Philippine Violet is native to India and southeast Asia. It grows as a shrub 60-100 cm tall. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface and pale green on the lower surface. They are elliptic to narrowly ovate. The flowers are about 5 cm long, funnel-shaped in violet or pink color. The fruits are about 1.5 cm long ellipsoid capsules. Thy become hairless and glossy at maturity. In Tamil Nadu it is known as December Poo or December Flower as it blooms in December and is normally strung into garlands of flowers for women to wear in their hair. Medicinal uses: This plant is used in Thailand as a traditional herbal remedy. It allegedly acts as a tonic, diuretic and blood purifier.
Common name: Tubeflower Pavetta Botanical name:Pavetta siphonantha
Family:Rubiaceae (Coffee family) Synonyms: Pavetta hispidula var. siphonantha
Tubeflower Pavetta is plant with leaves with are lanceshaped to elliptic-lanceshaped, long-pointed, hairless above softly-velvety below. White flowers are borne in open flat-topped clusters, with spreading branches. Flowers are stalked, sepals are very short triangular. Flowers are 2.5-3 cm long, with a style which protrudes longer than the flower. Tubeflower Pavetta is found in the Western Ghats. Found flowering: May-June.
Common name: Himalayan Baby’s Breath, Chickweed baby’s-breath Botanical name:Gypsophila cerastioides
Family:Caryophyllaceae (Carnation family)
Himalayan Baby’s Breath is a charming little wildflower which can be seen peeping out of rocks in the Himalayas, from Pakistan to Bhutan. It is closely related to the Baby’s Breath which is used by florists as a filler in bouquets. It is a low-growing perennial herb with spreading stems, 8-20 cm long, bearing small, inverted-egg shaped leaves, and with numerous white flowers, often streaked with purple, borne in rounded branched clusters 1-2 cm across. Flowers are variable in size, can be as large as 1 cm across. Petals are inverted-egg shaped, shallowly notched at the tips. Sepals are hairy, stamens are 10 in number. Leaves are hairy, about 0.6-1.5 cm. Lower leaves have stalks, upper ones are stalkless. Himalayan Baby’s Breath is found on river-banks, rocks and open slopes in the Himalayas at altitudes of 2100-4700 m.
Cotoneaster integrifolius (Roxb.) G. Klotz – entire-leaved cotoneaster
Entire-Leaf Cotoneaster is a low shrub, which is often found spread over rocks in Himalayan region. It is closely related to Rockspray Cotoneaster. Leaves are small, obovate-oblong, with a rounded tip. This feature distinguishes it from Rockspray Cotoneaster which has elliptic leaves with pointed tips. Leaves are dark green above, woolly beneath. Flowers are pink in bud, white later, about 8 mm across, generally borne singly. Fruits are round red berries, and the plant makes a spectacular display when in fruit. Entire-Leaf Cotoneaster is found in the Himalayas, from Himachal Pradesh to SW China, at altitudes of 1800-3500 m. Flowering: May-June.
Common Rock Jasmine is a perennial herb. Leaf rosettes solitary or several forming lax mats, 3-5 cm in diameter – slightly hairy leaves. Umbels of pink flowers with yellow eyes in late spring. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. This flower is native to the Himalayas, from Sikkim to Kashmir. Medicinal uses:
Medicinal uses:
Androsace sarmentosa
Androsace sarmentosa
The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, it is said to have a bitter taste and a cooling and coarsening potency. A resolutive, it dries up serous fluids. It is used in the treatment of disorders from tumours, inflammations of fluids and other serous fluid disorders.
This native of India, commonly known as Amaltaas, is one of the most beautiful of all tropical trees when it sheds its leaves and bursts into a mass of long, grape-bunches like yellow gold flowers. A tropical ornamental tree with a trunck consisting of hard reddish wood, growing up to 40 feet tall. The wood is hard and heavy; it is used for cabinet, inlay work, etc. It has showy racemes, up to 2″ long, with bright, yellow, fragrant flowers. These flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies. The fruits are dark-brown cylindrical pods, also 2′ long, which also hold the flattish, brown seeds (up to 100 in one pod) These seeds are in cells, each containing a single seed. A postal stamp was issued by the Indian Postal Department to commemorate this tree. Medicinal uses:The sweet blackish pulp of the seedpod is used as a mild laxative
Curry Leaf tree is a small or medium sized tree, most famous for its aromatic leaves that provide curry spice. Curry leaves are extensively used in Southern India and Sri Lanka (and are absolutely necessary for the authentic flavour), but are also of some importance in Northern India. It is a small tree, growing 4-6 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter. The leaves are pinnate, with 11-21 leaflets, each leaflet 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm broad. They are highly aromatic. The flowers are small white, and fragrant. The small black, shiny berries are edible, but their seeds are poisonous. Together with South Indian immigrants, curry leaves reached Malaysia, South Africa and Réunion island. When cooking, the leaves are generally used fresh off of the tree. Outside the Indian sphere of influence, they are rarely found. The yellow “curry powder” that is common in Western countries is actually not curry at all, but a mix of spices intended to mimic the true curry flavor. The yellow color comes from turmeric root. Medicinal uses: Leaves are digestive, tonic, stimulant, rich in vitamin A and calcium. Leaves are also used for diarrhoea, dysentry and checking vomitting. Bark-paste is antisceptic, applied to skin eruptions. Root extract is taken for relief from renal pain.
The Jacarandas are impressive trees in May when covered with clusters of blue tubular flowers. The ground below them turns rapidly blue, and some gardeners might object to that quantity of litter. A variety ‘Alba’ with white flowers, and denser foliage, is occasionally available. Native to Brazil growing to 50′ or larger. Moderate to fast growth during warm season. Bi-pinnately compound leaves hold till late in winter. Can be completely winter deciduous in colder areas. Flowers in spring are trumpet like lavender and 2″ long by 1 1/2″ wide. There are white and pink also. If the tree is given too much water, the leaves appear first, somewhat spoiling the startling effect of the flowers. The flowers are followed by woody, disc-shaped seed pods.
Common Crape Myrtle Beach,Hindi: सावनी Saona, Sawani, फ़राश Farash.
Synonyms: Lagerstroemia indica var. alba, Lagerstroemia elegans, Lagerstroemia minor
Crape myrtle is the smaller cousin of Queen Crape Myrtle. It is an often multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a wide spreading, flat topped, rounded, or even spike shaped open habit. Planted in full sun or under canopy, the tree is a popular nesting shrub for songbirds and wrens. The bark is a prominent feature being smooth, pinkish-gray and mottled, shedding each year. In colder areas, the leaves also shed each winter, after spectacular color display, and bare branches re-leaf early in the spring; leaves are small, smooth-edged, circular or oval-shaped, and dark green changing to yellow and orange and red in autumn. Flowers, on different trees, are white, pink, mauve, purple or carmine with crimped petals, in panicles up to 9 cm. Capsules are ellipsoidal, 1-1.3 × 0.7-1.2 cm, 4-6-valved. Seeds including wing about 8 mm. Common Crape Myrtle is found in the Himalayas amd Indo-China, China, at altitudes of 1000-1500 m. It is also widely cultivated. Flowering: June-September. Medicinal uses:
medicinal uses
Bark, leaves and flowers are considered hydragogue and drastic purgative. Bark is also considered stimulant and febrifuge. Roots are astringent and used as gargle. Seeds have narcotic properties. In Manipur, flowers and leaves are used as purgatives. Bark is stimulant and febrifuge (fever removing) Roots are astringent and used as gargle.
Chaste tree can be described as a cross between a shrub and a tree with a single woody stem (trunk). It can grow up to five meters tall. Chaste tree’s distinctive feature are the pointed leaves with 3-5 leaflets. Small, lilac or violet flowers on new growth from June to September. Flowers are the smallest of the commonly grown Vitex species. The leaves are used as a mosquito repellent . leaves are burnt in a heap which proves very useful to get rid of Mosquitoes. Medicinal uses: It is an effective herbal medicine with proven therapeutic value. Chaste tree has been clinically tested to be effective in the treatment of colds, flu, asthma and pharyngitis. Studies have shown that it can prevent the body’s production of leukotrienes which are released during an asthma attack. Chaste tree contains Chrysoplenol D, a substance with anti-histamine properties and muscle relaxant. The leaves, flowers, seeds and root of Chaste tree can all be used as herbal medicine. A decoction is made by boiling the parts of the plant and taken orally. Today, Chaste tree is available in capsule form and syrup for cough.
