Author: s m

Monk fruit scientifically known as Siraitia grosvenorii belonging to family Cucurbitaceae, is a unique economic and medicinal plant which is grown in China. It has been used as natural sweetener and traditional medicine for more than 300 years to treat pharyngitis, pharyngeal pain and anti-tussive remedy in China. The species is inherent to Southern China- in the south-western Chinese province of Guangxi as well as in Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Northern Thailand. It occurs in the montane forests in the mountainous region of Southern China above 600 m elevation. It prefers moist, humid and cool area and well drained…

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Wild Bitter Gourd is a dioecious and perennial scandent herb with glabrous or puberluent, angular stem and unbranched, short and filiform tendrils. Leaves are thin, membranous, 3-5 palmately lobed, 3-5 veined on slender, 5 cm long and glabrous petiole. Leaf blade is veined on slender and ovate-reniform. Flowers are solitary in leaf axils, yellow and 5 cm across. Calyx is tubular, five lobed, lobe is ovate and apex emarginate. Female flowers on 6-7 cm long pedicle with minute bract at base. An ovary is superior, ovate-oblong or fusiform and 8–12 × 2–4 mm. Fruit is a pepo slender and glabrous…

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Angled Loofah also known as Luffa acutangula belonging to family Cucurbitaceae commonly known as ridge gourd is used as vegetable in Asian countries. It is a pan tropical climbing herb which is cultivated throughout India and grown in all types of soil and in naturalized tropics and subtropics and grown in summer or in rainy season. It is propagated by seeds and sown either in February-March or June-July. It is indigenous to the old world tropic probably India and naturalized throughout South and south-east Asia and cultivated elsewhere in the tropics and subtropics. It grows best in areas with maximum…

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Spaghetti squash is a cool climate crop which can be grown on wide range of soils but does best in well-drained and slightly acidic soil with pH of 5.5-7 in full sun. It is a highly diverse and economically important member of Cucurbitaceae. It comprises of hundreds of cultivars of pumpkins, gourds and squash. Mature fruit is sweet and used to make confectionery or cooked and added to baked goods. It has been domesticated for thousands of years in the New World. It is an annual herb climbing and creeping with 5-angled stems upto 15 meters long. It has shallow…

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Figleaf Gourd is a squash species which is cultivated for its edible seeds, green and fruit. Other common names are Angel’s Hair, Asian Pumpkin, Black-Seeded Gourd, Chilacayote, Chiverre, Fig-Leaf Gourd, Fig-Leaved Gourd, Malabar Gourd, Malabar Squash, Pie Melon, Shark Fin Melon, Siam Pumpkin, Thai Marrow, Thin Vermicelli Pumpkin, Black-seed squash, Cidra and Sidra. Figleaf Gourd is a climbing cine which grows well in temperate climates and perennial in tropical zones. The stem grows 5 to 15 meters and produces tendrils which help to climb adjacent plants and structures. Unlike other curcubits, it may root from leaf axils. When grown perennially,…

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Benincasa hispida, which is commonly called ash gourd, winter melon, winter gourd, wax gourd etc. belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. Native to Southeast Asia, it is an annual creeping vine with branched tendrils which climb structures, cover fences or sprawl along the ground. Stems are coarse, thick, hairy. Leaves are large, roughly textured and 5-lobed about 4-10 inches long. Flowers are golden yellow, 3 ½ inches wide in leaf axils in early summer. Flowers are followed by oblong to nearly spherical melon like fruits. Young fruits are covered with soft down that disappears as the fruits mature. Flesh is white,…

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Okari nut is a large, deciduous tree with a spreading crown; it can grow up to 45 meters tall, though it is usually smaller in cultivation. The straight, cylindrical bole is usually buttressed. The seed is a very popular food in the areas where it grows, indeed it is said to be one of the tastiest of all tropical seeds. Commonly harvested from wild trees in the forests, it is also semi-cultivated by the local people there. The seed is often sold in local markets. It occurs in lowland rainforest and riverine forest with wide range of rainfall of 2000-7000…

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Seashore Mangosteen is inherent to Peninsular Malaysia and also found in coastal regions from lowland forests near the sea to lower mountain forests and the highlands. It is found in Nicobar Islands and cultivated intermittently throughout the tropics. In India, the fruit is cultivated in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is mostly cultivated for ornamental purposes and the fruits are used for making juices and jellies. It is naturally found near seashores and riverine areas, in coastal primary and secondary forests and salt tolerant and adapted to the sandy and rocky soils. It is found in Peninsular Malaysia on acid…

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Garcinia cambogia is a wild tropical and subtropical plant or small to medium sized and evergreen tree which measures 5-20 meters tall with smooth and lactiferous bar and horizontal/drooping branches. Leaves are opposite, coriaceous, elliptic-ovate to obovate about 1-13 cm long and 2-8 cm wide. Flowers are bisexual or androecious, thus an andromonoecious species. Flowers usually male occurs in axillary clusters of 4 to 8 with long membranous sepals and concave or oblong petals. An ovary is globose and superior crowned by sessile and circular papillate stigma having 8 to 10 tuberculate stigmatic rays. Fruit is a fleshy, globose, subglobose…

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Also known as Baniti, Gourka, Egg Tree, Mundu and Rata Fruit, it is a sub-woody plant that belongs to Clusiaceae family well known as mangosteen and “the Queen of Fruits”. This species is found in humid and tropical forest in coastal areas and inland upto 500 meters altitude. It can also thrive in moist and shady environment. Mundu is an evergreen, medium sized and much branched perennial tree which measures 10-13 meters high with an upright growth habit. Bark is rough, dark brown and branches are green and sparsely hairy angled. Leaves are simple, opposite, large, ovate and oval to…

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The genus Garcinia belongs to Clusiaceae family. The trees are small to medium sized reaching to the height of 30 meters and widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world. Cowa Mangosteen is inherent to East India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea, Northern Peninsular Malaysia and Vietnam. It is also found in Anadaman, Nicobar Islands and South and West Yunnan in China. This evergreen tree has the bole of 15-20 cm diameter. The bark is dark brown with lemon yellow exudates. Leaves are simple, entire, opposite, 6-15 by 2.5-6 cm, broadly lanceolate to lanceolate-elliptic, thick, glossy green and tapering…

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Cycas revoluta Thunb is inherent to southern Japanese islands of Ryukyu, Kyushu, Satsuma and Mitsuhama. It is distributed in colonies on steep to precipitous stony sites on hillsides. Sago Palm is a slow growing cycad forming a crown of leaves about 50-150 cm long on stem which is usually short. The older specimens develop a stem which is about 200 mm across and upto 6 meters tall. It has arborescent trunk 1–8 m high and 35–95 cm diameter with numerous suckers arising the base. Leaves are semi-glossy, deep green 0.7–1.4(−1.8) m × 20–25(−28) cm. Leaflets are 60-150 pairs and straight…

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Erect Prickly Pear is a spreading to erect and succulent shrub which reaches to the height of 1-2 meters with shallow fibrous roots. Stems are glabrous, dull green or bluish green which consists of flattened, jointed fleshy and obovate segments usually 30 cm long by 15 cm wide by 1–2 cm thick. Aeroles are three to five per diagonal row across mid-stem segment. Aeroles have tufts of short fine and barbed bristles and one to two straight or curve and yellow aging brown and stout spines which is 2-4 cm long. Leaves are small and conical and are shed as…

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Scientifically known as Opuntia monacantha has other common names such as Barbary fig, Cochineal Fig, Barbary Fig, Cochineal Prickly-Pear, Common Prickly Pear, Indian Fig, Drooping Prickly Pear, Prickly Pear, Drooping pear, Drooping tree pear, Smooth tree pear, Smooth-leaf tree pear, Spiny prickly pear and Spreading prickly pear. It belongs to family Cactaceae and usually grown in tropical and subtropical regions. It is cultivated under restricted growth conditions which are not suitable for the growth of other fruits and vegetables. It is inherent to South America- Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. It is widely introduced and naturalized in tropical and subtropical…

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Yellow Dragonfruit is endemic to Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador. In Columbia, it is commercially cultivated to a limited extent. Fruits are exported to Canada and Europe. Other different cactus fruit crops which are sold as yellow pitaya are Acanthocereus pitajaya, Acanthocereus colombianus, Selenicereus megalanthus and Hylocereus triangularis. Unlike red dragon fruits, yellow dragonfruit has thorns. Stem Stems are procumbent, scandent or pendent. It is 1.5 cm thick and produces aerial roots. Margins are undulating, white areoles and yellowish. Several hairs are seen on young growth. Flower Flowers are funnel shaped, nocturnal and 32-38 cm long. Pericarpel is ovoid…

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Cereus repandus also known as Peruvian Apple Cactus is a large, erect and thorny columnar cactus which is found in South America. It is also known from other common names such as giant club cactus, cadushi, hedge cactus and kayush. It has tree like appearance with cylindrical, gray-green to blue stems which reaches 10 meters high and 10-20 cm in diameter. Flowers are large, cream colored and nocturnal opens for only one night. Fruits are thornless and vary in skin color from violet-red to yellow. Flesh is white which contains small, edible and crunchy seeds. The cactus grows in arid…

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Dacryodes rostrata is an evergreen tree usually growing 5 – 25 metres tall, but with some specimens up to 35 metres. The bole is usually 20 – 50 cm in diameter, occasionally to 120 cm. The tree is harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, timber and resin. It is occasionally cultivated for its fruit. It grows widely in Vietnam and Western Malaysia. The habitat is mixed dipterocarp forest from sea level to 800 meters altitude. This evergreen and perennial tree grows to the height of 40 meters with 1 meter trunk diameter and low buttresses. Leaves are pinnate,…

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Other common names include Java Almond, Kenari Nut, Chinese Olive, Wild Almond and Kenari Nut tree. It is an evergreen, dioecious and perennial tree which is inherent to Eastern Malaysia, Papua, Papua New Guinea (Morobe) and Indonesia – Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timor (Eastern Lesser Sunda Islands) and Maluku (Moluccas). It is introduced to India, Sri Lanka and in the tropics. The tree grows to the height of 4 meters with greyish-brown bark and spirally arranged, imparipinnate leaves. The fruits are purplish black, ovoid-oblong in shape and measures 3.5–5 cm long and 1.5–3 cm wide. Seed inside the fruit measures 1–3…

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Dabai is the plant which is found in tropical rainforest of Sarawak. Fruits are white when they are still immature and turn to purplish pink and powdery black color when ripened. Seeds are subtriangular in shape with three chambers. It is found in undisturbed lowland forests upto 700 meters altitude mostly on ridges and hillsides. It is found on limestones and usually present as pre-disturbance remnant tree. It is known as black olive but technically, it is not an olive. The tree grows to the height of 21 meters and the furry leaves are thin and twigs are covered with…

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Canarium genus consists of 100 species of tropical and subtropical trees belonging to family Burseraceae. It grows naturally across tropical Africa, Indochina, South and Southeast Asia, Australia, Malesia and Western Pacific Islands including from southern Nigeria east to Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and India; from Malaysia, Burma and Thailand through the Malay Peninsula and Vietnam to south China, Taiwan and the Philippines; through Indonesia, Borneo, Timor and New Guinea, through to the Solomon Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tonga and Palau. The evergreen tree grows to the height of 30 – 60 meters tall. Bole is straight and cylindrical and…

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If you can’t remember where you left your keys, or your checkbook or your phone, you’re not alone. Nutritional deficiencies; eating the wrong foods and the free-radical damage and inflammation that result; aging; and even conditions such as hypothyroidism and Lyme disease can affect our ability to think clearly and remember important things and can sometimes lead to chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The good news? You can improve the way your brain functions by choosing a better diet for your brain, along with helpful herbs, supplements, and other natural remedies. Necessary Nutrients Foods full of trans and…

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These herbs have stood the test of time in helping improve brain function and have been used by various cultures throughout history to improve mental capacities. You can benefit from them today: 1. Ashwagandha Ashwagandha supports the nervous system and in Ayurvedic medicine is considered a medharasayan remedy, a promoter of memory and learning 2. Bacopa Bacopa increases attention span and improves behavior, memory, learning, and motor coordination. It enhances learning new tasks and aids in retention of newly learned material. 3. Eleuthero Eleuthero is nourishing to the pituitary and adrenal glands. It helps the body’s ability to deal with…

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1. Exercise Exercise increases the body’s intake of oxygen and speeds up nerve impulses between brain cells. Studies also show that one hour of exercise five times a week will help prevent degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, because it increases circulation, gets rid of stress, and cools off inflammation. Exercise also encourages nerve cells to produce proteins such as neurotrophic factor that improve brain health and cognitive function like learning. Research in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2012 showed that exercise improves the function of mitochondria that produce energy, and in turn brain power. Choose something that you enjoy…

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Specific nutrients found in supplements can improve brain function. Look to B vitamins first. That’s because the entire B complex acts as a lubricant for cellular function, and a deficiency can lead to memory loss and impaired cognition. Vitamin B1 helps the brain transform nutrients from protein and glucose. It can help mental fatigue as well as memory loss and confusion. A vitamin B2 deficiency can lead to impaired brain development in the young and behavior problems. Without niacin, you may be more prone to depression, short-term memory impairment, and anxiety. Vitamin B6 helps to produce the neurotransmitters dopamine and…

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The tree of Malabar chestnut reaches 30-60 feet (9-18 m) tall with smooth and greenish gray trunk which is swollen at the base. Leaves are alternate, compound, 6-11 inches (15-28 cm) in length with 5-9 leaflets. Flowers are large, showy, perfect and terminal with long peduncle. The stamens and petals are white and numerous. Fruit is smooth and green capsule about 4-8 inches long and splits or opens naturally when ripe. Seed are irregular, rounded with 10-25 per fruit which is about 1 inch in diameter having light brown testa. Fruit is a pod which has similar texture and shape…

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Durian is a fruit of several tree species which belongs to genus Durio. About 30 has been recognized as Durio species and at least nine produce edible fruit with more than 300 named varieties in Indonesia, 100 in Malaysia and 100 in Thailand. Durians are known as king of fruits in some regions. Durians have large size, strong odor and rind is covered with thorn. Fruits are globose to ellipsoid measuring 10 – 15 cm in diameter. It has orange-yellow flesh. Seeds are glossy brown, ellipsoid about 4 cm x 2 cm. Leaves are elliptical to oblong and about 10-26…

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Durio dulcis also known as Lahong, Durian marangang (or merangang), Tutong and Red durian is a large tree belongs to genus Durio reaches to the height of 40 meters with a bole 80 cm diameter and large buttresses upto 4 meters high. The bark surface is irregularly flaky or shallowly fissured, rough and is reddish-brown. Stipules are present but deciduous and falling off early. The leaves are simple, alternate, elliptical or obovate-elliptical about 7–14 cm × 3.5–6 cm. The husk of the fruit is dark red to brown red and is covered with slender 15-20 mm long spines. The fruit…

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Native to Mexico, Caribbean, Central America, Northern South America and tropical West Africa, Kapok tree is cultivated widely in Southeast Asia for its seed fiber. Usually it is fast growing attaining the height of 70 meters with trunk diameter 3 meters. The trunk is buttressed with large simple thorns. Crown is thin and pagoda shaped. Leaves are palmate having 5-9 leaflets each. It has several pods which contains seeds covered by fiber which is yellowish, light, water resistant, very buoyant, flammable and resilient. It is used to stuff pillows and mattresses. Seeds are roasted and grounded into powder. Buds, tender…

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Candle Tree, Parmentiera cereifera, is a species of tree belongs to Bignoniaceae family and is endemic to Panama. The family is affluent in secondary metabolites and contains many genera of high economic and medicinal values. It consists of 104 genera and 860 species. This specimen is commonly cultivated in botanical gardens. The tree grows to the height of 6 meters. Leaves are oppositely arranged which consists of three leaflets. Leaflets are glabrous, sub-sessile, elliptic or elliptic obovate and about 1.5–7 cm by 0.75– 3.5 cm. Petioles are winged upto 5 centimeters long. Flowers are solitary which forms in the cluster…

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Cow Okra is a small or medium sized and evergreen tree which measures 10 meters high having short thick trunk and pale bark, subterete branches and spreading crown. Leaves are opposite or subopposite having 3-5 leaflets. Petiole is long and narrowly winged. Leaflets are elliptic to obovate, entire and 4-6 cm long. Flowers are campanulate, greenish to greenish-white having brown purple lines, solitary and fasciculate. Calyx is spathaceous and 2.5 to 3.5 cm long. Corolla is trumpet shaped and somewhat curved. Ovary is glandular-lepidote and two celled. Fruits are short, subcylindric and candle shaped measuring 10–12 cm long and 7…

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