicinal Uses:
Parts Used:Dried leaves.
Constituents: The chief constituents are five phenolic bodies, eriodictyol, homoeriodictyol, chrysocriol, zanthoeridol and eridonel. Free formic and other acids, glycerides of fatty acids; a yellow volatile oil; a phytosterol, a quantity of resin, some glucose. Taste, balsamic and sweetish, afterwards acrid, but not bitter, recalls Dulcamara and creates a flow of saliva. Odour, aromatic. The leaves are brittle when dry, but flexible in a warm, moist atmosphere. Eriodictyon Californicum is official in the United States Dispensary. Alcohol is the best agent for the fluid extract of the dried plant.

Recommended for bronchial and laryngeal troubles and in chronic pulmonary affections, in the treatment of asthma and hay-fever in combination with Grindelia robusta. Likewise advised for haemorrhoids and chronic catarrh of the bladder. Much used in California as a bitter tonic and a stimulating balsamic expectorant and is a most useful vehicle to disguise the unpleasant taste of quinine. Male fern and Hydrastis. In asthma, the leaves are often smoked. Aromatic syrup is the best vehicle for quinine.

E. californica is more soluble in alcohol while the other varieties do better in water.  Dosage: Dry herb tincture: 20-30 drops up to 5 times a day.   Other uses include: catarrh of the bladder, hemorrhoids, and as a poultice for bruises, sprains,   wounds, and insect bites.

Known Hazards: Not recommended during breast feeding or pregnancy. Iron & other minerals absorption can be effected by Yerba Santa.

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/Eriodictyon_californicum
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Eriodictyon+californicum
http://www.herbsguide.net/yerba-santa.html
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/y/yersan07.html
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm

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Clematis recta

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Botanical Name : Clematis recta
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Clematis
Species:C. recta
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Ranunculales

Synonyms: Upright Virgin’s Bower. Flammula Jovis

Common Names : Erect Clematis or Ground virginsbower

Habitat: Clematis recta is native to Europe.Growing usually on the margins of woodland areas.
Description:
Clematis recta is a perennial plant, stem about 3 feet high, leafy, striated, herbaceous, greenish or reddish; leaves large opposite, leaflets five to nine pubescent underneath, petioled; flowers, white in upright stiff terminal umbels, peduncles several times ternate; seeds dark brown, smooth, orbicular, much compressed, tails long yellowish, plumose; time for collecting when beginning to flower. It is a free-standing shrub rather than a climbing plant.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

The leaves and flowers have an acrid burning taste, the acridity being greatly diminished by drying.
Cultivation:
Succeeds in any soil in full sun, but prefers a fertile sandy loam. Dislikes poorly-drained heavy clay soils, but grows well in clay if grit is added for drainage. Does well on chalk. Dislikes winter wet. Succeeds in acid as well as alkaline soils. Plans are hardy to about -25°c. A twining plant. The leafstalks wrap themselves around twigs and branches for support. When a side of the stalk touches an object, the growth on that side slows down whilst the other side grows at its normal rate – this causes the leaf stalk to entwine the object it is touching. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value. When planting out, in order to avoid the disease ‘clematis wilt’, it is best to plant the rootball about 8cm deeper in the soil. This will also serve to build up a good root crown of growth buds. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as soon as it is obtained in a cold frame. Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and remove as much of the tail and outer coat as possible. A period of cold stratification is beneficial. The seed germinates in 1 – 9 months or more at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Internodal cuttings of soft to semi-ripe wood, late spring in sandy soil in a frame. Layering of old stems in late winter or early spring. Layering of current seasons growth in early summer.

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Edible Uses: Young shoot tips are cooked and eaten or pickled. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses:

The flowers and leaves are diaphoretic, diuretic and rubefacient. They are taken both internally and externally in the treatment of syphilitic, cancerous and other foul ulcers. Caution is advised since this is a poisonous plant. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism and skin eruptions.

Known Hazards: Although no reports of toxicity have been seen for this species, some if not all members of this genus are mildly poisonous. The toxic principle is dissipated by heat or by drying.

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.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/clemat73.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clematis_recta
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Clematis+Recta

 

 

 

 

 

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Centaurea solstitalis

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Botanical Name : Centaurea solstitalis
Family:    Asteraceae
Tribe:    Cynareae
Genus:    Centaurea
Species:C. solstitialis
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:    Asterales

Synonym: St. Barnaby’s Thistle.

Common Names: yellow star-thistle, golden starthistle, yellow cockspur and St. Barnaby’s thistle (or Barnaby thistle)

Habitat : Centaurea solstitalis is native to the Mediterranean Basin region. It grows on cultivated land and waste ground.

Description:
Centaurea solstitalis forms a scrubby bush, 18 inches to 2 feet high, with the lower part of the stems very stiff, almost woody, the branches when young very soft, with broad wings, decurrent from the short, strap-shaped leaves. The lower leaves are deeply cut into, the upper ones narrow and with entire margins. The spines of the flower-heads are very long, 1/2 inch to 1 inch in length, pale yellow. The whole plant is hoary.
CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

This plant obtains its name from being supposed to flower about St. Barnabas’ Day, June 11 (old style).

During the vegetative stage if forms a rosette of non-spiny leaves (5–20 cm diameter). As the summer approaches, it produces a flowering stem (1 m) which will produce numerous spinous capitula containing numerous (10-50) yellow flowers. Flowers within capitula are pollinated by insects and each capitula will produce a mix of (10-50) pappus and non-pappus seeds. It is an annual semelparous species, and will die after reproduction is completed, normally by the end of the summer.
Cultivation:
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils. A good bee and butterfly plant the flowers are rich in nectar. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. If you have sufficient seed it can be sown in situ in the spring, and an autumn swing in situ might also be worth trying.

Edible Uses: The plant is eaten as a vegetable. The part used is not specified.

Medicinal Uses:
Parts Used: Herb, seeds, root

It has been used for the same purposes as the Common Star Thistle. Many species of Centaurea grow wild in Palestine, some of formidable size. Canon Tristram mentions some in Galilee through which it was impossible to make way till the plants had been beaten down. ‘Thistle’ mentioned several times in the Bible refers to some member of this family (Centaurea), probably C. Calcitrapa, which is a Palestinian weed.

The powdered seed is used as a remedy for stone. The powdered root is said to be a cure for fistula and gravel.

Known Hazards: There is a report that the plant causes brain lesions and a nervous syndrome called ‘chewing disease’ in horses.

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/Centaurea_solstitialis
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thistl11.html#com

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Centaurea+solstitialis

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Centaurea Colcitrapa

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Botanical Name : Centaurea Colcitrapa
Family:    Asteraceae
Tribe:    Cynareae
Genus:    Centaurea
Species:C. calcitrapa
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:    Asterales

Common Names :Common Star Thistle,Purple starthistle, Red starthistle     ( The species name calcitrapa comes from the word caltrop, a type of weapon covered in sharp spikes.)

Habitat :Centaurea Colcitrapa is native to Europe but is rarely found there, it is known across the globe as an introduced species and often a noxious weed.Centaurea Colcitrapa occurs in waste places and by roadsides, but is somewhat rare and chiefly found in south-east England.

Description:
Centaurea Colcitrapa is an annual or Biennial plant growing erect to a maximum height of one to 1.3 metres. The stems are hairless and grooved.

click & see the pictures

It sometimes takes the shape of a mound, and it is finely to densely hairy to spiny. The leaves are dotted with resin glands. The lowermost may reach a length of 20 centimeters and are deeply cut into lobes. The inflorescence contains a few flower heads. Each is 1.5 to 2 centimeters long and oval in general shape. The phyllaries are green or straw-colored and tipped in tough, sharp yellow spines. The head contains many bright purple flowers. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long which lacks a pappus.

It flowers from July until September, and the seeds ripen from August to October.

The Red Star-thistle has been identified as a Priority Species by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. It is identified as ‘vulnerable’ by the UNIC and is listed as Nationally Rare in the UK Red Data Book. There is no national or Sussex BAP for this species.

Cultivation: 
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils[200]. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If you have sufficient seed, it can also be sown in situ during August/September.

Edible Uses:  Leaves and young stems are eaten  raw or cooked.

Medicinal Uses:
The seeds used to be made into powder and drunk in wine as a remedy for stone, and the powdered root was considered a cure for fistula and gravel.

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.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/thistl11.html#com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_calcitrapa
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Centaurea+calcitrapa

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