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Herbs & Plants

Solidago suaveolens

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Botanical Name ; Solidago suaveolens
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Genus: Solidago
Species: S. odora
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Synonyms: Solidago odora Aiton var. odora

Common Names: Anisescented goldenrod

Habitat : Solidago suaveolens is native to North America.
Description:
Solidago suaveolens is a perennial slender herb. It grows from woody caudices or rhizomes. They have stems that can be decumbent to ascending or erect, ranging in height from 5 to 100 or more centimeters. Some species have stems that branch near the top. Some Solidago species are hairless others have strigose, strigillose, hispid, or short-villous hairs. The basal leaves in some species remain persistent through flowering, while in others the basal leaves are shed before flowering. The leaf margins are often serrate, and leaf faces may be hairless or densely hairy; the distal leaves are sometimes 3-nerved, and hairless or sparsely to densely hairy with scabrous, strigillose, or villous hairs.

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In some species the upper leaves are stipitate-glandular or sometimes resinous. The flowering heads usually radiate, sometimes discoid, with (1–)2 to 1500+ florets in racemiform (club-shaped or pyramidal), paniculiform or corymbo-paniculiform, or sometimes secund arrays. The involucres are campanulate to cylindric or attenuate. The ray florets are pistillate and fertile.

The corollas are yellow or rarely white and are usually hairless. The disc florets are bisexual and fertile and number 2 to 35 typically, but in some species there may be up to 60 florets. The corollas of the disc florets are yellow and the tubes are shorter than the throats. The fruits are cypselae, which are narrowly obconic to cylindric in shape, they are sometimes somewhat compressed. The cypselae have 8 to 10 ribs usually and are hairless or moderately covered with stiff slender bristles. The pappi are very big with barbellate bristles.

Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will succeed in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture retentive soil in sun or semi-shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils. A rather greedy plant, it is apt to impoverish the soil. The plant attracts various beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies to the garden, these insects will help to control insect pests in the garden.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to become dry. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on for their first winter in pots. Plant them out into their permanent positions in spring or early summer. Division in spring or autumn. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Edible Uses :   The flowers and leaves are used to make tea.
Medicinal Uses: An infusion of the dried powdered herb can be used as antiseptic.

Other Uses: Mustard, orange and brown dyes can be obtained from the whole plant

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/Solidago_odora
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Solidago+suaveolens
http://nurserylive.com/buy-aromatic-plants-online-in-india/solidago-suaveolens-goldenrod-plants-in-india

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Solidago odora

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Botanical Name : Solidago odora
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Genus: Solidago
Species: S. odora
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Common Names : Sweet goldenrod, Anise-scented goldenrod or Fragrant goldenrod, Chapman’s goldenrod

Habitat ; Solidago odora is native to Eastern N. America – New Hampshire to Florida, west to Texas and Oklahoma. It grows in dry sterile soil or thin woodlands. Woods and roadsides in Texas.

Description:
Sweet goldenrod is a perennial with 2-5 ft (0.6-1.5 m) stems arising from short rhizomes. The hairy stems bear alternate stemless single-veined narrow dark green leaves with smooth or hairy margins and pointed tips. The leaves are 1-4 in (2.5-10.2 cm) long and smell like licorice when crushed. In late summer, densely crowded golden-yellow flowers appear in branched clusters at the tops of the stems. The individual blossoms are arranged in rows along the upper sides of the flower head branchlets. Fuzzy pale gray seedheads containing tiny nutlets replace the blossoms later in the season. S. odora var. chapmanii is recognized as a separate botanical variety from S. odora var. odora. (The hairs on the stems of var. chapmanii are fairly evenly distributed, though perhaps a bit sparse in a strip below each leaf base, whereas the hairs on var. odora stems are in distinct vertical lines.) Goldenrods tend to hybridize, so identifying them to species, much less variety, may be challenging.

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It is in flower from Jul to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.It is noted for attracting.

Subspecies:
*Solidago odora ssp. odora – most of species range
*Solidago odora ssp. chapmanii (Gray) Semple – Florida only

Solidago odora is mostly used as a herbal/medicinal team with a variety of ethnobotanical uses reported, especially from the Cherokee. It has been considered both a stimulant and a sedative.

Edible Uses :
Edible Parts: Leaves; Seed.

Leaves – cooked. Seed. No more details are given but the seed is very small and fiddly to harvest. An aromatic, anise-flavoured tea is made from the dried leaves and dried fully expanded flowers. The blossoms are used as a flavouring.

Medicinal Uses:

Antiseptic; Aperient; Astringent; Carminative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Stimulant; Tonic.

An infusion of the dried powdered herb is antiseptic. The leaves make a very pleasant-tasting tea that is mildly astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge and stimulant. It is useful in the treatment of coughs and colds, dysentery and ulceration of the intestines. The essential oil has been used as a diuretic for infants, as a local application for headaches and for the treatment of flatulence and vomiting. The flowers are aperient, astringent and tonic. An infusion is beneficial in the treatment of gravel, urinary obstruction and simple dropsy. The root can be chewed as a treatment for sore mouths.

Other Uses:
Dye; Essential.

An anise-scented essential oil is obtained from the plant. It is used medicinally and in perfumery – especially for scenting soaps. Mustard, orange and brown dyes can be obtained from the whole plant.

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:
wildlifehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidago_odora
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Solidago+odora
http://mobile.floridata.com/Plants/Asteraceae/Solidago%20odora/814

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Herbs & Plants

Solidago virgaurea

Botanical Name:  Solidago virgaurea
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astereae
Genus: Solidago
Species: S. virgaurea
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Synonyms: Verge d’Or. Solidago. Goldruthe. Woundwort. Aaron’s Rod.

Common Names: European goldenrod or woundwort

Habitat: Solidago virgaurea is native to Great Britain. It grows widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, India, Turkey, Kazakhstan, etc.). It is grown as a garden flower with many different cultivars. It flowers profusely in late summer.

Description:
Solidago virgaurea is an herbaceous perennial plant.It grows from 2 to 3 feet in height, with alternate leaves, of a clear green, and terminal panicles of golden flowers, both ray and disk, with a branching underground caudex and a woody rhizome. It produces arrays of numerous small yellow flower heads at the top of the stem…..CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant, it succeeds in any moderately fertile moisture retentive soil in sun or semi-shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils. A rather greedy plant, it is apt to impoverish the soil. The bruised plant smells like wild carrots. The sub-species S. virgaurea minuta is only 10cm tall and wide. The plant attracts various beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies to the garden, these insects will help to control insect pests in the garden.

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to become dry. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and grow them on for their first winter in pots. Plant them out into their permanent positions in spring or early summer. Division in spring or autumn. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Edible Uses: Tea…….A tea is obtained from the leaves

Constituents: The plant contains tannin, with some bitter and astringent principles.

Medicinal Uses:
Anthelmintic; Anticoagulant; Antifungal; Antiinflammatory; Antirheumatic; Antiseptic; Aromatic; Astringent; Carminative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic;
Febrifuge; Hypoglycaemic; Stimulant; TB.

Goldenrod is a safe and gentle remedy for a number of disorders. In particular, it is a valuable astringent remedy treating wounds and bleeding, whilst it is particularly useful in the treatment of urinary tract disorders, being used both for serious ailments such as nephritis and for more common problems such as cystitis. The plant contains saponins that are antifungal and act specifically against the Candida fungus which is the cause of vaginal and oral thrush. It also contains rutin which is used to treat capillary fragility, and phenolic glycosides which are anti-inflammatory. The leaves and flowering tops are anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, aromatic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, mildly diuretic, febrifuge and stimulant. A good vulnerary herb, it has also proved of value when used internally in the treatment of urinary infections, chronic catarrh, skin diseases, influenza, whooping cough, bladder and kidney stones etc. Due to its mild action, goldenrod is used to treat gastro-enteritis in children. It makes an excellent mouthwash in the treatment of thrush. The plant is gathered in the summer and dried for later use. The seed is anticoagulant, astringent and carminative. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. It is used in the treatment of kidney and bladder disorders, rheumatism and arthritis. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Solidago virgaurea for infection of the urinary tract, kidney & bladder stones for critics of commission.
Other Uses: Dye.………Mustard, orange and brown dyes can be obtained from the whole plant. A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves and flowers.

Known Hazards:  Mild allergic reactions. Avoid during pregnancy and breast feeding. Care if chronic kidney disease. Irrigation therapy is contraindicated in oedema cases……..click & see
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/Solidago_virgaurea
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Solidago+virgaurea

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Bongardia Chrysogonum

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Botanical Name :Bongardia chrysogonum
Family : Berberidaceae
Genus : Bongardia

Synonyms :      Bongardia rauwolfia – C.A.Mey.,  Leontice chrysogonum – L.

Other Names :Leontice chrysogonum, Bongardia rauwolfia, Golden rod, Lady’s nightcap,

Habitat : N. Africa to W. Asia – Syria to Iran. Steppes, amongst field crops on clayey and solonetzic slopes. Fields, open stony hillsides and waste places.Cultivated Beds;

Description:
Perennial herbs with scapes (20-) 30-50 (-80) cm tall, erect; tuberous rhizome 2-5 cm in diam., almost globose or subglubose. Radical leaves 1-3, imparipinnate or deeply pinnatisect, petiolate, 10-20 (-25) cm long with petiole about 1/4 as long, horizontally spreading; lateral pinnae in 3-8 opposite pairs (rarely 3-4 in a whorl) and a slightly larger terminal pinna closely subtended by a pair of lateral pinnae, oblong-elliptic, sessile, 15-30 mm long, 6-10 (-15) mm broad, glaucous-green, often reddish near the rachis; terminal leaflet distinctly 3-5 toothed at the apex; fresh leaves sometimes mottled with reddish-brown spots. Racemes branched or paniculate in the upper half of the naked scapes, lax, with distant flowers on long bracteate spreading pedicels, Flowers 10-20 mm in diam., yellowish; pedicel 2-5 cm long in fruit, ascending; bracts 4-8 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, entire, sessile. Sepals unequal in size and shape, ovate to suborbicular, 4-6 mm long, caducous. Petals oblong-ovate, lanceolate or elleptic-oblong, 8-12 mm long, 3.5-5 mm broad, yellow, irregularly and sparsely crenulate to entire with usually obtuse and retuse apices. Stamen about half as long as the petal; anthers about as long as the filaments, oblong, opening by 2 valves above. Capsule 10-15 (-20) mm long, 4-8 mm broad, ovoid or oblong-ellipsoid, scarious or membranous grooved or with many folds of the wall, rupturing or splitting irregularly from the tip below; stigma separating with a segment or portion of the wall with a conspicuous dark line below; seeds 1-4 (-6), black, pruinose, 2-3 mm in diam.

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The plant prefers light (sandy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Cultivation:
Requires a well-drained sandy soil and a position in full sun. Strongly dislikes wet conditions. Plants must have hot, dry conditions during their summer dormancy and must not be allowed to become too wet in winter, therefore they are best grown in a bulb frame. Plants can be very long lived.

Propagation
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in the greenhouse, putting about 3 -4 seeds in each pot. Use deep pots since the seedlings produce a contractile root that can pull themselves down to a depth of 15 – 30cm before sending up their first leaf. The seed germinates in autumn and the first leaf appears in the spring. Grow the plants on in the greenhouse for at least 3 years before planting them out. Division is sometimes suggested as a means of increase, but is not possible for this species

Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves; Root.

Tuber – baked or boiled. The leaves are eaten raw or cooked in the same manner as sorrel.

Bongardia chrysogonum’s leaves are edible as raw and the tubers as baked or boiled. (Hedrick. U.P. Sturtevant’s Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972; Facciola. S. Cornucopia – A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990)

Medicinal   Actions  &  Uses
Antispasmodic.

A treatment for epilepsy.

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.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Bongardia+chrysogonum
http://www.avonbulbs.co.uk/bongardia-chrysogonum_275_277.htm
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=250064049
http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Bongardiachrysogonum_page.htm

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