Brassica campestris L. (Field Mustard )

Brassica campestris L.

Field Mustard !!

BOTANICAL NAME: Brassica campestris L.

FAMILY: Brassicaceae

SYNONYMS: Brassica rapa L. var. rapa, Brassica campestris L. ssp. rapifera (Metzger) Sinsk., Brassica campestris L. var. rapa (L.) Hartman, Brassica rapa L. ssp. campestris (L.) Clapham, Brassica rapa L. ssp. olifera DC., Brassica rapa L. ssp. sylvestris Janchen, Brassica rapa L. var. campestris (L.) W.D.J. Koch, Caulanthus sulfureus Payson, Brassica pe-tsai L. H. Bailey, Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Rupr.

ORIGIN: Field mustard is native to Europe but has become naturalized throughout North America.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: # Life cycle (annual/biennial/perennial): Annual, Winter Annual, or Biennial

# Growth habit & Regrowth type: Erect growth habit with stems up to 1 m tall.

# Invasive potential: Field mustard is an aggressive weed of fields and waste ground. It has be reported to be poisonous to livestock.

BOTANICAL NAME:# Inflorescence: The inflorescence is a raceme. The fruit is a silique 4-7 cm long, terete or nearly so having a beak up to 2 cm long. The siliques are on long pedicels up to 3 cm long. The valves are one-nerved with two delicate lateral nerves. Field mustard inflorescence image.

# Flower: The flowers are yellow with four petals.

# Seed: The seeds are minutely roughened, round or slightly compressed laterally, reddish-gray 1-2 mm in diameter.

# Stem: Field mustard has stems up to 1 m tall. They are glabrous or nearly so and commonly glaucous.

# Leaf: The basal leaves are petioled with lyrate-pinnatifid blades. The lower cauline leaves are similar to the basal leaves. The upper cauline leaves become oblong to lanceolate, entire to dentate, and are sessile to clasping.

# Leaves are petioled, +/- pinnatifid or lobed, 1-2 dm long; upper leaves, sessile, auriculate-clasping, lance-oblong, subentire, glabrous; pedicels spreading, 1-2 cm. long; sepals narrow-oblong,yellowish, 4-5 mm long; petals yellow, spatulate, 6-8 mm long; siliques not torulose, terete, 2-5 cm long, stout with a stout beak an additional 1-1.5 cm long.

SOURCES:>>http://forages.oregonstate.edu/php/fact_sheet_print_forb.php?SpecID=152&use=Forage

>>http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Brassica+rapa

>>http://onh.eugraph.com/plants/mustard/index.html

>>http://eol.org/pages/583898/overview

>>http://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/3711

Phyllanthus reticulatus (Black-Honey Shrub)

Phyllanthus reticulatus

Black-Honey Shrub !!
BOTANICAL NAME: Phyllanthus reticulatus

FAMILY: Phyllanthaceae (Amla family)

SYNONYMS: Kirganelia reticulata, Anisonema reticulatum, Cicca reticulata, Diasperus reticulatus

COMMON NAMES: Black-Honey Shrub, black-berried featherfoil, potato-bush, netted-leaved leaf-flower

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT:Phyllanthus reticulatus is very common and widespread in the Okavango Delta. It often grows in low altitudes in riverine thickets. It is distributed along the Eastern Cape and Kwa- Zulu Natal coastal areas, Limpopo Province, Zimbabwe and throughout tropical Africa.

DERIVATIONS OF NAMES AND HISTORICAL ASPECTS:The genus name Phyllanthus is based on the Greek word meaning leaf flower (phyll – leaf and anthus – flower); because in some species of the genus the flowers are produced at the edges of leaf-like branches. The species name reticulatus means nettled and refers to the netting of the leaves.

ECOLOGY: The purplish-black fruits are eaten by vervet monkeys, birds and small browsers. There are reports from Tanzania that the fruits and the leaves may cause poisoning when browsed in large quantities.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: **Phyllanthus reticulatus is usually a dense deciduous shrub or small tree with a distinct smell that is emitted by the minute flowers when they open towards the early evening. This is one of the fascinating characteristic smells of Africa. Despite its name, this plant which belongs to the Euphorbiaceae is not at all related to the true potato which belongs to the family Solanaceae.

BOTANICAL NAME:**Phyllanthus reticulatus is a many branched shrub, sometimes partially scrambling, usually 1-5 m high, or a small twiggy tree that grows up to 8 m in height. The bark is light reddish-brown or grey-brown with hairy stems when young, which become smooth with age.

**The leaves alternate along slender branches. They are up to 25 cm long and appear as leaflets of large pinnate leaves. The leaves are thinly textured, usually hairless. They have a noticeable reddish net-veining which is more visible above than below.

**The potato plant has very small greenish-yellow flowers with a reddish tinge. They are clustered on the tips of short slender branches that are about 3 cm long. The flowers appear before or with the leaves. One female and a number of male flowers are grouped together.

**The flowers of this plant are responsible for the strange smell of potatoes which is often encountered along river banks in the Lowveld, particularly on spring and summer evenings. It flowers from September to October, but the flowering season can extend from July onwards. P. reticulatus has very small, roundish berry like fruits that are green at first, turning purple-black, 4-6 mm in diameter.

USES AND CULTURAL ASPECTS:From Zambia, it is reported that the plant is used as a remedy for anaemia and intestinal haemorrhage while roots and fruit are reported to have been used for criminal poisoning in Zambia. Several tribes as well as the European farmers use the powdered leaf as a local application for sores, burns and venereal sores. The bark and leaf are used as a diuretic.

In Zululand, root bark infusions are taken as emetics or used as bathing charms to conceal secrets from diviners (Palmer and Pitman, 1972b). The Zulus also believe that they can improve their vision by mixing other ingredients, such as the root-bark of the green thorn (Balanites maughami), with this plant and stirring vigorously three times a day to produce froth. The froth is then carefully licked off without using the hands. The frayed twig can be used as a toothbrush. The root is used to make a dark brown to black dye and is often used to colour fishing lines, making them less conspicuous in the water.

GROWING Phyllanthus reticulatus :P. reticulatus grows easily from seeds. Stored seeds should be soaked in water for a day and then be scrubbed with a brush to remove the fleshy part. They must then be sown in trays filled with normal potting soil. They should not be planted too deep as they can easily rot. Trays must be kept in a warm area, away from direct sunlight, but not too dark. The soil must be kept moist, but not wet to prevent seed from rotting. The seeds take 7 to 11 days to germinate. There is a very low success rate in growing potato bush through cuttings.

Potato bush grows best in deep moist soil, but can also tolerate sandy but not too dry conditions. This plant is best planted together with other taller bushes where it can scramble.

SPURCES:>>http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/phyllanthusret.htm

>>http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Black-Honey%20Shrub.html

>>http://www.phcog.com/article.asp?issn=0973-1296%3Byear%3D2009%3Bvolume%3D5%3Bissue%3D18%3Bspage%3D176%3Bepage%3D182%3Baulast%3DAswatha

>>http://www.ijpsr.com/V4I7/10%20Vol.%204,%20Issue%207,%20July%202031,%20IJPSR,%20RE-951,%20Paper%2010.pdf

>>http://plants.jstor.org/upwta/2_244

>>http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=18066

>>http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hlca.201000168/abstract

>>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18930851

Fumaria indica (Indian Fumitory )

Fumaria indica

Indian Fumitory !!
BOTANICAL NAME: Fumaria indica
FAMILY: Fumariaceae (Fumitory family)
SYNONYMS: Fumaria parviflora var. indica, Fumaria vaillantii var. indica

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:The genus Fumaria (Fumariaceae) consists of 46 species in the world and Fumaria species are known as “fumitory, earth smoke, beggary, fumus, vapor, fumittery or wax dolls” in English. Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley (F. indica)(Fumariaceae) is a small, scandent, branched, annual herb growing wild in plains and lower hills. It is locally known as “Pitpapra” or “Shahtrah” in India, and its vernacular names are “Common fumitory” in English, “Pitpapra” in Hindi, “Shotara, pipapapra” in Bengali, “Pittapapra” in Marathi, “Pittapapdo” in Gujrati, “Parpataka” in Kannad, “Shahterah” in Kashmiri, “Turu” or “thusha” in Tamil, and “Chata-rashi” in Telgu.
Ayurvedic description:
Sanskrit: Parpata, Parpataka (Charaka, Sushruta).
Synonyms: Varatikta, pittahara, renu, kavacha, charmaahvya, rajorenu, charmakantaka, sooksmapatra, yavakantaka.
Properties: Rasa-Tikta; Guna-Laghu; Veerya-Sheeta; Vipaaka-Katu.
Action/Uses: Sangraahi, raktavikaarashamana, raktapitiahara, madhura, bhramaghna, aruchihara, daahahara, pitajwaraghna, kaphajwaraghna, pipaasashamani, chardighna

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:The Fumaria is a genus of herbs distributed in Asia, Europe and Africa. The F. indica plants are distributed over the greater part of India upto 2 438 m on the Himalayas, Baluchistan, Afganistan, Persia, and Mongolia. According to wealth of India, Indian plant bearing the name “Shahtrah” or “Pitpapra” has been wrongly referred as Fumaria officinalis Linn. or Fumaria paviflora lam. by many authors, which are common fumitory in Europe but not found in India. The identification of Fumaria species is difficult due to the occurrence of inter-specific hybridisation and the best condition to identify a Fumaria species is to study fresh material, as many changes occur in the herbarium specimens during drying.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION:>>F. indica is a much-branched, suberect or diffuse, pale-green, annual herb that is up to 61 cm in height.
>>Leaves are multifid and more or less glaucous; leaflets are 2-4 in number and pinnatisect; segment is long, linear or linear-oblong, flat, and acute.
>>Recemes have 10-12 flowers that are rather dense; bracts lanceolate-subulate and slightly acuminate, and pedicels (2.0-2.5 in number) are rarely 4.5 mm long, erect and thickened at the apex.
>>Sepals are about 1.5 mm long, 0.5-1.0 mm broad, lanceolate or ovate, acuminate, more or less inciso-dentate, rose colored and often persistent in the young fruit.
>>Corrola is 5-6 mm long and rose colored.
>>Fruit is about 2.5 mm broad, subrotund, quadrate, subtruncate and sometimes obscurely retuse.
>>Stem is light green, smooth, hollow, about 3-4 mm thick, with root brown color and branches that are about 2-3 mm thick, and cylindrical.

PHARMACOGNOSTIC STUDIES:Microsopically, the lamina of leaf has single layer epidermis on either side, consisting of thin walled, rectangular, oval shaped, parenchymatous cells; mesophyll is composed of thin walled, oval to polygonal, parenchymatous cells; vascular bundles are scattered throughout the mesophyll; anomocytic stomata are present on both the surfaces. Microscopically, the stem of F. indica is quadrangular to pentagonal in shape. The outer most single layered epidermis is covered with cuticle. The cortex is divided into two regions and endodermis is absent. Closed and bicollateral vascular bundles are either single or in group of two and arranged at the ridges. Each vascular bundle is capped with sclerenchyma. In root, epidermis is obliterated or crushed and cortex consists of thin walled, irregular shaped, parenchymatous cells; endodermis is not distinct; secondary phloem is well developed and consists of sieve tube, companion cells and phloem parenchyma.

MEDICINAL USES:Classical uses: In Charaka and Sushruta, parpata is recommended for treatment of fevers and blood disorders. In Sushruta, the plant has also been recommended in case of chronic skin diseases, urinary diseases and cough. F. indica alone or combined with Tinospra cardifolia, Emblica officinalis, Santalum album or Zingiber officinale was prescribed for alleviating fever. F. indica is an important ingredient in Amrtaarishta (Bhaishajya Ratnaavali, an ancient indian medical book), prescribed as an antipyretic and antiperiodic compound; Arvindaasava, prescribed as a carminative and restorative; Chandanaasava, prescribed for urinary and urogenital disorders; Mahaatikta Ghrita (Ashtaanga Hridaya, an ancient indian medical book), prescribed as ablood purifier, antiinfective, appetizer and restorative.

In Unani medicine, Fumaria plant imported from Persia is used as “shaahtara” and is an important ingredient in a number of blood purifying compounds. Itrifal-e-Shaahtara is prescribed for putrefaction of blood, syphilis, skin diseases. Majoon-e-Musaffi-e-Khoon are reputed blood purifying compounds in Unani medicine.

The plant is sold under the name pitpapra in Ayurvedic bazaars. It is also used in the Unani system of medicine and incorporated into trifala shahtara. Indian Fumitory is used in aches and pains, diarrhoea, fever, influenza and liver complaints. The herb mixed with honey mar be taken internally to prevent vomiting. A cold infusion of the plant is used to treat wasting diseases of children and to help cooling during fever and in the treatment of constipation and dyspepsia. It is used as a blood purifier for skin diseases and applied externally in leucoderma and as a fomentation for swollen joints. The dried plant is also used as an anthelmintic, diuretic and diaphoretic and, in combination with black pepper, for jaundice.

SOURCES:
>>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609363/

>>http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Indian%20Fumitory.html