Tag: Plantae

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Moringa peregrine

Botanical Name : Moringa peregrine
Family :Moringaceae,Horse-Radish Family Tree
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Brassicales
Genus: Moringa

Synonyms:Moringa aptera Geartn

Common Names:Ben Tree,Wispy-needled tree yasar, wild drum-stick tree.

Habitat:Grows in Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts

Description:
Moringa peregrine is a midium size  tree having alternate, compound,pinnate,bipnnate smooth leaves. Flowers are cream,pink and white.Fruit pods are elomgated capsule 32-39 cm x 5-1.7 cm.

click top see……………………..>..….(01).......(1)..

This native of the Red Sea region is mayb ethe strangest member of a strange group. When Moringa peregrina seedlings start out, they have broad leaflets and a large tuber. Through many dry seasons, the shoot dies back below ground to the tuber. As the plant gets older, the leaves get longer and longer, but the leaflets get smaller and smaller and more widely spaced. Adult trees produce leaves with a full complement of tiny leaflets, only to drop them as the leaf matures. However, the naked leaf axis remains, giving the tree a wispy look similar to Tamarix or Cercidium microphyllum. The pink zygomorphic flowers are sweetly scented and contrast with the blue leaves.

A lot of ads from purveyors of Moringa products will try to tell you that the ancient Romans and Egyptians used Moringa oleifera. Not true- in fact, M. peregrina oil was one of the important oils of ancient times. A least in the southern Arabian Peninsula, the tubers of saplings are roasted and eaten.

Medicinal Uses:
The seeds of the common small tree Moringa peregrina are turned into a yellowish oil that cures abdominal pains, infantile convulsion and for childbirth. The testa is removed, powdered and then has salt and water added.

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.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_DE.htm
http://www.explorelifeonearth.org/peregrina.html
http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Moringaperegrina_page.htm

http://www.explorelifeonearth.org/peregrina.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa

http://www.explorelifeonearth.org/peregrina.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Desmodium triflorum

[amazon_link asins=’1623170796,1612120059,0906584191,0517320932,0857110357,1623158524,0789467836′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’02c3f1e0-f77c-11e6-9e8e-c177aa05b6b3′]

Botanical Name : Desmodium triflorum
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Desmodium
Species: D. triflorum
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales

Synonyms:
*Desmodium parvifolium Blanco
*Desmodium granulatum (Schumach. and Thonn.) Walp.
*Hedysarum triflorum L.
*Meibomia triflora (L.) Kuntze

Common Names ;  
Creeping tick trefoil, Three-flower beggarweed (English);  Amor-do-campo (Portuguese);  Hierba cuartillo (Spanish);  Daun mules, Jukut jarem, Delilan (Indonesia);  Rumput barek putih, Sisek tenggiling (Malaysia);  Kaliskis-dalag, Himbispuyo, Gumadep (Philippines);  Smau hae lolook (Cambodia);  Ya-klethoi, Ya-tanhoi, Ya-tansai (Thailand);  Trang qua ba hoa (Vietnam);  Kuddalia (India);  Olmud (Palau);  Konikoni, Vakathengu (Fiji);  Kihikihi (Tonga).

Habitat : Desmodium triflorum is native to tropical countries  of the world.

Description:
A small prostrate annual or perennial legume with a woody taproot.  Strongly branched stems to 50 cm frequently rooting at the nodes to form a mat.  Trifoliate leaves with leaflets up to 12 mm long and 10 mm wide.  Inflorescence with a cluster of 1–3 pink to purple flowers in leaf axils.  Pods flat, segmented, 6–18 mm long and 2–3.5 mm wide with 3–5 articles, and covered with minute hooked hairs.  The upper suture straight and the lower suture constricted between the articles.  Pods break up into segments when ripe.  Seed quadrangular to orbicular ca1.2 x 1.7 mm..

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

Medicinal Uses:

The plant is used in traditional medicine, in order to treat various health problems. A decoction made with the roots of Desmodium triflorum can help treat respiratory problems, such as asthma and coughing. This decoction can also be consumed in order to treat stomach aches or rheumatism.

The leaves are known to help with dysentery, indigestion, and diarrhea. They can even be used to treat children who are having these problems. The plant has antiseptic properties. Therefore, by using the leaves, you can also treat skin problems. A leaf paste can help with wounds, sores, itches, abscesses, ulcers, and skin eruptions.

Side Effects:      There are no known side effects when it comes to Desmodium triflorum. Although not much is known about this, watch out of symptoms of allergic reactions if you’re using the plant for the first time.

Other Uses;
A naturalised component of short (grazed) native and sown pastures, where it can form up to 50% of the herbage.  Creeping mat can provide good ground cover during the wet season, especially in mown or closely cut uses such as under plantation crops and in lawns.

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.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Desmodium_triflorum.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmodium_triflorum
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm

http://www.liveandfeel.com/articles/desmodium-triflorum-is-a-good-remedy-for-asthma-and-cough-3342

Related articles
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Chinese Violet

[amazon_link asins=’B00SHUTS5S,B0042GHOPW,B007IAPJZG,B017XBQHI2,0739421891,B0175Q7H2A,B0711KB8K1,B01MYH2EPM,B00BRJZG8E’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ed5a326f-504b-11e7-8cd6-a3b6529f2a19′]

Botanical Name: Asystasia gangetica
Family: Acanthaceae
Genus: Asystasia
Species: A. gangetica
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonyms:
*Asystasia parvula C.B.Clarke
*Asystasia querimbensis Klotzsch
*Asystasia pubescens Klotzsch
*Asystasia subhastata Klotzsch
*Asystasia quarterna Nees
*Asystasia scabrida Klotzsch
*Asystasia floribunda Klotzsch
*Asystasia coromandeliana Nees
*Justicia gangetica L.
*Asystasia acuminata Klotzsch
*Asystasia coromandeliana Nees var. micrantha Nees
*Asystasia multiflora Klotzsch
*Asystasia ansellioides C.B.Clarke var. lanceolata Fiori
*Asystasia podostachys Klotzsch

Common Names : Chinese Violet, Coromandel or Creeping Foxglove,Asystasia

Habitat :Chinese Violet is widespread throughout the Old World Tropics, and introduced into tropical Americas and Hawaii, where it has become naturalized. Both subspecies of this plant have been introduced to Australia where A. g. micrantha is on the National Environmental Alert List and must be reported when found. The original range of the subspecies is unclear, but it is likely that A. g. gangetica was limited to Asia, and A. g. micrantha was limited to Africa

Description:
This plant is a spreading herb or groundcover, reaching 2 feet in height or up to 3 feet  if supported. The stems root easily at the nodes. The leaves are simple and opposite. The fruit is an explosive capsule which starts out green in colour, but dries to brown after opening……

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Edible  Uses:
In some parts of Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Medicinal Uses;
Chinese Violet is  used as an herbal remedy in traditional African medicine. The leaves are used in many parts of Nigeria for the management of asthma, and scientific investigation has shown some basis for this use.

Other Uses;
Chinese Violet is used as an ornamental plant in several places.This is also an important plant for honeybees, butterflies and other insects. In southern Africa there are at least six species of butterfly that use A. g. micrantha as a larval foodplant; Junonia oenone, Junonia hierta, Junonia natalica, Junonia terea, Protogoniomorpha parhassus and Hypolimnas misippus. The vigorous growth of A. g. micrantha in tropical regions makes it a weed which can smother certain indigenous vegetation where it has been introduced.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asystasia_gangetica

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Achillea moschata

[amazon_link asins=’B071FG9BML,B0728HCD3N,B006GDYSX0,B00CEYF6OK,B071ZFH6FT,B071SDTV7K,B07255HT52′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f40929ed-510f-11e7-bdc8-335c15144c0d’]

Botanical Name : Achillea moschata
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribes: Anthemideae
Subtribes: Achilleinae
Genus: Achillea
Sectio: A. sect. Anthemoideae
Species: Achillea erba-rotta
Subspecies: Achillea moschata subsp. moschata

Synonym: Achillea erba-rotta var. moschata

Common Names : Yarrow, Milfoil, Thousand leaf, Musk Milfoil, Musk Yarrow

Habitat :Achillea moschata   occurs in  Europe and temperate areas of Asia. A few grow in North America.It is a common wayside herb, and is also found growing wild in fields, pastures, and waste places

Description:
Achillea moschata is a common perennial plant from 1 to 3 feet in height, bearing dark-green, crowded, alternate,frilly, hairy, aromatic bi-pinnatifid leaves. The flowers, which are grayish-white (occasionally rose-colored), are arranged in a flat-top, corymbose head. The odor is peculiar, being pleasantly and highly aromatic, somewhat resembling chamomile. The taste is sharp, bitterish, astringent, and slightly saline.It flowers from May to October

You may click to see the pictures of Achillea moschata

Chemical Composition:
Achillea moschata contains a reddish-brown, active, bitter principle called achillein (C20H38N2O15), discovered by Zanon, in 1846 (Liebig’s Annalen), and shown by Von Planta (1870) to be alkaloidal and identical with the achilleine of Achillea moschata. Zanon also found an acid which he named achilleic acid, and which was subsequently (1857) shown by Hlasiwetz to be aconitic acid. A small portion of a volatile oil, dark-green in color, may be obtained from yarrow by distillation with water. Milfoil also contains potassium and calcium salts, resin, gum, and tannin.

Medicinal Uses:
During the time of blooming the flowers alongwith leaves should be gathered (preferably during July), and after rejecting the coarser stems, should be carefully dried. The weight, after drying, is but 15 per cent of the amount collected. The leaves are more astringent than the flowers, the latter being more aromatic than the former. The American plant is said to be more valuable than the European species. Achillea was known to the ancients. Pliny states that the generic term, Achillea, was named from Achilles, a physician, who was one of the first to use a species of this plant as a vulnerary. Yarrow is sold by the native herbalists of India, like rosemary, where it is used as a bitter and in medicated vapor baths for fevers (Dymock). The Italians employed it in intermittent fevers, and in the Scottish highlands it is made into ointment for wounds. According to Linnaeus the Dalecarlians used it as a substitute for hops in the making of ale, believing it to impart to it intoxicating qualities. Both Stahl and Haller used this plant extensively.

The plant is known in Switzerland as forest lady’s herb and has been used there for centuries as a stomach tonic.  An infusion is used in the treatment of liver and kidney disorders, as a tonic to the digestive system, exhaustion, nervous headaches etc.    The oil stimulates gastric secretion and improves appetite; it is feebly diuretic and has a mild antitussive action.  The principle uses are lack of appetite, sluggish digestion; flatulence, diarrhea.

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.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/achillea.html
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm
http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Achillea_erba-rotta_subsp._moschata
http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_36l_achillea_moschata_seeds
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Achillea_moschata_Atlas_Alpenflora.jpg
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Achillea_moschata07072002.JPG

Related articles
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Artemisia afra

[amazon_link asins=’3659840564,B071CRR3T4,B01LZ5MKPT,B01AUTC4HW,1782385541′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e615c6ab-71b7-11e7-a2df-a3ffe9cf0525′]

Botanical Name ; Artemisia afra
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Species: Artemisia afra
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Common Names:wild wormwood, African wormwood (Eng.); wilde-als (Afr.); umhlonyane (Xhosa); mhlonyane (Zulu); lengana (Tswana); zengana (Southern Sotho)

Habitat :Artemisia afra has a  wide distribution from South Africa, to areas reaching to the North and East, as far north as Ethiopia. Artemisia afra is the only indigenous species in this genus.

Description:
Artemisia afra grows in thick, bushy, slightly untidy clumps, usually with tall stems up to 2 m high, but sometimes as low as 0.6 m. The stems are thick and woody at the base, becoming thinner and softer towards the top. Many smaller side branches shoot from the main stems. The stems are ribbed with strong swollen lines that run all the way up. The soft leaves are finely divided, almost fern-like. The upper surface of the leaves is dark green whereas the undersides and the stems are covered with small white hairs, which give the shrub the characteristic overall grey colour. A. afra flowers in late summer, from March to May. The individual creamy yellow flowers are small (3-4 mm in diameter), nodding and crowded at the tips of the branches. Very typical of A. afra is the strong, sticky sweet smell that it exudes when touched or cut.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Medicinal Uses;
Artemisia afra is a well-known medicinal plant in Africa, and is still used effectively by people of many cultures. Uses range from treating cough, fever, colic, headache, to intestinal parasites and malaria. In addition, Artemisia afra is frequently used as a moth repellent, and in organic insecticidal sprays.

The roots, stems and leaves are used as enemas, poultices, infusions, lotions, inhaled (e.g. smoked or snuffed), or as an essential oil.

Artemisia afra is used in many different ways and one of the most common practices is to insert fresh leaves into the nostrils to clear blocked nasal passages. Another maybe not so common use is to place leaves in socks for sweaty feet. The roots, stems and leaves are used in many different ways and taken as enemas, poultices, infusions, body washes, lotions, smoked, snuffed or drunk as a tea. A. afra has a very bitter taste and is usually sweetened with sugar or honey when drunk. Wilde-als brandy is a very popular medicine still made and sold today. Margaret Roberts lists many other interesting uses which includes the use in natural insecticidal sprays and as a moth repellent.

Used mainly as an aqueous decoction or infusion applied externally or taken orally, the extremely bitter taste being masked by the addition of sugar or honey. Fresh leaf may be added to boiling water and the vapors inhaled.  For the treatment of cough, croup, whooping cough, influenza, fever, diabetes, gastro-intestinal disorders and intestinal worms.  As an inhalation for the relief of headache and nasal congestion or a lotion to treat hemorrhoids. In traditional practice, fresh leaf is inserted into the nostrils to relieve nasal congestion or placed in boiling water as a steam bath for menstrual pain or after childbirth. Warmed leaves may be applied externally as a poultice to relieve inflammation and aqueous infusions administered per rectum or applied as a lotion to treat hemorrhoids.  African Artemisia afra foliage was smoked by many Indian tribes to induce visionary states during religious ceremonies. It is a strong narcotic, analgesic and antihistamine. It is an excellent smoke or smoke-mix, reputed for its hallucinogenic effects and psychoactive properties. In Central America and the Caribbean Islands, it is dried and smoked along with Cannabis sativa as an aphrodisiac.  Volatile oils from the plant resulted in significant activity against Aspergillus ochraceus, A. niger, A. parasiticus, Candida albicans, Alternaria alternata, Geotrichum candidum, and Penicillium citrium

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_afra
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/artemisafra.htm
http://www.herbgarden.co.za/mountainherb/article_wildeals.htm

Related articles
css.php