Taxacum officinale - Dandelion, Kanphool, Kukraundha : Description and Medicinal Uses

Taxacum officinale (COMMON DANDELION)

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Tribe:	Cichorieae
Genus:	Taraxacum
Species:	T. officinale Taxacum officinale

Taraxacum officinale is native to Europe and Asia,and was originally imported to America as a food crop.This species is a somewhat prolific seed producer, with 54 to 172 seeds produced per head, and a single plant can produce more than 5,000 seeds a year. It is estimated that more than 97,000,000 seeds/hectare could be produced yearly by a dense stand of dandelions.

It can be found growing in temperate regions of the world, in lawns, on roadsides, on disturbed banks and shores of water ways, and other areas with moist soils. T. officinale is considered a weed, especially in lawns and along roadsides, but it is sometimes used as a medicinal herb and in food preparation.

NOTE :-

 Common dandelion is well known for its yellow flower heads that turn into round balls of silver tufted fruits that disperse in the wind called "blowballs" or "clocks" 

BLOW-BALLS

SOME SIGNIFICANT USES OF DANDELION

The plant is known to have high medicinal value. It has been mentioned for its reliever properties in Arabian medical history records, Welsh Manuscripts and English Herbal literature written in the 17th century. The plants roots have been used by renowned herbalists as a tonic. It is known to increase secretion and urine. It also acts a placid purgative.
The root of the Dandelion is a registered drug in Canada and is primarily sold as a diuretic. The hepatoprotective effect of the plant is also known widely. It is also used as a mild laxative. The plant is also used to improve digestion and in increasing appetite. The milky latex that is extracted from the plant is used to relieve warts and as a mosquito repellant.
Dye colors yellow and green are obtained from the flowers of the plant. The caterpillars are also fed this herb.

ETHNOBOTANICAL USES OF DANDELION

• Bone Disorders: The high content of organic magnesium in the plant makes it very good for relieving bone disorders. The juice of the leave with carrot or turnip is used to relieve bone ailments.
• Liver and Gall Bladder ailments: Taraxacum Officinale is beneficial for relieving liver and bladder problems. It plays an important role in handling fat levels in the body. It also has properties that help in flushing toxins out of the body. Tea made of Dandelion is known for its benefits.
• General Debility: Taraxacum Officinale is a general body tonic that supports the waste disposal function of the human body. It helps in bowel movement and improves skin conditions.
• Urinary disorders: Dandelion Tea is used to relieve urinary dysfunctions. The tea of the plant is made from its flowers, fresh leaves and buds.
• Warts: Milk extracted from the cut of the Taraxacum Officinale if applied on warts is benefiting.

............By Ashutosh Lohani.

Erythrina stricta var. suberosa (Indian Coral Tree , Corky coral tree ) - Description, Morphology and Uses.

Erythrina stricta var. suberosa

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:

Plantae

(unranked):

Angiosperms

(unranked):

Eudicots

(unranked):

Rosids

Order:

Fabales

Family:

Fabaceae

Subfamily:

Faboideae

Tribe:

Phaseoleae

Genus:

Erythrina

 SPLITTING THE WORDS

er-ith-RY-nuh -- meaning, red colored
STRIK-tuh -- meaning, erect, upright
sub-er-OH-suh -- meaning, cork bark

 

 

 

 

 COMMON NAMES

English : Corky Coral Tree, Indian Coral Tree • Hindi: धौल ढाक Dhaul dhak • Marathi: पांगारा Pangara • Tamil: கிஞ்சுகம் Kincukam, முருக்கு மரம் murukku maram • Malayalam: Nimbataru, Paribhadram • Telugu: బలభద్రిక Balabhadrika • Kannada: Halivana, Keechige, Mandara • Bengali: রক্তমন্দার Raktamandar • Konkani: Pangar • Sanskrit: मन्दार mandara, पारिभद्र paribhadra • Nepali: फलेदो Phaledo 

DESCRIPTION

1. The tree has a distinctl orange, corky bark and the tree is generally medium-sized.  

2. The leaves are COMPOUND.

3. Crown of the tree is irregular.

4. Flowers are bright red, and attention-catching.

5. Flowers are comprised of 5 petals.

6. Stamens are 10.

7. It's bark contains thorns.  

Erythrina stricta var. suberosa   

Or

Corky Coral tree is usually seen in dry and mixed forest all over the sub-continent.

USES

Its stakes are used as fencing posts around tea gardens . 

Mostly stakes grow into trees if used without delay after cutting from green trees .

 

By - Ashutosh Lohani.

Cluster Fig Tree or Indian Fig Tree or Goolar (Ficus racemosa) : Morphology, Medicinal Uses and Ethnobotanical mythology - INDIAN FORESTRY

Ficus racemosa

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Rosales
Family:	Moraceae
Genus:	Ficus
Species:	F. racemosa

Mythology

In One of our Indian vedas (Atharva veda) Ficus racemosa has been given the prominence of acquiring success, prosperity and joy, also for devastating the enemies.
The tree is seen planted in all the places associated with Lord Duttatreya who is seen as an icon Rishi a sage who represents all the three of the TRINITY of hinduism-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,Creator,Preserver,and destroyer needed for each one to learn by unlearning the obsolete.this is the plan of evolution in analogy.
It has also been described in the story of Raja Harischandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty.
It's leaves plays an integral part in Havans.

  MORPHOLOGY        

Deciduous trees, to 30 m high; bole buttressed; bark 8-10 mm thick, surface reddish-brown or yellowish-brown smooth, coarsely flaky, fibrous; blaze creamy pink; latex milky; young shoots and twigs finely white hairy, soon glabrous; branchlets 1.5-3 mm thick, puberulous. Leaves simple, alternate, stipules 12-18 mm long, lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, pubescent, often persistent on young shoots; petiole 10-50 mm long, slender, grooved above, becoming brown scurfy; lamina 6-15 x 3.5-6 cm, ovate, obovate, elliptic-oblong, elliptic-lanceolate, elliptic-ovate or oblong-ovate, base acute, obtuse or cuneate, apex narrowed, blunt or acute, margin entire, membranous, glabrous, blistered appearance on drying; 3-ribbed from base, 4-8 pairs, slender, pinnate, prominent beneath, intercostae reticulate, obscure. Flowers unisexual; inflorescence a syconia, on short leafless branches or warty tubercles of trunk or on larger branches, subglobose to pyriform, smooth, often lenticellate-verrucose; peduncle 3-12 mm long, stout, orifice plane or slightly sunken, closed by 5-6 apical bracts; internal bristles none; basal bracts 3, 1-2 m long, ovate-triangular, obtuse, persistent; flowers of unisexual, 4 kinds; male flowers near the mouth of receptacles, in 2-3 rings, sessile, much compressed; tepals 3-4, dentate-lacerate, lobes jointed below, red, glabrous; stamens 2, exserted; filaments 1 mm, connate below; anthers oblong, parallel; female flowers sessile or very shortly stalked among gall flowers; tepals 3-4, dentate-lacerate, lobes jointed below, red, glabrous, ovary superior, sessile or substipitate, red spotted; style 2-3 mm long, glabrous, simple; stigma clavate; gall flowers long stalked; ovary dark red, rough; style short. Syconium 2.5 x 2 cm, orange, pink or dark crimson; achene granulate. 

 LEAF :-

Leaves arranged alternately on twigs. Young leaves are toothed. Figs grow directly on trunks or main branches.

leaf

 COMMON NAMES

ਗੂਲਰ ( Guular ) in Punjabi गूलर ( Guular ) in Hindi যজ্ঞ ডিমৰু (Jagna Dimaru) in Assamese ଡିମ୍ବିରି (Dimbiri) in Oriya/Odiya අටිටිකිකා (Attikka) in Sinhala ಅತ್ತಿ (atti) in Kannada మేడి పండు (Medi Pandu) Telugu மலையின் முனிவன் (Malaiyin munivan) in Tamil அத்தி (Aththi) Tamil അത്തി (Aththi) Malayalam. उंबर (Umbar) / औदुंबर (Audumbar) in Marathi. যজ্ঞডুমুর, জগডুমুর (Jogdumur) in Bengali डुम्री (Dumri) in Nepal
TRADITIONAL AND MEDICINAL USES Ficus racemosa (Moraceae) is a popular medicinal plant in India, which has long been used in Ayurveda, the ancient system of Indian medicine, for various diseases/disorders including diabetes, liver disorders, diarrhea, inflammatory conditions, hemorrhoids, respiratory, and urinary diseases. F. racemosa is pharmacologically studied for various activities including antidiabetic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial activities. A wide range of phytochemical constituents have been identified and isolated from various parts of F. racemosa.

matured bark

ETHNOBOTANICAL USE

Astringent lotion of bark can treat wounds inflicted by animal’s claw.

By Ashutosh Lohani.





 

Haustoria (Cuscuta reflexa)

It is a parasitic plant produces special roots that penetrates the host's tissue plant and draws nutrients from it. Haustoria penetrate the host plant's cell wall and siphon {elongated cell found in plant} nutrients from the space between the cell wall and plasma membrane.

NOTE:- It does not penetrate the plant's cell membrane ITSELF.

• Fungi in its further division form haustoria.
• it takes several forms.
• After penetration on the host plant , fungus increases the surface area and when they come in contact with host plasma membrane it releases an enzyme which break down the cell wall, enabling greater potential movement of organic carbon from host to fungus. 

1. Functional exchange takes place within the haustorial complex.
2. The host supplies organic carbon to the fungus, and the metabolic activity within the complex is considerably greater than outside.
3. Carbon from the host is absorbed by the fungus, and transported to the rest of the thallus.
4. The host plant appears to be functioning according to signals from the fungus and the complex appears to be under the control of the invader.
5. The haustorium may be mycelium or root-shaped.

QUE:- Difference between Parasitic root i.e. haustoria and Mycorrhizae ?

Ans:-   Parasitic roots(Haustoria) - Adventitious roots from the nodes of these plants penetrate into the host tissue (via peg-like projections called haustoria) and enter into its conducting tissue (water-conducting and food-conducting) to acquire their nutrition.

Mycorrhizae - Fungus-roots or mycorrhizae are symbiotic associations between a fungus partner and roots of higher plants that benefits both the fungus and the root. The fungus facilitates the absorption of water and nutrients for the plant and the plant furnishes sugars and amino acids for the fungus.

By 
     Alok gupta

Lantana camara : Morphology ,Uses - INDIAN FORESTRY

Taxonomy
Lantana camara      
Scientific name              -           lantana
                                                    Camara
Higher classification     -          lantana
Rank                                -          Species

                   DISCRIPTION 

 LANTANA CAMARA is a low erect or subscandent , vigorous  shrub with stout recurved prickles  and a strong odour of blacks currents.
     
                   GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Lantana is present in many pactic island nation on Pacific rim it occurrs in Australia , Newzealand , China , Thailand  , Indonesia  and India.
   
                   DANGEROUS /POISONOUS
  Warning  pets have reportedly become ill after injesting lantana , the unripe berries are known to be very toxic and the foliage toxic to livestock.
            
                   MEDICINAL USES
LANTANA CAMARA leaves are boiled and applied for swelling and pain of the body. Its bark is astringent and used as a lotion in cutiginous eruption, leprous ulcers.

                     STATUS 

LANTANA  is listed as a category | invasive exotic specie by the Florida exotic pest plant council , which means that it is known to be invading disrupting native plant.

                     INDIGENOUS PRACTICES
Lantana camara is grown as hedge plant its stalks are used as raw material for paper pulp which used for wrapping , writing and printing paper.
 -
By M.S. Khan
Photo Credits - Ashutosh Lohani.

ENTOMOLOGY : Black tailed skimmer (Dragon fly) - Concise Study.

BLACK-TAILED SKIMMER (DRAGON FLY)

  

Scientific Name - Orthetrum cancellatum

CLASSIFICATION :-

KINGDOM - ANIMALIA

PHYLUM -    ARTHROPODA

CLASS     -     INSECTA

ORDER  -       ODONATA

FAMILY  -      LIBELLULIDAE 

The Black-tailed skimmer has an undoubtedly large splendour.

Shown above.Is an adult male.

With it's Characteristic Blue abdomen. Black tip,and transparent wings.

While female has yellow abdomen,black tip and transparent wings. females oviposits alone but with male in attendance and the Eggs are laid in flight by dipping abdomen onto water surface.The females hatch after 5 or 6 weeks and with the help of bottom debris,it's larvae remains partially hidden,and they mostly takes 2 to 3 years for the emergence. Also,

With age, The adult males extensively develop Blue puinescence on their abdomen.

DISTRIBUTION :   Orthetrum cancellatum (Dragon fly) is a widespread European species,But it also occurs from central Asia to the northern parts of China and Arunachal Pradesh in India. HABITAT : Orthetrum cancellatum is found mainly in the following areas :- 1. Marshy Areas 2. Ponds 3. Slow-rivers. and if you're lucky you may get an opportunity for sighting the female dragon fly,as it's said to be less confident and not as bold as it's male counter part.

- By Ashutosh Lohani Photo Credits - Alok Gupta.