Categories
Herbs & Plants

Allium nutans

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Botanical Name : Allium nutans
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Subfamily: Allioideae
Tribe: Allieae
Genus: Allium
Species: A. nutans
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales

Synonyms:
*Allium tataricum Schult. & Schult.f.
*Allium undulatum Schousb. ex Trev.
*Porrum nutans (L.) Raf.

Common Names: Siberian chives, Blue chives

Habitat : Allium nutans is native to European Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Asiatic Russia (Altay Krai, Krasnoyarsk, Tuva, Western Siberia, Amur Oblast). It grows in wet meadows and other damp locations.
Description:
Allium nutans is a BULB growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). It has one or two bulbs up to 20 mm in diameter. Scapes are winged and 2-angled, up to 60 cm tall. Leaves are flat, tapering at both ends, up to 15 mm wide at the widest spot, about half as long as the scapes. Umbels are spherical, with many pink to pale purple flowers. It is not frost tender. It is in flower from Jun to July, and the seeds ripen from Jul to August.

CLICK &  SEE THE PICTURES

The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Cultivation:
An easily grown plant for a sunny position in a well-drained soil. Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.
Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is usually free and easy, pot up the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle easily and plant out in the following spring. Division can be carried out at almost any time of the year but is probably best done in spring. The clumps should be divided at least every 3 or 4 years in order to maintain vigour, the divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions

Edible Uses: Leaves – eaten  raw or cooked. ( A mild, chive-like flavour.)
Medicinal Uses:
Although no specific mention of medicinal uses has been seen for this species, members of this genus are in general very healthy additions to the diet. They contain sulphur compounds (which give them their onion flavour) and when added to the diet on a regular basis they help reduce blood cholesterol levels, act as a tonic to the digestive system and also tonify the circulatory system.
Other Uses:…..Repellent…..The juice of the plant is used as a moth repellent. The whole plant is said to repel insects and moles.

Known Hazards: Although no individual reports regarding this species have been seen, there have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in large quantities and by some mammals, of certain members of this genus. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible.

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/Allium_nutans
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Allium+nutans

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Anabasis aphylla

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Botanical Name : Anabasis aphylla
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily:Salsoloideae
Tribe: Salsoleae
Genus: Anabasis
Kingdom:Plantae
Order:Caryophyllales

Habitat :Anabasis aphylla is native to Europe – Russia to Siberia and northern China. It grows in the gobi desert, inter-dunes, gravelly alluvial fans, sometimes on arid slopes.

Description:
Anabasis aphylla is a perennial herb, growing to 0.3 m (1ft). It is in flower from Aug to September, and the seeds ripen in October. It is a low, branching semishrub with tiny, scalelike, opposite leaves; the flowers are spikelike inflorescences. The fruit is berry-shaped and has yellowish or pink winglike appendages. It grows in the saline and clayey deserts and semideserts of Southeast, Middle, and Central Asia and also in the southern European part of the USSR, the Caucasus, and Southern Siberia. The young, green branchlets of A. aphylla contain alkaloids, most importantly anabasine, an effective agent for control of insect pests in agriculture; anabasine is also the raw material for obtaining nicotinic acid, or niacin…...CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)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. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native habitat it is likely to succeed at least in the milder parts of the country, particularly the drier areas. It is likely to prefer a well-drained soil and a sunny position.

Propagation : Seed –

Medicinal Uses:…The plant is used medicinally. No more information is given.

Other Uses:….Insecticide; Miscellany; Soil stabilization.

The annual branches contain the alkaloid anabasine (C10H14N2), a botanical insecticide. The plant is used for stabilizing sand dunes

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/Anabasis_(plant)
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Anabasis+Aphylla
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Anabasis+aphylla

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Gentiana triflora

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Botanical Name : Gentiana triflora
Family: Gentianaceae
Genus: Gentiana
Species: G. triflora
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales

Common Names : San hua long dan in Chinese, Clustered Gentian in English

Habitat : Gentiana triflora is native to E. Asia – China, Japan, Siberia. It grows on grassy places, especially along roadsides, from sea level to the mountains.((to higher-elevation (600-1000 m) meadows and forests of China (Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol), Mongolia, Eastern Russia, Korea and Japan. )

Description:
Gentiana triflora is a perennial flowering plant, growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.3 m (1ft).Several erect thick stems radiate from the crown of this rather magnificent plant. At the end of each sprouts a truss of large puckered blue trumpets. It is hardy to zone (UK) 5. It is in flower from Aug to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bumblebees, butterflies…….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Cultivation:
In general, gentians require a moist well-drained soil in a sheltered position, a certain minimum of atmospheric humidity, high light intensity but a site where temperatures are not too high. They are therefore more difficult to grow in areas with hot summers and in such a region they appreciate some protection from the strongest sunlight. Most species will grow well in the rock garden. This species requires a lime-free, peaty, moist but well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. Plants are hardy to about -20°c.

Propagation :
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame. It can also be sown in late winter or early spring but the seed germinates best if given a period of cold stratification and quickly loses viability when stored, with older seed germinating slowly and erratically. It is advantageous to keep the seed at about 10°c for a few days after sowing, to enable the seed to imbibe moisture. Following this with a period of at least 5 – 6 weeks with temperatures falling to between 0 and -5°c will usually produce reasonable germination. It is best to use clay pots, since plastic ones do not drain so freely and the moister conditions encourage the growth of moss, which will prevent germination of the seed. The seed should be surface-sown, or only covered with a very light dressing of compost. The seed requires dark for germination, so the pots should be covered with something like newspaper or be kept in the dark. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. The seedlings grow on very slowly, taking 2 – 7 years to reach flowering size. When the plants are of sufficient size, place them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in March. Most members of this genus have either a single tap-root, or a compact root system united in a single root head, and are thus unsuitable for division. Cuttings of basal shoots in late spring.

Constituents: Gentian blue petals predominantly contain the unusually blue and stable anthocyanin gentiodelphin (delphinidin 3-O-glucosyl-5-O-(6-O-caffeoyl-glucosyl)-3?-O-(6-O-caffeoyl-glucoside))

Medicinal Uses:
Gentian roots contain some of the most bitter compounds known and make an excellent tonic for the digestive system, working especially on the stomach, liver and gall bladder. The root is antibacterial and stomachic. It is used in the treatment of jaundice, leucorrhoea, eczema, conjunctivitis, sore throat, acute infection of the urinary system, hypertension with dizziness and tinnitus. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use.

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/Gentiana_triflora
http://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/592
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Gentiana+triflora

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