Categories
Herbs & Plants

Cinchona calisaya

[amazon_link asins=’B00FIWHNPU,B0014AUMPI,B07BRVKF38,B078TDVXDV,B01LR82G5K,B0007V6L4Q,B001VODY66′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’cdc14da7-4e14-11e8-b354-7d1b7fff6ac4′]

Botanical Name : Cinchona calisaya
Family: Rubiaceae
Subfamily: Cinchonoideae
Tribe: Cinchoneae
Genus: Cinchona
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales
Synonyms: Jesuit’s Powder. Yellow Cinchona. Cinchona ledgeriana (Howard.) Bern.Moens. ex Trimen. Cinchona officinalis Auct.

Common Name: Peruvian Bark, Quinine

Habitat : Cinchona calisaya is native to western S. America – Bolivia, Peru. It grows on cool, humid, mountain regions. Andean rainforests.
Description:
Cinchona calisaya is an evergreen tree growing to 6 m (19ft) by 6 m (19ft) at a medium rate. The flowers are white and pinkish arranged in panicles, very fragrant. Not all the species yield cinchona or Peruvian bark.

Its great value as a tonic and febrifuge depends on an alkaloid, quina (Quinine). This substance chiefly exists in the cellular tissue outside the liber in combination with kinic and tannic acids. Calisaya yields the largest amount of this alkaloid of any of the species – often 70 to 80 per cent of the total alkaloids contained in the bark which is not collected from trees growing wild, but from those cultivated in plantations. The bark for commerce is classified under two headings: the druggist’s bark, and the manufacturer’s at a low price. The great bulk of the trade is in Amsterdam, and the bark sold there mainly comes from Java. That sold in London from India, Ceylon and South America. Mature Calisaya bark has a scaly appearance, which denotes maturity and high quality. It is very bitter, astringent and odourless.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils.

It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Cultivation:
A plant of the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations from 400 – 3,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 – 24 degree centigrade but can tolerate 7 – 28 degree centigrade. It can be killed by temperatures of 5 degree centigrade or lower. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,500 – 3,000mm, but tolerates 1,400 – 3,800mm. Requires a well-drained, moist soil and a position in full sun or partial shade. It grows very poorly or not at all on soils that have been exposed to fire. Prefers a pH in the range 5 – 6, tolerating 4.5 – 6.5. Plants start flowering after 3 – 4 years, and are uprooted and harvested after 8 – 12 years. In commercial plantations, the trees are coppiced when about 6 years old.
Propagation:
Seed – Nodal softwood cuttings. Cuttings of half-ripe wood in a sandy soil.

Constituents: The bark should yield between 5 and 6 per cent of total alkaloids, of which not less than half should consist of quinine and cinchonidin. Other constituents are cinchonine, quinidine, hydrocinchonidine, quinamine, homokinchonidine, hydroquinine; quinic and cinchotannic acids, a bitter amorphous glucocide, starch and calcium-oxalate.
Edible Uses:
Quinine, extracted from the bark of the tree, is used as a bitter flavouring in tonic water and carbonated drinks.

Medicinal Uses:
Peruvian bark has a long history of native use, especially as a treatment for fevers and malaria. Modern research has shown it to be a very effective treatment for fevers, and especially as a treatment and preventative of malaria. The bark contains various alkaloids, particularly quinine and quinidine. Up to 70 – 80% of the total alkaloids contained in the bark are quinine. The bark is a bitter, astringent, tonic herb that lowers fevers, relaxes spasms, is antimalarial (the alkaloid quinine) and slows the heart (the alkaloid quinidine). The bark is made into various preparations, such as tablets, liquid extracts, tinctures and powders. It is used internally in the treatment of malaria, neuralgia, muscle cramps and cardiac fibrillation. It is an ingredient in various proprietary cold and influenza remedies. The liquid extract is useful as a cure for drunkenness. It is also used as a gargle to treat sore throats. Large and too constant doses must be avoided, as they produce headache, giddiness and deafness.

Other Uses:
Other uses rating: Low (2/5). The powdered bark is often used in tooth-powders, owing to its astringency.

Known Hazards : Care must be taken in the use of this herb since excess can cause a number of side effects including cinchonism, headache, rash, abdominal pain, deafness and blindness. The herb, especially in the form of the extracted alkaloid quinine, is subject to legal restrictions in some countries.

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/Cinchona
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cinchona+calisaya
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/calisa08.html

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Cucumis melo

Botanical Name :  Cucumis melo
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucumis
Species: C. melo
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Cucurbitales

Synonym: Musk Melon.

Common Names : cantaloupe, Persian melon and Santa Claus or Christmas melon,

The Armenian cucumber is also a variety of muskmelon, but its shape, taste, and culinary uses more closely resemble those of a cucumber. The large number of cultivars in this species approaches that found in wild cabbage, though morphological variation is not as extensive. It is a fruit of a type called pepo. Muskmelon is native to Persia (Iran), Anatolia, Armenia, and adjacent areas on the west and the east which is believed to be their center of origin and development, with a secondary center including the northwest provinces of India and Afghanistan. Although truly wild forms of C. melo have not been found, several related wild species have been noted in those regions.

Habitat: The Melon is a native of South Asia-from the foot of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, where it grows wild – but is cultivated in the temperate and warm regions of the whole world.

Description:
Cucumis melo is an annual, trailing herb, with large palmately-lobed leaves and bears tendrils, by which it is readily trained over trellises. Its flowers (which have bellshaped corollas, deeply five-lobed) are either male or female, both kinds being borne on the one plant. The male flowers have three stamens, the ovary in the female flowers, three cells. The many varieties of Melon show great diversity in foliage and still more in the size and shape of the fruit, which in some kinds is as small as an olive, in others as large as the Gourd (Cucurbita maxima). Some are globular, others egg-shaped, spindle-shaped or serpent-like, the outer skin smooth or netted, ribbed or furrowed, and variously coloured; the flesh, white, green or orange when ripe, scented or scentless, sweet or insipid, some bitter and even nauseous.
CLICK TO SEE THE PICTURES
Muskmelons are monoecious plants. They do not cross with watermelon, cucumber, pumpkin, or squash, but varieties within the species intercross frequently. The genome of Cucumis melo L. was first sequenced in 2012

Medicinal Uses:
-The root of the Common Melon is purgative, and in large doses (7 to 10 grains) is said to be a certain emetic, the active and bitter principle having been called Melon-emetin.

The MELON-TREE, so-called, is the PAPAW, or Papaya (Carica Papaya, Linn.), a native of tropical America, where it is everywhere cultivated for its edible fruit and digestive properties.

The dried juice is largely used in the treatment of indigestion, under various trade names, ‘Papain,’ a white powder, being administered in all digestive disorders where albuminoid substances pass away undigested.

Click & see : What Are Cantaloupes Good For?

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/Cucumis_melo
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/melons30.html

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Uvularia perfoliata

[amazon_link asins=’B00L9FO772,B07252N88X,B06X1D2Q7X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d11e0448-2c84-11e7-82cd-253835a6f929′]

Botanical Name : Uvularia perfoliata
Family : Liliaceae
Genus : Uvularia L.
Species : Uvularia perfoliata L.
Kingdom : Plantae
Subkingdom : Tracheobionta
Superdivision : Spermatophyta
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Liliopsida
Subclass : Liliidae
Order : Liliales
Common Name :Bellwort

Habitat : Uvularia perfoliata is native in United States.

Description:
Uvularia perfoliata is a perennial herb.
The 8″ tall stalks of this East Coast native emerge in early spring adorned with perfoliate (stem runs through the center) green leaves edged with a nice, pure white border. The small, light yellow flowers dangle from the leaf axils. It has taken us nine years to build up enough to share, and quantities are still very limited. As is the case with many native spring ephemerals, Uvularia ‘Jingle Bells‘ goes dormant by midsummer. .

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Orangish or yellow bumps are a good identifying mark for perfoliate bellwort. Large-flowered bellwort has smooth petals.

Medicinal Uses:
The root is used as a poultice or salve in the treatment of boils, wounds and ulcers.  A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of coughs, sore mouths and throats, inflamed gums and snakebites. It is suitable for use by children. An infusion of the crushed roots has been used as a wash to treat sore eyes.

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:
Uvularia perfoliata Jingle Bells
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/uvulariaperf.html
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

Enhanced by Zemanta
css.php