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Herbs & Plants

Alnus rhombifolia

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Botanical Name : Alnus rhombifolia
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Alnus
Subgenus: Alnus
Species: A. rhombifolia
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fagales

Common Names: White Alder

Habitat : Alnus rhombifolia is native to Western N. AmericaBritish Columbia to California. It is usually found in rocky or gravelly soils along the sides of streams, in canyon bottomlands and gulches, from near sea level to 2400 metres.

Description:
Alnus rhombifolia is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15–25 metres (49–82 ft) (rarely to 35 metres (115 ft)) tall, with pale gray bark, smooth on young trees, becoming scaly on old trees. The leaves are alternate, rhombic to narrow elliptic, 4–10 centimetres (1.6–3.9 in) long and 2–5 centimetres (0.79–1.97 in) cm broad, with a finely serrated margin and a rounded to acute apex; they are thinly hairy below.

The flowers are produced in catkins. The male catkins are pendulous, slender,3–10 centimetres (1.2–3.9 in) long, yellowish, and produced in clusters of two to seven; pollination is in early spring, before the leaves emerge. The female catkins are ovoid, when mature in autumn 10–22 millimetres (0.39–0.87 in) long and 7–10 millimetres (0.28–0.39 in) broad, on a 1–10 millimetres (0.039–0.394 in) stem, superficially resembling a small conifer cone. The small winged seeds disperse through the winter, leaving the old woody, blackish ‘cones’ on the tree for up to a year after…..CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

The white alder is closely related to the red alder (Alnus rubra), differing in the leaf margins being flat, not curled under. Like other alders, it is able to fix nitrogen, and tolerates infertile soils.
Cultivation:
Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates very infertile sites. A fairly fast-growing but short-lived species, reaching its maximum size in 50 – 60 years. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Special Features:North American native, Wetlands plant, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe and only just covered. Spring sown seed should also germinate successfully so long as it is not covered. The seed should germinate in the spring as the weather warms up. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. If growth is sufficient, it is possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in pots outdoors and plant them out in the spring. If you have sufficient quantity of seed, it can be sown thinly in an outdoor seed bed in the spring. The seedlings can either be planted out into their permanent positions in the autumn/winter, or they can be allowed to grow on in the seed bed for a further season before planting them. Cuttings of mature wood, taken as soon as the leaves fall in autumn, outdoors in sandy soil.

Edible Uses:
Catkins – raw or cooked. A bitter flavour. Inner bark. No more information is given, but inner bark is often dried and can be used as a flavouring in soups or can be mixed with cereal flours when making bread etc.
Medicinal Uses:
The bark is astringent, diaphoretic, emetic, haemostatic, stomachic and tonic. A decoction of the dried bark is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, haemorrhages in consumption, stomach aches and to facilitate child birth. Externally it can be used as a wash for babies with skin diseases, nappy rash etc. A poultice of the wood is applied to burns. Some Plateau Indian tribes used white alder for female health treatment needs.

Other Uses:
Baby care; Basketry; Dye; Fuel; Tannin; Wood.

The bark and the strobils are a source of tannin. The roots have been used to make baskets. The inner bark can be dried, ground into a powder then mixed with flour and water for use as a dye. The colour is not specified. The fresh bark can be chewed and used as a red dye. Wood – light, soft, not strong, brittle, close and straight-grained, very durable in water. It is of limited value as a low-grade lumber, but is used principally for fuel.

Landscape Uses:Massing, Woodland garden.

Known Hazards: The freshly harvested inner bark is emetic but is alright once it has been dried.
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/Alnus_rhombifolia
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Alnus+rhombifolia

Categories
Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Alnus nepalensis

 

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Botanical Name : Alnus nepalensis
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Alnus
Subgenus: Alnus
Species: A. nepalensis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fagales

Common Names: Utis in Nepali and Nepalese alder in English.

Habitat : Alnus nepalensis occurs throughout the Himalaya at 500–3000 m of elevation from Pakistan through Nepal and Bhutan to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows best on deep volcanic loamy soils, but also grows on clay, sand and gravel. It tolerates a wide variety of soil types and grows well in very wet areas. It needs plenty of moisture in the soil and prefers streamside locations, but also grows on slopes.

Description:
Alnus nepalensis is a large deciduous alder tree with silver-gray bark that reaches up to 30 m in height and 60 cm in diameter. The leaves are alternate, simple, shallowly toothed, with prominent veins parallel to each other, 7–16 cm long and 5–10 cm broad. The flowers are catkins, with the male and female flowers separate but produced on the same tree. The male flowers are 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in) long and pendulous, while the female flowers are erect, 1 to 2 cm (0.4 to 0.8 in), with up to eight together in axillary racemes. Unusually for an alder, they are produced in the autumn, with the seeds maturing the following year.

The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.It can fix Nitrogen…….CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURES

Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.

Cultivation:
Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Succeeds in very infertile sites. The Nepalese alder is reported to tolerate clay, flooding, fog, gravel, sand, shade, slope, water-logging, and weeds. It is not tolerant of high winds. Grows best in deep well-drained loams or loamy soils of alluvial soils, but ranges from gravel to sand to clay. Prefers an annual rainfall estimated at 50 – 250cm, an annual average temperature in the range of 19 – 23°C, and a pH of 6 – 8. This species is possibly only hardy in the milder areas of Britain. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe and only just covered. Spring sown seed should also germinate successfully so long as it is not covered. The seed should germinate in the spring as the weather warms up. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. If growth is sufficient, it is possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in pots outdoors and plant them out in the spring. If you have sufficient quantity of seed, it can be sown thinly in an outdoor seed bed in the spring. The seedlings can either be planted out into their permanent positions in the autumn/winter, or they can be allowed to grow on in the seed bed for a further season before planting them. Cuttings of mature wood, taken as soon as the leaves fall in autumn, outdoors in sandy soil.

Medicinal Uses:
A useful diuretic for reducing swelling of the leg. The juice of the bark is boiled and the gelatinous liquid applied to burns.

Other Uses:
Dye; Fuel; Soil stabilization; Wood.

The bark contains 7% tannin, it is used in dyeing and tanning. It is used to deepen the red colour of madder, Rubia cordifolia. A fast growing species, it is suitable for plantation cultivation in tropical uplands. The tree is locally cultivated by West Java Forest Service to reforest eroded slopes under ever-wet climates. The tree establishes rapidly on areas subject to landslides, binding the soil with its extensive root system and stabilizig the slope. Wood – soft, tough, even grained, rather durable, easily sawn, seasons well and does not warp. It is used to a limited extent in carpentry, house construction, tea boxes, for making furniture, rope bridges etc. A very good timber, it deserves to be more widely used. In India the trees are coppiced every two years for fuel.

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/Alnus_nepalensis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Alnus+nepalensis

Categories
Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Pfaffia paniculata

Botanical Name : Pfaffia paniculata
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Hebanthe
Species:H. eriantha
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:Caryophyllales

Common Names:  Suma or Pfaffia paniculata,  Brazilian ginseng

Habitat : Pfaffia paniculata is native to the rain forests of the Amazon and other tropical regions of Latin America, including Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Description:
Suma is a large, rambling, shrubby ground vine with an intricate, deep, and extensive root system……CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES:

Constituents: (amino acids, electrolytes, trace minerals, pfaffic acid, germanium, sitosterol, stigmasterol, beta-ecdysone, saponins)

Suma root contains 19 different amino acids, a large number of electrolytes, trace minerals, iron, magnesium, zinc, vitamins A, B1, B2, E, K, and pantothenic acid. Its high germanium content probably accounts for its properties as an oxygenator at the cellular level; its high iron content may account for its traditional use for anemia. The root also contains novel phytochemicals including saponins (pfaffosides), pfaffic acid, beta-ecdysterone, glycosides, and nortriterpenes.

Medicinal Uses:
It increases energy, strengthens the immune system, fortified hormones (especially estrogen), reduces tumors and cancers, regulates blood sugar. It is considered a near panacea in Brazil, which it is called  Brazilian ginseng.  In herbal medicine in Ecuador today, Suma is considered a tonic for the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, the reproductive system, and the digestive system and is used to treat hormonal disorders, sexual dysfunction and sterility, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, circulatory and digestive disorders, rheumatism, and bronchitis. In European herbal medicine Suma is used as to restore nerve and glandular functions, to balance the endocrine system, to strengthen the immune system, for infertility, menopausal and menstrual symptoms, to minimize the side-effect of birth control medications, for high cholesterol, to neutralize toxins and as a general restorative tonic after illness. In North and South American herbal medicine Suma root is used as an adaptogenic and regenerative tonic regulating many systems of the body, as an immunostimulant, and is used to treat exhaustion resulting from Epstein-Barr disease and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, hypoglycemia, impotency, arthritis, anemia, diabetes, cancer, tumors, mononucleosis, high blood pressure, PMS, menopause and hormonal disorders and many types of stress. Suma has also been called “The Russian Secret” because it is taken by Russian Olympic athletes to increase muscle-building and endurance without the side effects associated with steroids. This action is attributed to the anabolic agent, beta-ecdysterone as well as three novel ecdysteroid glycosides which are found in high amounts in Suma. Suma is such a rich source of beta-ecdysterone, that it is the subject of a Japanese patent for the extraction methods employed to obtain it from this root. Two other plant hormones found in Suma, sitosterol and stigmasterol, are believed to encourage estrogen production and may account for it’s use for menopausal symptoms.

Although suma is claimed as an ancient Brazilian folk remedy, no confirmation of that statement is found in the modern literature on medicinal plants. Advocates have claimed suma is an immune enhancer, an adaptogen (helps combat stress), and that it possesses anticancer activities. Test tube studies do indicate possible anti-tumor activity of suma constituents called pfaffosides. Suma has been marketed as Brazilian ginseng, though it is not an adaptogen (a substance that invigorates or strengthens the system) and is not related to Asian ginseng or American ginseng. In light of the lack of known traditional use, and of modern research confirming health benefits, use of suma is not recommended for any condition at this time.

The root of this rambling ground vine found in South America is used traditionally as a medicine and tonic. Nicknamed “para tudo” which means “for all,” suma is a traditional herbal medicine.

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/Hebanthe_eriantha
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm
http://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/hn-2170000
http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail508.php

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Viburnum lantanoides

Botanical Name : Viburnum lantanoides
Family: Adoxaceae
Genus: Viburnum
Species:V. lantanoides
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Dipsacales

Synonyms: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade

Common Names: Hobble-bush, Witch-hobble, Alder-leaved viburnum, American wayfaring tree, and Moosewood

Habitat : Viburnum lantanoides is found in the eastern U.S. and Canada from Georgia to the Canadian Maritimes. It grows in rich, moist acidic woods, stream banks, and swamps.

Description:
Viburnum lantanoides is a deciduous perennial shrub, growing 2–4 meters (6–12 ft) high with pendulous branches that take root where they touch the ground. These rooted branches form obstacles which easily trip (or hobble) walkers – hence the common name.

The shrub forms large clusters of white to pink flowers in May–June. The flowers on the outer edge of the clusters are much larger (3–5 cm across). The whole cluster is typically 10 cm across. It has large, cardioid leaves which are serrate, 10–20 cm long. The bark is gray-brown and warty and the fruit is a drupe which is red, turning to black when ripened….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.The plant is not self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils.
It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but is ill-adapted for poor soils and for dry situations. It prefers a deep rich loamy soil in a shady position. Requires a moist acid soil and woodland conditions but without competition from other plants. Another report says that it requires an exposed position. Dislikes alkaline soils. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in spring. A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -30°c. Plants are self-incompatible and need to grow close to a genetically distinct plant in the same species in order to produce fruit and fertile seed. Plants are often self-layering in the wild and form thickets. This species is closely related to V. furcatum.
Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Germination can be slow, sometimes taking more than 18 months. If the seed is harvested ‘green’ (when it has fully developed but before it has fully ripened) and sown immediately in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring[80]. Stored seed will require 2 months warm then 3 months cold stratification and can still take 18 months to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of soft-wood, early summer in a frame. Pot up into individual pots once they start to root and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 – 8 cm long with a heel if possible, July/August in a frame. Plant them into individual pots as soon as they start to root. These cuttings can be difficult to overwinter, it is best to keep them in a greenhouse or cold frame until the following spring before planting them out. Cuttings of mature wood, winter in a frame. They should root in early spring – pot them up when large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if sufficient new growth is made, otherwise keep them in a cold frame for the next winter and then plant them out in the spring. Layering of current seasons growth in July/August. Takes 15 months.
Edible Uses:
Fruit – raw or cooked. Sweet and palatable, tasting somewhat like raisins or dates. The fruits have a large seed and a thin flesh. The taste is best after a frost. The ovoid fruit is about 15mm long and contains a single large seed.

Medicinal Uses:
Analgesic; Blood purifier; Infertility.

The leaves are analgesic. They have been mashed and applied to the head as a poultice to ease a migraine. A decoction of the roots has been used as a blood medicine. The decoction has been used as a fertility aid by women.

Other Uses : The flowers provide nectar for the Celastrina ladon (Spring Azure) butterfly. Mammals and birds feed on its fruit, twigs, and leaves. The large showy flowers are decorative to flower garden.

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/Viburnum_lantanoides
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Viburnum+lantanoides

Categories
Ailmemts & Remedies

Zica Virus

Definition:
Zika virus is a member of the virus family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus, transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus, the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
The infection, known as Zika fever, often causes no or only mild symptoms. Since the 1950s it has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia. In 2014, the virus spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America, where the Zika outbreak has reached pandemic levels.

Click  & see  : zika virus – News Images

The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Southern Asia and the Western Pacific. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys and was first identified in people in 1952 in Uganda and Tanzania, according to the World Health Organization.
Transmission:
The vertebrate hosts of the virus were primarily monkeys in a so-called enzootic mosquito-monkey-mosquito cycle, with only occasional transmission to humans. Before the current pandemic began in 2007, Zika virus “rarely caused recognized ‘spillover’ infections in humans, even in highly enzootic areas”. Infrequently, other arboviruses have become established as a human disease though, and spread in a mosquito–human–mosquito cycle, like the yellow fever virus and the dengue fever virus (both flaviruses), and the chikungunya virus (a togavirus)

Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact?

Two cases of possible person-to-person sexual transmission has been described, but the PAHO said more evidence is needed to confirm whether sexual contact is a means of Zika transmission.

It is unknown whether women can transmit Zika virus to their sexual partners. As of February 2016, the CDC recommends that men “who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission who have a pregnant partner should abstain from sexual activity or consistently and correctly use condoms during sex (i.e., vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, or fellatio) for the duration of the pregnancy.” Men who reside in or have traveled to an area of active Zika virus transmission and their non-pregnant sex partners “might consider” abstinence or condom use. The CDC did not specify how long these practices should be followed with non-pregnant partners because the “incidence and duration of shedding in the male genitourinary tract is limited to one case report” and that “testing of men for the purpose of assessing risk for sexual transmission is not recommended.

The PAHO also said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. There is no evidence the virus can be transmitted to babies through breast milk.

CDC issued new recommendations to those who have traveled to Zika-prone areas: Use condoms during sex or don’t have sex. – Click  & See 
Symptoms:
Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. The illness it causes is similar to a mild form of dengue fever, is treated by rest, and cannot yet be prevented by drugs or vaccines. There is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly in newborn babies by mother-to-child transmission, as well as a stronger one with neurologic conditions in infected adults, including cases of Guillain–Barré syndrome.

People who get Zika virus disease typically have a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain and fatigue that can last for two to seven days. But as many as 80 percent of people infected never develop symptoms. The symptoms are similar to those of dengue or chikungunya, which are transmitted by the same type of mosquito.

Diagnosis:
The PAHO said there is no evidence that Zika can cause death, but some cases have been reported with more serious complications in patients with pre-existing medical conditions.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in newborns marked by abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly. It also has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system. Scientists are studying whether there is a causal link between Zika and these two disorders.

Treatment:
There is no defenite treatment developed yet.Patients are adviced to take rest. Doctors sometimes prescribe few nominal medicines to get little relieve from extenal symptoms.

Prevention:
Defense against mosquitoes is defense against Zika. The CDC recommends long clothing and insect repellent. If you develop symptoms, go see a doctor.

Vaccine development:
Effective vaccines exist for several flaviviruses. Vaccines for yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis, and tick-borne encephalitis were introduced in the 1930s, while the vaccine for dengue fever only became available for use in the mid-2010s.

Work has begun towards developing a vaccine for Zika virus, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  The researchers at the Vaccine Research Center have extensive experience from working with vaccines for other viruses such as West Nile virus, chikungunya virus, and dengue fever.   Nikos Vasilakis of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases predicted that it may take two years to develop a vaccine, but 10 to 12 years may be needed before an effective Zika virus vaccine is approved by regulators for public use.

Indian company Bharat Biotech is working on two approaches to a vaccine: “recombinant”, involving genetic engineering, and “inactivated”, where the virus is incapable of reproducing itself but can still trigger an immune response. On 3 February 2016, the company claimed animal trials of the inactivated version would commence in two weeks.

Since April 2015, a large, ongoing outbreak of Zika virus that began in Brazil has spread to much of South and Central America and the Caribbean. In January 2016, the CDC issued a level 2 travel alert for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.   The agency also suggested that women thinking about becoming pregnant should consult with their physicians before traveling. Governments or health agencies of the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand,   Canada, and the European Union soon issued similar travel warnings. In Colombia, Minister of Health and Social Protection Alejandro Gaviria Uribe recommended to avoid pregnancy for eight months, while the countries of Ecuador, El Salvador, and Jamaica have issued similar warnings.

Plans were announced by the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to try to prevent the spread of the Zika virus during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in that city.

According to the CDC, Brazilian health authorities reported more than 3,500 microcephaly cases between October 2015 and January 2016. Some of the affected infants have had a severe type of microcephaly and some have died. The full spectrum of outcomes that might be associated with infection during pregnancy and the factors that might increase risk to the fetus are not yet fully understood. More studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy. In the worst affected region of Brazil, approximately 1 percent of newborns are suspected of being microcephalic.

Click & see  : 2007 Yap Islands Zika virus outbreak   
Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zika_virus
http://www.whio.com/news/news/national/what-zika-virus-and-isnt/nqKzc/
http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-why-zika-virus-causing-alarm-233408770.html;_ylt=AwrXnCHbw7ZWumkA6oHQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByNDZ0aWFxBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwM2BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg–

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