Pandanus Palm

The scientific name           ::  Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb

Kingdom                          ::  Plantae
Order                               ::  Pandanales
Family                              ::  Pandanaceae
Genus                              ::  Pandanus
Species                            ::  P. amaryllifolius
Description                      ::  Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the Pandanus (screwpine) genus, which is known commonly as pandan leaves and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as a flavoring. The plant is rare in the wild, but is widely cultivated. It is an upright, green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.

Culinary use                     ::  In Bangladesh it is called ketaki, along with the other variety of pandan there (Pandanus fascicularis), and is used to enhance the flavor of pulao, biryani and sweet coconut rice pudding, payesh. It is called pandan wangi in Indonesian, soon-mhway in Burmese, bai tooey in Thai, rampe in Sinhala, and lá dứa in Vietnamese.The leaves are used either fresh or dried, and are commercially available in frozen form in Asian grocery stores in nations where the plant does not grow. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese, Chinese, Sri Lankan, and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes.Biriyanikaitha in Kerala, IndiaThe leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They may also be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages. Also, Filipinos use pandan as a flavoring in buko pandan salad.The characteristic aroma of pandan is caused by the aroma compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which also gives white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice (as well as bread flowers Vallaris glabra) their typical smell. Bottled pandan extract is also available in shops, but often contains artificial green food coloring. The leaves also have a repellent effect on cockroaches.

Asiatic Pennywort

The scientific name        ::  Centella asiatica Urban

Kingdom                      :: Plantae
Order                           :: Apiales
Family                          :: Mackinlayaceae
Genus                           :: Centella
Species                         :: C. asiatica
Description                   :: Centella asiatica, commonly centella  in Sanskrit,kannada  is a small, herbaceous, annual plant of the family Mackinlayaceae or subfamily Mackinlayoideae of family Apiaceae, and is native to India, Sri Lanka, northern Australia, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, and other parts of Asia. It is used as a medicinal herb in Ayurvedic medicine, traditional African medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine. Botanical synonyms include Hydrocotyle asiatica L. and Trisanthus cochinchinensis (Lour.).The stems are slender, creeping stolons, green to reddish-green in color, connecting plants to each other. It has long-stalked, green, reniform leaves with rounded apices which have smooth texture with palmately netted veins. The leaves are borne on pericladial petioles, around 2 cm. The rootstock consists of rhizomes, growing vertically down. They are creamish in color and covered with root hairs.The flowers are pinkish to red in color, born in small, rounded bunches (umbels) near the surface of the soil. Each flower is partly enclosed in two green bracts. The hermaphrodite flowers are minute in size (less than 3 mm), with 5-6 corolla lobes per flower. Each flower bears five stamens and two styles. The fruit are densely reticulate, distinguishing it from species of Hydrocotyle which have smooth, ribbed or warty fruit.The crop matures in three months, and the whole plant, including the roots, is harvested manually.

Medicinal effects            :: Centella is a mild adaptogen, is mildly antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antiulcerogenic, anxiolytic, nervine and vulnerary, and can act as a a cerebral tonic, a circulatory stimulant, and a diuretic.Centella asiatica may be useful in the treatment of anxiety, and may be a promising anxiolytic agent in the future.In Thailand, tisanes of the leaves are used as an afternoon stimulant. A decoction of juice from the leaves is thought to relieve hypertension.[citation needed] A poultice of the leaves is also used to treat open sores.Richard Lucas claimed in a book published in 1966(second edition in 1979) that a subspecies "Hydrocotyle asiatica minor" allegedly from Sri Lanka also called fo ti tieng, contained a longevity factor called 'youth Vitamin said to be 'a tonic for the brain and endocrine glands' and maintained that extracts of the plant help circulation and skin problems. However according to medicinal herbalist Michael Moore, it appears that there is no such subspecies and no Vitamin is known to exist.Several scientific reports have documented Centella asiatica's ability to aid wound healing which is responsible for its traditional use in leprosy. Upon treatment with Centella asiatica, maturation of the scar is stimulated by the production of type I collagen. The treatment also results in a marked decrease in inflammatory reaction and myofibroblast production. The isolated steroids from the plant also have been used to treat leprosy. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that it may have nootropic effects. Centella asiatica is used to revitalize the brain and nervous system, increase attention span and concentration,and combat aging. Centella asiatica also has antioxidant properties. It works for venous insufficiency. It is used in Thailand for opium detoxification. Followers of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra, commonly known as Satsangees, all over the world take one or two fresh leaves with plenty of water in the morning after morning rituals. This is prescribed by Sri Sri Thakur himself. Many reports show the medicinal properties of C. asiatica extract in a wide range of disease conditions, such as diabetic microangiopathy, edema, venous hypertension, and venous insufficiency . The role of C. asiatica extract in the treatment of memory enhancement and other neurodegenerative disorders is also well documented. The first report concerning the antitumor property ofC. asiatica extract was on its growth inhibitory effects on the development of solid and ascites tumors, which lead to increased life span of tumor-bearing mice. The authors also suggested the extract directly impeded the DNA synthesis. "In our study, C. asiatica extract showed an obvious dose dependent inhibition of cell proliferation in breast cancer cells.

Lotus

The scientific name               ::  Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.

Kingdom                             :: Plantae
Order                                  :: Proteales
Family                                 :: Nelumbonaceae
Genus                                  :: Nelumbo
Species                                :: N. nucifera
Description                          ::  Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monotypic family Nelumbonaceae. The Linnaean binomial Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) is the currently recognized name for this species, which has been classified under the former names, Nelumbium speciosum (Willd.) and Nymphaea nelumbo, among others. Names other than Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) are obsolete synonyms and should not be used in current works. This plant is an aquatic perennial. Under favorable circumstances its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.A common misconception is referring to the lotus as a waterlily (Nymphaea), an entirely different plant as can be seen from the center of the flower, which clearly lacks the structure that goes on to form the distinctive circular seed pod in the Nelumbo nucifera.[citation needed] Native to Tropical Asian nations and Queensland, Australia, it is commonly cultivated in water gardens. The lotus is national flower of India and Vietnam.

Botany                               ::  Bud of Nelumbo nucifera seen against a leaf The roots of Nelumbo nucifera are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers are usually found on thick stems rising several centimeters above the leaves. The plant normally grows up to a height of about 150 cm and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters, but some unverified reports place the height as high as over 5 meters. The leaves may be as large as 60 cm in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm in diameter.Researchers report that the lotus has the remarkable ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers to within a narrow range just as humans and other warmblooded animals do. Dr. Roger S. Seymour and Dr. Paul Schultze-Motel, physiologists at the University of Adelaide in Australia, found that lotus flowers blooming in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens maintained a temperature of 30–35 °C (86–95 °F), even when the air temperature dropped to 10 °C (50 °F). They suspect the flowers may be doing this to attract coldblooded insect pollinators. The study, published in the journal Nature, is the latest discovery in the esoteric field of thermoregulation, heat-producing, plants. Two other species known to be able to regulate their temperature include Symplocarpus foetidus and Philodendron selloum. The traditional Sacred Lotus is distantly related to Nymphaea caerulea and possesses similar chemistry. Both Nymphaea caerulea and Nelumbo nucifera contain the alkaloids nuciferine and aporphine.

Arabian jasmine

The scientific name               ::   Jasminum sambac   

Kingdom                             :: Plantae
Order                                  :: Lamiales
Family                                 :: Oleaceae
Tribe                                   :: Jasmineae
Genus                                 :: Jasminum
Species                               :: J. sambac

Description                          ::   Jasminum sambac is an evergreen vine or shrub reaching up to 0.5 to 3 m (1.6 to 9.8 ft) tall.The species is highly variable, possibly a result of spontaneous mutation, natural hybridization, and autopolyploidy. Only a few varieties reproduce by seed in the wild. Cultivated Jasminum sambac generally do not bear seeds and the plant is reproduced solely by cuttings, layering, marcotting, and other methods of asexual propagation.The leaves are ovate, 4 to 12.5 cm (1.6 to 4.9 in) long and 2 to 7.5 cm (0.79 to 3.0 in) wide. The phyllotaxy is opposite or in whorls of three, simple (not pinnate, like most other jasmines).They are smooth (glabrous) except for a few hairs at the venation on the base of the leaf.The flowers bloom all throughout the year and are produced in clusters of 3 to 12 together at the ends of branches.They are strongly scented, with a white corolla 2 to 3 cm (0.79 to 1.2 in) in diameter with 5 to 9 lobes. The flowers open at night (usually around 6 to 8 in the evening), and close in the morning, a span of 12 to 20 hours.The fruit is a purple to black berry 1 cm (0.39 in) in diameter.

Cultivation                           ::  The sweet, heady fragrance of Jasminum sambac is its distinct feature. It is widely grown throughout the tropics from the Arabian peninsula to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands as an ornamental plant and for its strongly scented flowers.Numerous cultivars currently exist. Typically, the flowers are harvested as buds during early morning. The flower buds are harvested on basis of color, as firmness and size are variable depending on the weather. The buds have to be white, as green ones may not emit the characteristic fragrance they are known for.Open flowers are generally not harvested as a larger amount of them is needed to extract oils and they lose their fragrance sooner.

Mammea Siamensis

The scientific name :: Mammea siamensis
Family                   :: Calophyllaceae

Genus                   :: Mammea
Species                 :: M. siamensis

Kingdom              :: Plantae
Order                   :: Malpighiales

Pomegranate

The scientific name               ::  Punica granatum L.

Family                                  ::  Punicaceae

Description                           :: The pomegranate  is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall. Native to the area of modern day Iran and Iraq, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as well as the Himalayas in Northern India. Today it is widely cultivated throughout Turkey, Iran, Syria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, China, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, the drier parts of southeast Asia, the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, and tropical Africa. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769, pomegranate is also cultivated in parts of California and Arizona for juice production.In the Northern Hemisphere, the fruit is typically in season from September to February. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pomegranate is in season from March to May.The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran. In recent years, it has reached mainstream prominence in the commercial markets of North America and the Western Hemisphere.
Nutrients and phytochemicals  :: Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and natural phenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids. Pomegranates are listed as high-fiber in some charts of nutritional value. That fiber, however, is entirely contained in the edible seeds which also supply unsaturated oils. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber, oils and micronutrients.

Ebony Tree

The scientific name               ::  Diospyros  mollis Griff

Family                                  ::  Ebenaceae

The botanical characteristics :: Medium to large tall 10-30 m. shrub canopy is round , skin peel is a crack, peel in yellow limb weakness ,soft fur ,leaves small oval or elliptical ,circular base ,leaves skin smooth leaves wide 3.-4.0 cm. long 9-10 cm. leaves are soft have hairs cover at flower , male flowers are smaller have primrose ,panicle have 3 flowers , female flowers are single flowers , flowers same is  flower petals long 0.1-0.2 cm. petals separate is 4 petals ,center of  flower have pollen . Fruit have circle , diameter have 2 cm. smooth surface and pale green about of June - August. Yellow seeds have 4-5 seeds wide 0.5-0.7 cm. long 1-2 cm. . Propagation by seeds.