Asparagus
April 10th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Asparagus is a beautiful xerophytic garden plant which is often planted in pots for ornamental use. The leaf-like cladodes are succulent and lush green. The leaves are reduced to scales and the stems are spiny in nature. The fasciculate cluster of succulent roots makes a good identifying characteristic. The insignificant tiny white flowers give rise to small fruits, the size of pepper corns. These fruits which are initially green turn red on maturity.
Bauhinia in Herbal Medicine
April 10th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Bauhinia is a medium sized deciduous tree grown in parks and gardens for its beautiful rosy purple flowers. The leaves bear clefts about halfway down into two rounded lobes. The flat pods produced are about 15 to 25 cm. long and contains about 12 to 15 suborbicular flattened seeds.
Indian Red Amaranth
April 9th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
The Red Amaranth is an herb grows in gardens and waste places. It attains a height of about 1 meter having alternate leaves which are red in color. The tiny flowers grow in clusters at the top of the stem and in the leaf axils. The seeds are very small, black and round.
Celery for Holistic Life
April 9th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Celery is a biennial, erect, branching, garden herb. The root is fleshy and bulbous. The stem is angular and furrowed. The leaves are opposite, dark-green, incised and coarsely toothed. The flowers are gray-white and arranged into compound umbels. Seeds of the plant are small, ribbed and ovate.
Avocado
April 8th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
The avocado is not a very well-known plant. It grows as high as 15 meters in nature, but in cultivation it is kept less than 10 meters. It is cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries. The fruit is large and pear-shaped. It has a thick skin which is purple green in color. It has been introduced in India and is found growing in Bangalore, Pune and a few other places.
Cajanus cajans
April 7th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Cajanus cajans which is synonymous to Cajanus indicus is given different names like: Red gram, Pigeon Pea, Congo Pea, and “Tur” by the local people in India. The plant is usually cultivated and the gram, a rich source of protein is widely used in India for the preparation of the popular “Dal curry”.
Chili Pepper in Herbal Medicine
April 7th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Chili is a perennial plant of tropical countries. The fruit is green or red and various in sizes. It is a many-seeded pod, the more tropical the climate, the more pungent the fruit. Most of the Indian curries have at least a pinch of the powdered Chili to give it the ‘right’ taste. Foreigners who taste the pungent Indian curries state that “they have had a foretaste of hell!”
Okra (Ladies Finger)
April 7th, 2008 in Herbal medicine
Okra is an annual, erect, stout-stemmed, bristly herb, growing up to 2 meters. The leaves are angular, long-stalked, and coarsely toothed. The single flower located in the axiles of the leaves is pale yellow on color. The fruit is an elongated pod. It is slimy when cut for cooking. It is grown in tropical and subtropical countries.