Stripped bamboo

The common stripped bamboo is usually planted in gardens as ornamental plant. It grows from 30 to 50 meters high. The leafy branches are formed in clusters, at each node. It seldom flowers, and if this occurs, it is at the nodes. From the underground stems new shoots are put forth.

Herbal use:

1. Stripped Bamboo will soften and gives relief to inflamed parts.
2. Stripped Bamboo promotes the floe of urine.
3. Prevents nausea and vomiting.
4. Strengthens and gives tone to the stomach.
5. Used in the treatment of respiratory diseases.
6. Used for piles.

Instructions:

1. The decoction of the stem, applied externally to inflamed joints gives relief.
2. The decoction of the roots taken internally takes care of Nos. 1 & 2 above.
3. The decoction of the bark taken internally takes care of Nos. 3 & 6 above.
4. The edible young shoots takes care of Nos. 4 and 5 above.

Parts used: The stem, root, bark and young shoots.

Indian Adam Tree

This tree is normally found growing along streams or rivers. It grows to a height of 15 to 18 meters. The leaves are ovate-oblong and tapering to a bluntish point at the apex, with entire margins and shiny leaf surfaces when mature. The fruit which are really receptacles with short stalks are found in clusters on the trunk and branches of the tree. They are round in shape and pink or red in color, when ripe.

Herbal use:

1. Used by lactating mothers to increase the secretion of milk.
2. Used to give tone and vitality to the body.
3. Used to check congestion of the liver, leucorrhoea and blood issues.
4. Used to check leprosy, menorrhagia or excessive bleeding during menstruation, nose bleeding and for expelling intestinal worms.
5. Used for curing asthma.
6. Used for curing bronchitis.
7. Used for curing dry cough, laryngitis, diseases of the kidney and spleen.
8. Used for curing piles, diarrhoea and cancer.
9. Used for checking glandular enlargements.

Instructions:

1. The decoction of the bark is given to take care of numbers 1 and 5 above.
2. The decoction of the unripe fruit is given to take care of numbers 2 and 3 above.
3. The decoction of the ripe fruit is given to take care of number 4 above.
4. The decoction of the leaves is given for curing bronchitis.
5. The latex is administered in piles and diarrhoea. The latex, in combination with sesamum oil helps check cancer.
6. The sap of the root is used to cure diabetes.
7. A mixture of forty grams of the latex with cumin seeds and a pinch of sugar is used to cure gonorrhoea.

Parts used: The bark, unripe and ripe fruit, leaves, latex and sap of the root.

Mulberry

Mulberry is quite a popular shrub which grows up to 10 meters high, with a picturesque appearance, spreading its branches usually wider than the height of it. The fruit is an oblong, red, short-stalked berry, which turns purple when ripe. It is very juicy and sweet. It usually grows in the backyard, by putting stem cuttings in the ground. Sericulturists depend on the mulberry plants to feed their silkworms with the leaves and in turn obtain silk from the silkworm cocoons.

Herbal use:

1. Mulberry is a very good nutritive.
2. Mulberry lowers body heat.
3. Is a laxative.
4. It is used to expel worms from the body.
5. Mulberry is used for convalescents and for anaemics.

Instructions:

1. The consumption of the ripe fruits takes care of No. 1 and 3.
2. The bark of the tree is used for expulsion of worms.
3. The fruit is recommended for cooling the body. The juice is a good drink for convalescents and for anaemics.

Major Parts used: The bark and the fruit.

Tender Coconut

The coconut palm is a tall, unarmed, unbranched beautiful tree, reaching up to 25 meters high. The roots grow deep, and are numerous. The leaves at the upper end of the tree form an apical crown. The fruit is three-angled and one-seeded; it is surrounded with fibres and a hard shell with three markings, generally referred to as the apical eyes. The inside is a white edible kernel, supplied with sweetish water. These palms love the saline coastal regions and thrive well in such places.

Herbal use:

1. Coconut promotes the flow of urine.
2. Used in disease of the uterus.
3. Coconut is used in liver complaints, inflamed urethra, bronchitis and dysentery.
4. For sore throat.
5. Can be used to apply to gangrenous and painless ulcers and infectious boils.
6. It is an antiseptic used for scabies and toothache.
7. Used as a coolant in fever and regulates urinary disorders.
8. Coconut purifies blood, checks vomiting and used for asthma.
9. For malnutrition and general weakness.

Medicinal value:

1. The decoction of the root promotes flow of urine, and is used in the disease of the uterus. It is given also in liver complaints, bronchitis and dysentery. The infusion of the young roots is used as gargles for sore throat.
2. The freshly tapped juice of the flower stalks is recommended for constipation. The same juice mixed with rice flour, gently heated is applied to gangrenous and painless ulcers and to infections caused by boils.
3. The ash of the bark and the stem is antiseptic. It is used for scabies and toothache.
4. The jelly of the tender coconut is used for sore throat in children. It is recommended also for intestinal inflammations.

These are the some the valuable herbal uses of coconut tree.

Rauwolfia

Rauwolfia is a very popular medicinal herb which grows to a height of about 0.9 meters. The lanceolate, bright green leaves of the plant are arranged in whorls of three and are about 7.5 to 18 cm. long. The flowers are found in clusters referred to as corymbose or umbellate cymes. The flower stalk and the calyx may be red and the corolla white with a red tinge. The fruit or drupes are purplish-black in color.

Herbal use:

1. As the name of the plant suggests, for years it was used for snakebite with little or no use at all. However, it is useful for expelling worms from the body, checking high blood pressure, insomnia, epilepsy, melancholia, anxiety states, excitement, maniacal behaviour associated with psychosis, schizophrenia, insanity and other mental disorders, checking intestinal problems, fever and ulcers.
2. Rauwolfia is useful for inducing labour pains and uterine contractions.
3. Rauwolfia is very useful for colic or acute abdominal pains.
4. Used for clearing corneal opacity.
5. Very useful in the treatment of high blood pressure and as a sedative or tranquilizing agent.

Uses:

The juice of the leaves is instilled into the eyes as a remedy for the removal of opacity of the cornea.

Pomegranate

Pomegranate is a shrub which grows to about 5 meters high, having pale brownish bark. The leaves are shiny green and the orange-red flowers attract the attention of the eye. The fruit is also as attractive as the flowers as it changes its color from green to a sun-kissed orange-red shade. The pomegranate fruit contains a large number of edible seeds and around each seed is a rose colored pulp which is sweet.

Herbal effects:

1. Pomegranate is used for expelling tapeworms and other worms from the body.
2. Pomegranate is used for strengthening and giving tone to the stomach.
3. Pomegranate is used for curing dysentery and chronic diarrhea.
4. Used for curing conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eye.
5. Also used for fevers, leucorrhoea, enlarged spleen, malaria, sore throat and general debility.
6. It is used to strengthen and give tone to the stomach.
7. Used to lower the body heat.
8. It is used for gastric and asthmatic fever, inflammation of the urinary tract and haemorrhage.
9. Used for the elimination of kidney stones expectant mothers.

Medicinal uses:

1. The juice of the fresh leaves and young fruit is used for dysentery.
2. The rind or peel is used for both dysentery and chronic diarrhoea.
3. The juice of the leaves and flowers makes a good ointment for conjunctivitis.

So drink pomegranate and make your mind and body always cool.

Black pepper

Black pepper is a sout, glabrous climber, with smooth branches. Leaves are broadly ovate, some what leathery, with pointed, rounded, or heart-shaped base, having 5 to 9 prominent veins. The flowers are bisexual or unisexual, in slender, drooping spikes. The berries are borne in racemes, one sided. It grows in all tropical countries.

Herbal uses:

1. Pepper used as a stimulant and helps in digestion.
2. Soothes the nerves and gives tone and vitality to the body.
3. Pepper is used to promote the dissipation of a growth or swelling.
4. Relieves flatulence, strengthens a gives tone to the stomach.
5. Relieves toothaches and helpsin general throat diseases.
6. Black Pepper is used to cure skin disorders like itching.
7. Used for the treatment of various kinds of muscle pains and inflammation of joints.
8. Used in the case of diarrhea, cholera, and giddiness.
9. For relief from constipation.

How to use:

1. The decoction or infusion of the unripe berries is used as a mouth wash in toothaches and as a gargle in general throat diseases.
2. The juice of the leaves is applied in the case of itching of the skin.
3. Ground pepper mixed with castor is good for arthritic disorders, diarrhea, cholera and giddiness.
4. The ripe fruits with the outer covering removed are the white peppers recommended for constipation

Black pepper plays a major role in the field of herbal medicine and it is largely available in Asian countries.

Mint

Mint is a herb known everywhere and is mostly cultivated, but also found growing wild in moist soil in some places. It is a prostrate, aromatic herb growing about 30cm. high. It is commonly cultivated for spice and for medicinal purposes.

Herbal use:

1. Mint Prevents or cures spasm.
2. Relieves flatulence and pains from the stomach and bowels; strengthens and gives tone to the stomach.
3. Mint is mainly used as a stimulant and tonic.
4. Relieves pain and inflammation of the ear.
5. Mint lowers body heat.
6. Treatment of jaundice, inflammation of the prostate, gallstones, vomiting, painful menstrual periods, disease of the uterus, and infections of the throat.
7. Used for toothache.
8. For getting rid of intestinal worms.
9. Increases the flow of milk in nursing mothers.

How to use for treatment:

1. The essence of mint is used for toothache.
2. Children who suffer from intestinal parasites should use mint tea to get rid of them.
3. Nursing mothers may increase the flow of milk by using mint tea.
4. Externally used, the crushed leaves make a good cooling for external heat.
5. The decoction of the plant is a good bath additive for itching skin conditions.

The above discussed are some of the valuable uses of Mint in the field of herbal medicine.

Watermelon

A favorite in the hot summer months, watermelon is an annual, monoecious, long running, hairy vine. The leaves are pinnately divided. The flowers are yellow, single, in leaf axils. The watermelon fruit is large, round or oval, deep green or streaked with shades of green. A thick or thin ring of white surrounds the red flesh or pulpy part in which numerous flat black seeds are embedded. The plant is known everywhere, especially in tropical countries.

Herbal Uses:

1. Watermelon is a mild laxative.
2. Intake of Watermelon promotes flow of urine.
3. Used in cases of rheumatism, kidney problems, accumulation of liquid in abdominal cavity, painful inflamed joints, excessive protein in blood, fevers, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary diseases, arthritis, indigestion, obesity, mouth and throat disease, arterial hypertension and constipation.
4. Also for contagious skin disease, kidney and bladder stones, inflammation of the urinary tract and prostate.

These are the some of the medicinal uses of the Watermelon fruit.

Grapefruits

Grape fruit is a member of the Citrus family, which grows up to 8 meters high. The Grape fruit is large, juicy, and rich in Vitamin C and calcium. The flowers are white and aromatic. The fruit which are two and three times larger than sweet lime are green initially and turn yellow when they are matured and ready for use.

Herbal Uses:

1. Grape Fruit is used for painful swellings, ulcers, rheumatism, certain nervous disorders and convulsive coughs.
2. Effective for diabetes.
3. Grape Fruit relieves constipation and inflamed nerves. Used also for scurvy.
4. Help in indigestion, flatulent pains, vomiting, cholera, and morbid cancer.
5. Good for heart disease and coughs.
6. Relives waist and back pains.

These are some the valuable medicinal uses of the Grape Fruit.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a native plant of Australia. It is an evergreen and tall tree, grows up to 50 meters high. There are approximately 400 different species, but they have almost the same medicinal properties. In tropical countries, including India they are planted in backyards and in private fields and the durable timber is sold at good prices.

Medicinal use:

1. Eucalyptus can be used for the treatment of asthma.
2. Used for the inflammation of mucous membrane with a free discharge. Also for inflammation of a gland or bladder.
3. Used for bronchitis, whooping cough, inflammation of the urinary bladder.

4. Used for dysentery, tuberculosis, diabetes, fever, cold, malaria, inflammation of the kidneys, and of the lining of the nose.
5. Also used for respiratory problems, infection of the sciatic nerve, inflammation of the joints and rheumatism.
6. Eucalyptus can be used to wash wounds, sores, and ulcers. It is both disinfectant and healing.
7. Used to reduce or eliminate fever and give tone and vitality to the body.
8. Used for preventing pyorrhea or discharge of pus from the gums. It is also used for burns.

How to use:

1. The infusion of the leaves is recommended for nos. 1 to 4 above.
2. In respiratory problems, especially in the inflammation of the sinus, it is recommended to breathe in the vapour of the decoction of the leaves.
3. Externally applied, the decoction of the fresh leaves is recommended for inflammation of the sciatic nerve, joints and various kinds of muscle pains. The decoction of the leaves is also used to wash wounds, sores, and ulcers etc.
4. The oils extracted from the leaves are used to reduce or eliminate fever, prevent discharge of pus from gums and for burns.

The oil is extracted as follows: Boil mature leaves in water and condense the vapour to recover the oil. In this way, the odor is less agreeable than other varieties used to produce the medicinal grade of oils commercially.

Asparagus

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.

Herbal use:

1. Asparagus is used for promoting appetite.
2. Asparagus effectively strengthens in giving tone to the stomach.
3. Giving tone and vitality to the body.
4. Increasing the secretion of milk in lactating mothers.
5. Controlling dysentery.
6. Checking tumours and inflammations.
7. Checking congestion of the liver.
8. It is used for diseases of the blood, eye and throat.
9. It is used to control tuberculosis and leprosy.

Instructions:

The decoction of the succulent fasciculated roots is given to take care of all the above mentioned disorders.

Major parts used: Only the succulent roots.

Asteracantha

Asteracantha is a hardy, upright, herbaceous plant which is hydrophytic in nature, or found growing in wet and marshy areas. The hairy stem is square and thickened at the nodes. Six stalkless lanceolate leaves forming a whorl are produced from each node. Four pairs of purplish-blue bilabiate, or two-lipped, flowers are put forth from the nodes. The capsule which is produced contains 4 to 8 seeds with white hairs.

Herbal use:

1. Asteracantha useful as a tonic to give tone and vitality to the body.
2. Asteracantha useful for diarrhoea dysentery.
3. Asteracantha useful inflammations and biliousness or congestion of the liver.
4. To cure diseases of the eye.
5. For pains and other abdominal problems.
6. To take care of constipation and anuria, or the absence of excretion from the body.
7. It is useful also for the cure of jaundice, rheumatism and urino-genital diseases.

Instruction:

A decoction or infusion of the leaves will take care of all the disorders listed in Number 1 to 7 above.

Major parts used: The leaves for Numbers 1 to 7 above. The seeds are sometimes used for biliousness.

Mexican poppy

The Mexican poppy grows in waste lands and is a perennial herb which grows to a height of about 1 meter. The leaves have spines and are sessile or without petioles. The flowers are yellow. The fruit consists of a capsule bearing several small spines and seeds which resemble the mustard. It grows in tropical and sub-tropical countries.

Herbal use:

1. Mexican poppy alters process of nutrition and excretion and restores normal function of the body, especially in chronic skin diseases.
2. Mexican poppy is used in the case of inflammation of the urinary bladder and abnormal accumulation of liquid in the cellular tissue.
3. It is used for jaundice.
4. Mexican poppy is externally used for eye diseases.
5. Antidote for snake poisoning.
6. It is used as a laxative.
7. It promotes removal of mucous secretions from the bronchial tubes.
8. Soothes and protects the alimentary tract and relieves inflammation.
9. It is used for treatment of asthma.

Instruction:

1. The root and stem are used to restore normal functions of the body, especially in chronic skin diseases and inflammation of the urinary bladder.
2. The yellow juice or latex is recommended for treating the abnormal accumulation of liquid in cellular tissue, jaundice, and skin diseases. It is also used externally for eye diseases.
3. The seeds are said to be an antidote for snake poisoning. They are also used as a laxative and for the removal of mucous secretions from the bronchial tubes. They also soothe and protect the alimentary tract and relieve inflammation.
4. In asthma, the infusion of the seeds is used in the dose of 1 teaspoonful for 1 cup of boiling water.

Major parts used: The roots, stem, seeds and the yellow juice of latex.

Citron

Citrus aurantifolia synonymous to Citrus medica variety acida, commonly called sour lime, is one of the most widely used citrus fruits of India. The fruit, used for culinary purposes, are sold in markets almost the year around. It is a very common item which is served fresh or in pickle form along with the meals which are ordered in hotels. The plant is a much branched thorny shrub. The leaves are small with narrowly winged petioles. The small white flowers have usually four petals. The fruit are round of ovoid with thin rinds. The pulp is very acidic and is a rich source of Vitamin C.

Herbal use:

1. Citron is used to stimulate appetite.
2. It is used to strengthen and give tone to the stomach.
3. It is used to kill or expel worms from the body.
4. It is used to cure abdominal pain and other complaints of the abdomen.
5. It is used to check constipation and fatigue.
6. Checks biliousness or congestion of the liver.
7. It is used against foul breath, nausea and vomiting.
8. It is used as agent to prevent or cure scurvy.
9. It is used to improve general weakness and trembling of the limbs.
10. It is used for bleeding gums.

Instructions:

1. The juice of the fruit is to be diluted with water and consumed to take care of Numbers 1 to 9 above.
2. The cleaned leaves are to be chewed and the juice retained in the mouth for a while to check bleeding gums.

Major parts used: The fruits and leaves.