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Herbs & Plants

Leontodon hispidus

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Botanical Name :Leontodon hispidus
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe:    Cichorieae
Genus:    Leontodon
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:    Asterales

Common Names :  Hawkbits, Bristly Hawkbit

Habitat : Although originally only native to Eurasia and North Africa, some species have since become established in other countries, including the United States and New Zealand.It grows on meadows, roadside verges etc, usually on calcareous soils and avoiding shade

Description:
Leontodon hispidus is a perennial plant growing to a height of 4 to 16 in. Stem is leafless, unbranched with a single capitulum, usually densely covered with star-shaped hairs (sometimes almost or completely glabrous). The leaves are basal rosette. Blades are narrowly elliptic, pinnately lobed–large-toothed, lobes wide.

The  flowers are 0.8 to 1.6 in. wide, single flower-like capitula surrounded by involucral bracts. Capitulum’s ray-florets bright yellow (outermost red-streaked), tongue-like, 5-toothed at tip. Stamens 5. Gynoecium composed of 2 fused carpels. Involucral bracts overlapping, hairy, green. Capitula solitary, terminating scape. Scape thickening only slightly at most. Buds are nodding.Flowering time is June–July.The fruit is achene, crowned by a pappus of yellowish-white feathery hairs.

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It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from Jun to September, and the seeds ripen from Jul to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera, self.The plant is self-fertile.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.

Cultivation:           
An easily grown and tolerant plant, it prefers a sunny position in a well-drained soil and does well on clay. A good bee and butterfly plant[108, 200], it grows well in the spring meadow.

Propagation:     
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in situ, only just covering the seed. Very fast germination. The seed can also be sown in the spring. If you are short of seed it can be sown in a pot in the cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.

Edible Uses :  
Edible Parts: Leaves.
Edible Uses: Coffee.

Young leaves – raw or cooked. Neither the taste nor the texture are by any means wonderful, but the leaves are acceptable raw, particularly since they can be available in the late winter. The roasted root is a coffee substitute

Medicinal Uses:
The herb is diuretic. An infusion is used in the treatment of kidney complaints and as a remedy for dropsy and jaundice.

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/Leontodon
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Leontodon+hispidus
http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/rough-hawkbit
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hawrou05.html

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Herbs & Plants

Ferula galbaniflua

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Botanical Name : Ferula galbaniflua
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Ferula
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Apiales

Synonyms: Ferula  galbaniflua. Bioss.&Buhse.

Common Name : Galbanum

Habitat:Ferula galbaniflua is native to the Mediterranean region east to central Asia, W. Asia – Central Iran, Turkey and southern Russia. mostly growing in arid climates. Herbaceous slopes in steppes.

Description:
Ferula galbaniflua is a  herbaceous perennial flowering plant growing to 1–4 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems. The leaves are tripinnate or even more finely divided, with a stout basal sheath clasping the stem.They are grayish-tomentose, the radical ones being triangular in outline, and decompound-pinnate, pinnatifid, the sections being linear-obtuse. The radical leaves are large and the stem leaves small. The flowers are yellow, produced in large umbels. The umbels of flowers are few, the seeds shiny. The fruit is thin and flat, winged near the face, has slender, prominent ribs, and in the grooves presents single oil-tubes. Sometimes two narrow tubes are present. The commissure has no tubes.

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The whole plant abounds with a milky juice, which oozes from the joints of old plants, and exudes and hardens from the base of the stem after it has been cut down, then is finally obtained by incisions made in the root. The juice from the root soon hardens and forms the tears of the Galbanum of Commerce. The best tears are palish externally and about the size of a hazel nut and when broken open are composed of clear white tears. The taste is unpleasant, bitterish, acrid, with a strong, peculiar, somewhat aromatic smell. The common kind is an agglutinated mass, showing reddish and white tears, this is of the consistency of firm wax, and can easily be torn to pieces and softened by heat; when cold it is brittle, and mixed with seeds and leaves, when imported in lumps it is often considered preferable to the tears as it contains more volatile oil. Distilled with water it yields a quantity of essential oil, about 6 drachms, to 1 lb. of gum. It was well known to the ancients and Pliny called it ‘bubonion.’ Galbanum under dry distillation yields a thick oil of a bluish colour, which after purification becomes the blue colour of the oil obtained from the flowers of Matricaria Chamomilla.

Cultivation:
Succeeds in most soils. Requires a deep fertile soil in a sunny position. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. Another report says that it tolerates temperatures down to at least -15°c and should therefore succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. Plants are intolerant of root disturbance due to their long taproot[200]. They should be planted into their final positions as soon as possible. The flowers have an unpleasant smell.
Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as the seed is ripe in a greenhouse in autumn. Otherwise sow in April in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. Plant them out into their permanent positions whilst still small because the plants dislike root disturbance. Give the plants a protective mulch for at least their first winter outdoors. Division in autumn. This may be inadvisable due to the plants dislike of root disturbance.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

The gum resin obtained from the root is used as a celery-like food flavouring.

Medicinal Uses:
Part Used-:Gum resin.
Constituents: Gum resin, mineral constituents, volatile oil, umbelliferine, galbaresino-tannol.

It is stimulant, expectorant in chronic bronchitis. Antispasmodic and considered an intermediate between ammoniac and asafoetida for relieving the air passages, in pill form it is specially good, in some forms of hysteria, and used externally as a plaster for inflammatory swellings.The leaf aqueous-ethanol extract of Feruia foetida has shown antioxidant and antihemolytic activities.

The whole plant, but especially the root, contains the gum resin ‘galbanum’. This is antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant and stimulant. It is used internally in the treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma and other chest complaints. It is a digestive stimulant and antispasmodic, reducing flatulence, griping pains and colic. Externally it is used as a plaster for inflammatory swellings, ulcers, boils, wounds and skin complaints.

Other Uses:
The aromatic gum resin ‘Galbanum’ is obtained from wounds made in the stem. It is collected by removing soil from around the top of the root and then cutting a slice off the root and can also be obtained from incisions made in the stem. It is used medicinally and is also an ingredient of incense. It was an important ingredient of the incense used by the Israelites.

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.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/galban02.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferula_galbaniflua
http://www.whitelotusblog.com/2011/06/monograph-galbanum-ferula-galbaniflua.html

http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Ferula+gummosa

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Herbs & Plants

Cedron

Botanical Name : Simaba Cedron
Family: Simaroubaceae
Genus:     Simaba
Species: S. cedron
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Sapindales

Syn. : Aruba cedron Kuntze

Common Names:Cedron

Habitat :Cedron is native to  Columbia and Central America.

Description:
Cedron is a  small tree, a native of New Grenada, remarkable for the properties of its seed. It has large pinnated leaves with over twenty narrow elliptical leaflets and large panicles of flowers, 3 to 4 feet long; the fruit is about the size of a swan’s egg, and contains only one fruit, four of the cells being barren. The Cedron of commerce is not unlike a large blanched almond – it is often yellowish, hard and compact, but can be easily cut, it is intensely bitter, not unlike quassia in taste and has no odour. The Cedron of commerce is obtained from the seed. Cedron has always been used in Central America as a remedy for snake-bite, and first came into notice in Britain in 1699.

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Medicinal Uses:
Part Used:  Seeds

Chemical constituents: A crystalline substance called Cedrin was separated by Lowry, but this has been disputed.

It has been found of considerable value in New Grenada as a febrifuge in intermittent fever, and is also recommended as an antiperiodic. There is almost a superstitious belief in its efficacy in eradicating poison, and the natives always carry some of the seeds on their person. For snake-bites, a small quantity is scraped off, mixed with water and applied to the wound, and then about 2 grains are put into brandy or into water and taken internally. Every part of the plant, including the seed, is intensely bitter.

Other Uses:
The powdered bark is used to kill vermin (parasitic worms or insects: example :his clothes are infested with vermin)

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/Simaba_cedron
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cedron42.html

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Iberis amara

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Botanical Name : Iberis amara
Family: Brassicaceae/Cruciferae
Genus:     Iberis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Brassicales

Common Name :candytuft.The name “candytuft” is not related to candy, but derives from Candia, the former name of Iraklion on the Island of Crete

Habitat: Found in various parts of Europe and in English and Scotch cornfields, specially in limestone districts.

Description:
Iberis amara is an annual plant.This plant is an erect, rather stiff, very bitter, 6 to 12 inches high; flowers milky white, forming a terminal flat corymb; leaves oblong, lanceolate, acute, toothed; pod nearly orbicular, the long style projecting from notch at top; it flowers with the corns.

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It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Easily grown in a good, well-drained ordinary garden soil in a sunny position. Prefers a calcareous soil but tolerates mildly acid soils. Succeeds in poor soils and on dry walls. A very ornamental plant. A fast growing plant, do not grow the plants too close together. The flowers are sweetly scented.

Propagation:    
Seed – sow spring in situ for summer flowering or late summer in situ for a spring flowering. The seed germinates within 3 weeks.

Edible Uses : 
Edible Uses: Condiment.
The seeds are sometimes used as a source of mustard. Pungency of mustard develops when cold water is added to the ground-up seed – an enzyme (myrosin) acts on a glycoside (sinigrin) to produce a sulphur compound. The reaction takes 10 – 15 minutes. Mixing with hot water or vinegar, or adding salt, inhibits the enzyme and produces a mild bitter mustard

Medicinal Uses:
Antiarrhythmic;  Antiasthmatic;  AntirheumaticAntiscorbuticHomeopathy.

Little used in modern herbalism, rocket candytuft is a bitter-tasting tonic, aiding digestion and relieving wind and bloating. It is traditionally taken to treat gout, rheumatism and arthritis. All parts of the plant are antirheumatic and antiscorbutic. The seeds are considered very useful in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and dropsy. The plant is gathered in the summer and can be dried for later use. The seeds are harvested when fully ripe. A common homeopathic remedy is made from the seeds.

According to the US Dispensatory (1918), the leaves, stem, and root are said to possess medicinal properties, but the seeds are most efficacious.It has always been used for gout, rheumatism and kindred ailments, and is now usually combined with other plants for the same diseases in their acute form, and as a simple to allay excited action of the heart, especially when it is enlarged. For asthma, bronchitis and dropsy it is considered very useful. In large doses it is said to produce giddiness, nausea, and diarrhea, and to be useful in cardiac hypertrophy, asthma, and bronchitis in doses of from one to three grains (0.065—0.2 Gm.) of the seed. Currently the foliage and stalks are employed in German phytomedicine as a bitter digestive tonic.

A tincture made from the ripe seeds is much used in homoeopathy, but the plant is more generally used by American herbalists. All parts of the plant are used, leaves, stem, root and seeds, more particularly the latter.

Other Uses:
Iberis amara provides nourishment for a number of insect species of which the rare Euchloe tagis butterfly is the most striking example as it is monophagous on species in this genu.They are excellent for rock gardens, bedding and borders in full sun or light shade. Candytuft is a cold hardy, fast-growing annual with lance shaped green leaves. It reaches a height of about 12 inches with a spread of about 6 inches.

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

Resourcs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Iberis+amara
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/canbit17.html

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Asthma weed

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Botanical Name :Lobelia inflata (LINN.)/Parietaria judaica
Family: Urticaceae /Campanulaceae
Subfamily: Lobelioideae
Genus: Parietaria/Lobelia
Species: P. judaica/ L. inflata
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales/Asterales

Common Names: Rapuntium inflatum, Indian-Tobacco, Pukeweed, Asthma Weed, Gagroot, Vomitwort, Bladderpod

Parts Used: The herb and its seeds

Habitat: Asthma Weed is found in the northern United States and Canada

Description:
Perennial herb with spreading to erect stems to 80 (rarely to 100) cm long. Stems reddish to green.It  possesses stalked leaves 1.5–9 cm long, lanceolate, ovate or rhombic, hairy on both surfaces, strongly veined; leaf stalk 1–1.5 cm long.Its flowers are pale violet-blue in colour. Single seeded dry fruit (achene) maturing dark brown to black, hard, 1–1.2 mm long and 0.6–0.9 mm wide
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Roots are pink or red, and woody on older plants. Flowers are very small, light green in colour, and clustered along the stems. Leaves, flowers and stems are covered with sticky hairs that will stick to skin, clothing and animal fur.

The weed spreads mainly by movement of seed, particularly when attached to animals, machinery and people. Some local spread via root pieces.

Medicinal Uses:
Asthma Weed is used as an expectorant, diaphoretic and anti-asthmatic substance. It is used also in epilepsy, tetanus, diphtheria and tonsilitis. Its infusion is used to treat ophthalmia and its tincture cures skin diseases.

Asthma weed (Euphorbia hirta) has been used traditionally in Asia to treat bronchitic asthma and laryngeal spasm. It is used in the Philippines for dengue fever.
Native Americans used lobelia to treat respiratory and muscle disorders, and as a purgative..The species used most commonly in modern herbalism is Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco). However, there are adverse effects that limit the use of lobelia.

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.herbsguide.net/asthma-weed.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medicinal_herbs
http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&card=H68
http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/environment/noxious_weeds/herbs/asthma_weed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parietaria_judaica

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_inflata

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