Evolvulus alsinoides (Dwarf Morning Glory)

Scientific Name: Evolvulus alsinoides

Family: Convolvulaceae (Morning glory family)

Common Names: Dwarf Morning Glory, Slender Dwarf Morning Glory, Visnukrantha, Shyamakrantha

This is a very slender, more or less branched, spreading or ascending, usually extremely hairy herb. The leaves, which are densely clothed with appressed, white, and silky hairs, are variable clothed, lanceolate to ovate; the apex is blunt with a little point and the base is pointed. The flowers are pale blue. The fruit (capsule) is rounded, and usually contains 4 seeds. Dwarf Morning Glory is native to the South America, and is widely naturalized all over the world, including India. 

Medicinal uses
- Infusion of entire plant used to cure irregularities of the bowels.

 In the Goa territory, whole plant used extensively as tonic and febrifuge.
- With cumin and milk, used for fevers, nervous debility and loss of memory; also used for syphilis and scrofula.
- In India, used with oil to promote hair growth.
- Roots used by Santals for intermittent fevers in children.
- In west tropical Africa, used as febrifuge, leprosy, pulmonary ailments, stomach troubles, vermifuge and for general healing.
- In Unani and Ayurveda traditional systems, used as nootropic or brain-tonic, used for memory loss, nervous debility, fever, epilepsy and immune disorders.
- Dried leaves rolled into cigarettes and smoked to treat bronchitis and asthma.
- Oil from the plant used to stimulate hair growth. 
- In Sri Lanka, roots and stem extract used for dysentery and depression.

  Leaves used for asthma and mental disturbances.
- In India, decoction of roots used for coughs and colds.
- In the old Sudanese Kingdom, used with other herbs as a charm to exorcise evil spirits causing disease. Women would burn the plant to fumigate the hut during puerperium and use a warm infusion as wash during the 40-day purification.

Ailanthus excelsa

Scientific Name: Ailanthus excelsa

Family: Simaroubaceae (Quassia family)

Common Names: Indian Tree of Heaven, Coramandel ailanto, Mahanimb, Maharukh

Indian Tree of Heaven is a large deciduous tree; trunk straight, bark light grey and smooth, becoming grey-brown and rough on large trees, aromatic, slightly bitter. Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, large; leaflets 8-14 or more pairs, long stalked, ovate or broadly lance shaped from very unequal base, 6-10 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, often curved, long pointed, hairy gland; edges coarsely toothed and often lobed. Flower clusters droop at leaf bases, shorter than leaves, much branched; flowers many, mostly male and female on different trees, short stalked, greenish-yellow. Five sepals, 5 narrow petals spreading 6 mm across. Fruit a 1-seeded samara, lance shaped, flat, pointed at ends, 5 cm long, 1 cm wide, copper red, strongly veined, twisted at the base. The genus name Ailanthus comes from ailanthos (tree of heaven), the Indonesian name for Ailanthus moluccana.

Medicinal Uses: The bark is used in tonic and in treatment of cough, cold, bronchitis, and infertility, curing wounds and sores (bark decoction); on rashes (leaf and bark); to treat asthma and bronchitis, and as an astringent for diarrhoea and dysentery. It is also used against skin diseases and as tonic and abortifacient agent. The leaves are used in rheumatism and postnatal care.

Ranunculus sceleratus

Scientific Name: Ranunculus sceleratus L. – cursed buttercup

Family:  Ranunculaceae – Buttercup family

Common Names: Cursed Buttercup, Poisonous Buttercup, Celery-leaved Buttercup, Blister Buttercup, Water Crowfoot, Shim, Aglaon, Jaldhaniya.

Cursed Buttercup is a fast growing annual herb which produces a multitude of small yellow flowers. The flowers have three to five yellow petals and reflexed sepals as long as petals. The leaves have small blades each deeply lobed or divided into usually three leaflets, and look like coriander leaves. They are borne on long stalks. The fruits arise in heads and make the plant easy to identify. Cursed Buttercup is a very poisonous plant. Bruised and applied to the skin, it raises a blister and creates a sore which is by no means easy to heal. When chewed, it inflames the tongue and produces violent effects.

Ranunculus sceleratus 

Medicinal uses:  The celery-leafed buttercup is one of the strongest acting of our native plants. The whole plant is acrid, mildly pain-relieving, and antispasmodic, induces sweating, promotes or assists the flow of menstrual fluid and causes irritation to the skin. When bruised and applied to the skin it raises a blister and creates a sore that is difficult to heal. If chewed it inflames the tongue and produces violent effects. If used medicinally, the herb should be used fresh since it loses its effects when dried. The leaves and the root have been used externally for rheumatism. The seed is tonic and has been used in the treatment of colds, rheumatism and excessive ejaculation.

Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy)

Scientific Name: Tinospora cordifolia

Family: Menispermaceae

Common Names: Guduchi, Gulancha Tinospora, Indian Tinospora and Giloy

Tinospora cordifolia is a native plant from tropical and subtropical regions of India. Also, known to be found in Far East, primarily in rainforests. The plant is climbing shrub with heart-shaped leaves. The herb plant flowers during the summer and fruits during the winter. Tinosopora cordiofolia prefers acid, neutral or basic alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade or no shade. Requiring moist soil. Tinospora Cordifolia grows without chemical fertilizers, and use of pesticides. The plant is classified as a rasayana herb: Enhance longevity, promote intelligence and prevent disease. The herb has a long history in use by practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine (the traditional medicine of India), since 2000 B.C. Known by its practitioners to treat convalescence from severe illness, arthritis (or joint diseases), liver disease, eye diseases, urinary problems, anaemia, cancer, diarrhoea, and diabetes. Also, help remove toxins from the body. The plant is cultivated by stem cutting in the month of May-June and used in Tibetan medicine. The herb is known to have a sweet, bitter and acid taste. Extracted from the stem and root is a nutrient starch used to treat chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. Not advisable to be taken by pregnant women and nursing mothers. Also, individuals with severe liver or kidney disease should avoid taking Guduchi.

Tinospora cordifolia

According to some herbalists, Tinospora helps the human body adapt to stress, regardless of the source: Heat, cold, exertion, trauma, sleep deprivation, toxic exposure, radiation, infection or psychological duress. Oral administration of an aqueous (dissolved in water) Tinospora cordifolia root extract administered to diabetic rats (condition induced) caused a significant reduction in blood glucose (sugar) and brain lipids (Most common biomolecules found in the brain. Performing brain activity in two respects: structure and function). Tinospora Cordifolia is one of many herbal drugs taken orally, found to protect mice from cyclophosphamide (belongs to a class of drugs) induced Leukopenia (Lower white blood cell count. Harder to fight against infections in the body.) Patients in India, had received Guduchi before abdominal surgery had fewer postoperative infections, and improved outcomes. Alcoholic extract of the stem Tinospora cordifolia shows activity against E. coli (Eschericha coli helps the human body, break down and digest food, normally lives inside the intestines. When the E.coli moves from the intestines to other parts of the body, can cause sickness. Most common related to eating food that contains harmful bacteria.). Indonesians use the stems of the herb to treat fever, malaria, stomach ache and jaundice. Known to combat premature aging.

Brief Information about Species

Table1: Brief Information about Species

Name of Species	Family	Medicinal Uses
Azadirachta indica	Meliaceae	Cough, fever, loss of apetite, worm infestation, wound healing, Diabetes
Aloe vera	Aloaceae	Epilepsy, depression, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, skin problems
Achyrenthes aspera	Amaranthaceae	Asthma, cough, snake bite
Gardenia jasminoides	Rubiaceae	Pain, digestive and skin problems, insomnia
Mimusops elengi	Sapotaceae	Dental ailments, Heart diseases
Punica granatum	Punicaceae	Sore throats, coughs, urinary infections, digestive disorders, skin disorders, arthritis,
Cascabela thevetia	Apocynaceae	Febrifuge, root plaster applied to tumours
Gmelina arborea	Verbenaceae	Hallucination, piles, abdominal pains, burning sensations, fevers, ‘tridosha’ and urinary discharge
Leucanthemum vulgare	Asteraceae	Whooping cough, night sweats, asthma and nervous conditions
Melia azedarach	Meliaceae	Natural insecticide
Cynodon dactylon	Poaceae	Cuts and wounds,piles, catarrhal ophthalmia

Melia azedarach

Melia azedarach

Scientific Name: Melia azedarach

Family: Meliaceae (Mahogany Family)

Common Name: Chinaberry, pride-of-India,umbrella-tree, white cedar

M. azedarach is described as a small to medium-sized shrub or tree in the mahogany family (Meliaceae). Branches are stout, with purplish bark dotted with buff-coloured lenticels. Leaves are twice to three-times compound, alternate, and puberulent to glabrous. Leaflets are 2-8cm long, serrate or crenate, dark green above, often with sparse hairs along the veins, and lighter green and generally smooth below. The inflorescence is a panicle from leaf axils and from leafless nodes on the lower part of the new growth. The perfect flowers are 5-parted. Sepals are green, 1.5-2mm long. Petals are pinkish lavender, ligulate, 1-1.3cm long. Stamens are united into a cylindrical, dark purple tube, 6-8mm long, and cut at the apex into 15-25 slender teeth. Each flower has ten anthers. Flowers are fragrant. (Batcher, 2000) states that the fruit is a stalked, one-seeded drupe that is greenish yellow to yellowish tan, globose, and 1-1.5cm in diameter (Burks 1997).

Occurs in: natural forests, range/grasslands, riparian zones, ruderal/ disturbed, urban areas, wetlands.

It is an invasive species, and used as an Ornamental plant. The plant was introduced around 1830 as an ornamental in the United States and widely planted in southern states. Today it is considered an invasive species by some groups as far north as Virginia and Oklahoma. But nurseries continue to sell the trees, and seeds are also widely available. It has become naturalized to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Americas and is planted in similar climates around the world. Besides the problem of toxicity, its usefulness as a shade tree in the United States is diminished by its tendency to sprout where unwanted and to turn sidewalks into dangerously slippery surfaces when the fruits fall, though this is not a problem where songbird populations are in good shape.

Medicinal Uses:

The clusters of lilac flowers are fragrant in the evening but are often hidden by the emerging foliage. The leaves turn a vivid yellow for a short time in the fall. The golden yellow fruit is quite attractive as it persists on the tree during the fall and winter. When eaten in quantities, the fruit is poisonous to people but not to birds. The wood is very brittle but it has been used in cabinet making.

Leaves have been used as a natural insecticide to keep with stored food, but must not be eaten as they are highly poisonous. Chinaberry fruit was used to keep drying fruit from having worms in the fruit from insects laying eggs in the fruit. By placing the berries in drying apples (etc) and keeping the fruit turned in the sun without damaging any of the Chinaberry skin the fruit will dry and not have insect larvae in the dried apples.

A diluted infusion of leaves and trees has been used in the past to induce uterus relaxation.

Melia azedarach Fruit

Melia azedarach Flower

Gmelina arborea

Gmelina arborea

Scientific name: Gmelina arborea

Family: Verbenaceae

Common names: Gamhar, Beechwood, Gmelina, Goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, White teak, Vemane

Description: Gmelina arborea locally known as Gamhar, is a fast growing tree, which grows on different localities and prefers moist fertile valleys with 750–4500 mm rainfall. It does not thrive on ill-drained soils and remains stunted on dry, sandy or poor soils; drought also reduces it to a shrubby form.

The Gmelina arborea tree attains moderate to large height up to 30 m.  Wood is pale yellow to cream coloured or plukish-buff when fresh, turning yellowish brown on exposure and is soft to moderately hard, light to moderately heavy, lustrous when fresh, usually straight to irregular or rarely wavy grained and medium course textured. Flowering takes place during February to April when the tree is more or less leafless whereas fruiting starts from May onwards up to June. The fruit is up to 2.5 cm long, smooth, dark green, turning yellow when ripe and has a fruity smell.

This tree is commonly planted as a garden and an avenue tree; growing in villages along agricultural land and on village community lands and wastelands. It is light demander, tolerant of excessive drought, but moderately frost hardy. It has good capacity to recover from frost injury. Gamhar trees coppices very well with vigorous growth.

Medicinal Uses:

The root and bark of Gmelina arborea are stomachic, galactagogue laxative and anthelmintic; improve appetite, useful in hallucination, piles, abdominal pains, burning sensations, fevers, ‘tridosha’ and urinary discharge. Leaf paste is applied to relieve headache and juice is used as wash for ulcers. Flowers are sweet, cooling, bitter, acrid and astringent. They are useful in leprosy and blood diseases. In Ayurveda it has been observed that Gamhar fruit is acrid, sour, bitter, sweet, cooling, diuretic tonic, aphrodisiac, alternative astringent to the bowels, promote growth of hairs, useful in ‘vata’, thirst, anaemia, leprosy, ulcers and vaginal discharge. The plant is recommended in combination with other drugs for the treatment of snake – bite and scorpion- sting. In snake – bite a decoction of the root and bark is given internally.

 

Gmelina arborea

Gmelina arborea Flower