Tag: Botanical Society of the British Isles

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Hydrocotyle

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Botanical Name: Hydrocotyle Asiatica
Family: Araliaceae
Subfamily: Hydrocotyloideae
Genus: Hydrocotyl
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Apiales

Synonyms: Indian Pennywort. Marsh Penny. White Rot. Thick-leaved Pennywort.

Common Names: Water pennywort, Indian pennywort, Marsh penny, White rot

Habitat: Hydrocotyleae grows in Asia and Africa in wet and damp places in the tropics and the temperate zones.
Description:
Water pennyworts, Hydrocotyles, are very common. They have long creeping stems that often form dense mats, often in and near ponds, lakes, rivers, marshes and some species in coastal areas by the sea….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Leaves are Simple, with small leafy outgrowth at the base, kidney shaped to round. Leaf edges are scalloped.
Flowers: Flower clusters are simple and flat-topped or rounded. Involucral bracts Inconspicuous bracts at the base of each flower. Indistinct sepals.
Fruits and reproduction: Elliptical to round with thin ridges and no oil tubes (vitta) which is characteristic in the fruit of umbelliferous plants. The prostrate plants reproduce by seed and by sending roots from stem nodes.

Selected species:
The Hydrocotyle genus has between 75 and 100 species. that grow in tropical and temperate regions worldwide A few species have entered the world of cultivated ornamental aquatics. A list of selected species are :

*Hydrocotyle americana L. — American marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle batrachium Hance
*Hydrocotyle benguetensis Elm.
*Hydrocotyle bonariensis Lam. — largeleaf pennywort
*Hydrocotyle bowlesioides Mathias & Constance — largeleaf marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle calcicola
*Hydrocotyle dichondroides Makino
*Hydrocotyle dielsiana
*Hydrocotyle heteromeria — waxweed
*Hydrocotyle hexagona
*Hydrocotyle himalaica
*Hydrocotyle hirsuta Sw. — yerba de clavo
*Hydrocotyle hitchcockii
*Hydrocotyle hookeri
*Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb.
*Hydrocotyle keelungensis Liu, Chao & Chuang
*Hydrocotyle leucocephala Cham. & Schltdl. — Brazilian pennywort
*Hydrocotyle mannii Hook.f.
*Hydrocotyle microphylla A.Cunn.
*Hydrocotyle moschata G. Forst. — musky marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle nepalensis Hook.
*Hydrocotyle novae-zelandiae DC.
*Hydrocotyle prolifera Kellogg — whorled marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle pseudoconferta
*Hydrocotyle pusilla A. Rich. — tropical marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle ramiflora
*Hydrocotyle ranunculoides L. f. — floating marshpennywort, floating marshpennywort, floating pennyroyal
*Hydrocotyle salwinica
*Hydrocotyle setulosa Hayata
*Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides Lam. — lawn marshpennywort
*Hydrocotyle tambalomaensis
*Hydrocotyle tripartita
*Hydrocotyle umbellata L. — manyflower marshpennywort, umbrella pennyroyal
*Hydrocotyle verticillata Thunb. — whorled marshpennywort, whorled marshpennywort, whorled pennyroyal
*Hydrocotyle vulgaris L.
*Hydrocotyle wilfordii
*Hydrocotyle wilsonii
*Hydrocotyle yanghuangensis

Part Used: The Leaves.

Constituents: An oily volatile liquid called vellarin (which has a strong smell reminiscent of the plant, and a bitter, pungent, persistent taste) and tannic acid.

Medicinal Uses:  A valuable medicine for its diuretic properties; has long been used in India as an aperient or alterative tonic, useful in fever and bowel complaints and a noted remedy for leprosy, rheumatism and ichthyosis; employed as a poultice for syphilitic ulcers. In small doses it acts as a stimulant, in large doses as a narcotic, causing stupor and headache and with some people vertigo and coma.

Other Species:
The native species is not unlike the Indian variety, but there is a slight difference in the leaves.

European hydrocotyle vulgaris (syn. Common Pennywort). Leaves orbicular and peltate. The plant appears to have no noxious qualities; it grows freely in boggy places on the edges of lakes and rivers.

The plant has come into disfavour because it is said to cause footrot in sheep.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocotyle
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hydcol46.html

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Herbs & Plants

Campanula trachelium

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Botanical Name ; Campanula trachelium
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Campanula
Species: C. trachelium
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Common Name :Nettle-leaved Bellflower,bats-in-the-belfry

Habitat ;Campanula trachelium is a Eurasian blue wildflower native to Denmark and England and now naturalized in southeast Ireland. It is also found southward through Europe into Africa and is also found in North America and Germany.

Description:
Life cycle : perennial (Z4-9)
Flowers: violet-blue
Size :18″
Light full : sun-part shade
Cultural notes: well-drained soil, not too dry


CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Typical bellflower, with blue flowers on an upright but fairly small plant, with dark green leaves. Close-up inspection shows that the flowers and stems are slightly hairy. The flowering plants from last year didn’t return this year (although last year’s seedlings did, and are blooming now) – so it seems to have a biennial habit at least in our climate.

Medicinal Uses:
For pains in the ear, the blossoms of bellflower were gathered, boiling in a covered pan and after steeping the liquid, used to wash the ears.  If one had pain in the stomach, the root of this plant was cooked and spirits added.  After steeping for three hours, a small drink helped ease the pain.  In the smaller villages of Poland, children suffering from consumption were bathed in this herb: if the child’s skin darkened after such a bath, it was a sign that he/she would live.  If it didn’t, the disease would take them.

The alternate name Throatwort is derived from an old belief that Nettle-leafed campanulas are a cure for sore throat, & the species name trachelium refers to this old belief. There never was an actual medical benefit from the plant, which had no observable effect on the throat. But in past centuries, belief in the occult Doctrine of Signatures was very deeply stamped on superstitioius “believers.”

Other folknames include Our Lady’s Bells because the color blue was identified with the Virgin Mary’s scarf, veil, or shawl; Coventry Bells because C. trachelium was especially common in fields around Coventry; & “Bats-in-the-Belfry” or in the singular “Bat-in-the-Belfry,” because the stamens inside the flower were like bats hanging in the bell of a church steeple. Web site reference: http://www.paghat.com/gardenhome.html

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.robsplants.com/plants/CampaTrach
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanula_trachelium

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