Gomphrena globosa, commonly known as globe amaranth, makhmali, vadamalli and rudrakshi hoova, is an edible plant from the family Amaranthaceae. The plant is native to Central America including regions Panama, and Guatemala, but is now grown globally. As a tropical annual plant, G. globosa blooms constantly throughout summer and early fall. It is very heat tolerant and fairly drought resistant, but grows best in full sun and regular moisture. The plant fixes carbon through the C4 pathway. Some of the popular common names of the plant are Globe Amaranth, Gomphrena, Bachelor’s Buttons, Gentleman’s Button, Button, makhmali, vadamalli, rudrakshi hoova, Common…
Author: Sylvia
Ardisia elliptica, commonly known as shoebutton ardisia or duck’s-eyes, is an invasive shrub or small tree belonging to Myrsinaceae (Myrsine family). The plant’s native is uncertain although the original range has invariably included Indian Sub-continent (i.e. southern India and Sri Lanka) and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines). It has been widely introduced and cultivated as an ornamental in warm locations throughout the world, with naturalization occurring in such places as Puerto Rico, some Caribbean islands, tropical Australia, several islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans including the State of Hawaii,…
Hairy eggplants, botanically classified as Solanum lasiocarpum is a member of the Solanaceae, or Nightshade family. The plant is native to south Asia – India, Sri Lanka; southeast Asia – Kampuchea Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malesia – Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea; southern China – Guangdong, Guangxi, South and southeast Yunnan and Taiwan. It is found in the Bamaga area at the tip of Cape York Peninsula, north Queensland, Australia, possibly an introduced species. Today, Hairy eggplants are available at farmers markets, home gardens, and specialty grocers in Asia, South America, and the United States. Also known as the Sour eggplant,…
Tulipa gesneriana, commonly known as Didier’s tulip or garden tulip, is a species of plant in the lily family Liliaceae, cultivated as an ornamental in many countries because of its large, showy flowers. The plant native range stretches west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan) and Iran, north to the Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia and east to the northwest of China. Some of the popular common names of the plants are Tulip, Didier’s Tulip, Garden Tulip, Tall Garden Tulip and Gesner’s tulip. The plant is harvested…
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree or Corkwood, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae and is sole member of the genus Ochroma. The plant is widely distributed in tropical America; throughout the West Indies, and from southern Mexico, through Central America and into Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It is planted in many tropical countries, including tropical Africa (e.g. Cameroon and Zimbabwe) and South Africa. It has locally become naturalized. The tree is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses. The name balsa originates from the…
Senna siamea, also known as Siamese cassia, kassod tree, cassod tree and cassia tree, is a legume in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae and Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is native to Indian Sub-continent (i.e. India and Sri Lanka) and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and possibly also Malaysia) although its exact origin is unknown. It has been introduced to other humid tropical countries. Apart from Cassod tree it is popularly known as Blackwood Cassia, Bombay Blackwood, Cassod, Cassod Tree, Iron Wood, Kassod Tree, Pheasant Wood, Siamese Cassia, Siamese Senna, Siamese Shower, Thai Cassia, Thai Copper Pod,…
Cheeseweed or Least Mallow scientifically known as Malva parviflora is an annual or perennial herb belonging to Malvaceae (Mallow family). The plant is native to Europe, western and central Asia and northern Africa, and introduced widely through cultivation. It regularly escapes cultivation in North America, but is rarely encountered in New England, where it has been collected only in Vermont. Common names include Egyptian mallow, Least Mallow, Small-flowered mallow, Cheeseweed, Cheeseweed mallow, little mallow, Ring-leaf mallow, Small-flower mallow, Small-whorl mallow, Whorl-flower mallow, whorled mallow, Alkali mallow, Country mallow, Small whorled cheeseweed, Small-whorled mallow, Small mallow and pink Cheeseweed. The plant…
Salix cinerea popularly known as common sallow, grey sallow or grey willow is a species of willow belonging to Salicaceae (Willow family). The plant is native to Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to France, Siberia and Iran and also Russia and western Asia (i.e. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan). Apart from gray sallow it is also known as grey willow, large gray willow, common sallow, grey sallow, grey-leaved sallow, large grey willow, and pussy willow, rusty sallow and European gray willow. The plant offers a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10,…
Styphnolobium japonicum (previously Sophora japonica) popularly known as the Japanese pagoda tree, Chinese scholar tree or pagoda tree is a species of plant in the subfamily Faboideae in the Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is known by an assortment of common names: Japanese Pagoda Tree, Umbrella Tree, Chinese Scholar Tree, or sometimes more simply as Pagoda Tree or Scholar Tree. In contradiction to its botanical name, the Pagoda Tree is actually native to East Asia—central and northern China Japan and Korea for thousands of years, but now extensively cultivated in temperate and subtropical regions of the world, and…
Dianthus chinensis, commonly called China pink is a short-lived perennial garden plants belonging to Caryophyllaceae (Pink family). The plant is native to northern China (Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi and Xinjiang), Korea, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and southeastern Russia and has naturalized in southern China. Popular common names of the plants are Annual Pink, China Pink, Chinese Pink, Dianthus, Pinks, French Mignonette, Indian Pink, Japanese Pink and Rainbow Pink. Genus name comes from the Greek words dios meaning divine and anthos meaning flower. Specific epithet means of China. It is a perennial herbaceous plant…
Anemopsis californica once known as Houttuynia californica and popularly known as Yerba Mansa or Lizard Tail is a legendary medicinal plant belonging to Saururaceae (Lizard’s-tail family). The true name once was Yerba Del Manso. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anemopsis. The plant is native to southwestern North America in northwest Mexico and the Southwestern United States from California to Oklahoma and Texas to Kansas to Oregon and some of the states surrounding it. Mostly, it is found in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Utah. Apart from Yerba Mansa it is…
Bloodberry scientifically known as Rivina humilis is a species of flowering plant in the family Petiveriaceae. It was formerly placed in the pokeweed family, Phytolaccaceae. The plant is native to southern USA (i.e. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas and Arizona), Mexico, Central America (i.e. Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), the Caribbean and South America (i.e. French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and Paraguay). It has also been extensively introduced to other countries and has become naturalized in much of the Pacific and a small number of countries…
Sorbets aucuparia, commonly called European mountain ash, Mountain ash or Rowan-berry is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the Rosaceae (Rose family). The plant is native to most of Europe, Iceland, northern Africa, and western Asia. It has naturalized in 29 states of the U.S. and much of Canada. European mountain ash has been documented from the Pacific Maritime and Interior-Boreal eco- geographic regions of Alaska. The range extends from Madeira, the British Isles and Iceland to Russia and northern China. Unlike many plants with similar distributions, it is not native to Japan. Apart from rowanberry it is…
Rosa rubiginosa commonly known as sweet briar, sweetbriar rose or eglantine is a dense deciduous shrub belonging to Rosaceae (Rose family). The plant is native to Europe and western Asia. It widely naturalized in southern and eastern Australia (i.e. in the sub-coastal and inland districts of southern Queensland, in many parts of New South Wales and South Australia, in the ACT, in Victoria and Tasmania, and in the coastal districts of south-western Western Australia. Briar rose, eglantine, mosqueta rose, sweet briar, sweet briar rose, sweet brier, sweet brier rose and wild rose is some of the popular common names of the…
Salvia sclarea, also called clary or clary sage, is an herbaceous plant species of the genus Salvia and Lamiaceae / Labiatae (Mint family). The plant is native to Syria, Southern France, Italy, and Switzerland, also North Africa and Central Asia. Today it is cultivated worldwide, mostly within Europe, England, Morocco, Russia, and the United States. The plant has a lengthy history as an herb, and is currently grown for its essential oil. Clary, Europe sage, Clary sage, Salvia romana, European sage, Clear-eye, See-bright sage, garden clary and common clary are some of the popular common names of the plant. The…
Ligusticum porteri, also known as oshá, is a perennial herb member of the carrot family (apiaceae), with parsley-like leaves and double umbels of white flowers. The plant is native to mountains of western North America from Wyoming (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah) to the states of Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico and in the southwestern United States. It is most common in the upper limits of the subalpine zone, so in the southern part of its range, it grows at elevations from 7,000 feet to 10,000 feet (2100 m to 3000 m), while in Utah and Wyoming; it…
Acacia gum also known as gum Arabic is a water-soluble non-digestible carbohydrate derived from the sap of the Acacia Senegal tree. Gum acacia is a natural water-soluble hydrocolloid, a polysaccharide, from the genus Senegalia, belonging to the Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is native to Western Sudan, Nigeria and the Arabian Peninsula. It is commonly found in tropical areas of Western and Central Africa, and in Eastern Africa from Mozambique to South Africa. It was introduced into Egypt, Australia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and South Asia. It is cultivated in India, Pakistan and Nigeria. Gum acacia, Gum…
Cerbera manghas, commonly known as sea mango or Bintaro is a small evergreen coastal tree belonging to Apocynaceae (Dogbane family). The plant is native to India, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, the Malay Archipelago, the Pacific Islands and Madagascar and the Comoros. Few of the popular common names of the plant are Madagascar ordeal-bean, Beach milkwood, Dogbane, Dogbone, Grey milkwood, Pink-eyed cerbera, Reva, Rubbertree, Sea-mango, pong-pong, Pokok Pong Pong, Sea Pong Pong, Buta Buta, Nyan, Pink-eyed Pong Pong Tree, Tanghin Poison and Odollam tree. The genus name Cerbera is derived from Cerberus, the hell dog from Greek mythology, referring to the…
Phyllanthus acidus, known as the Star gooseberry, Malay gooseberry, Tahitian gooseberry or simply gooseberry tree is a small deciduous tree with edible small yellow berries fruit in the Euphorbiaceae (Spurge family). Despite its name, the plant does not resemble the gooseberry, except for the acidity of its fruits. The plant is native to coastal region of north-eastern Brazil, and has been often wrongly ascribed to Madagascar, India or Polynesia. It is now naturalized and cultivated pan-tropically in India, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, South Vietnam, Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, Polynesia and all the larger islands of the West Indies. Some of the popular…
Senna obtusifolia, popularly known as sicklepod or Chinese senna, is a sprawling, herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Senna, sometimes separated in the monotypic genus Diallobus and Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is native to Northern, southern and eastern USA, Mexico, Africa, Central America, the Caribbean and tropical South America. It is also widely naturalized in other parts of the world including south-eastern Asia (i.e. the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam) and Oceania (i.e. the Galapagos Islands, Palau and Hawaii). It is considered a particularly serious weed in many places. It has a long-standing history…
Ipomoea Alba, sometimes called the tropical white morning-glory or moonflower or moon vine, is a species of night-blooming morning glory belonging to Convolvulaceae (Morning-glory family). Though previously classified as genus Calonyction, species aculeatum, it is now properly assigned to genus Ipomoea, subgenus Quamoclit and section Calonyction. The plant is native to tropical and subtropical regions of North America (i.e. south-eastern USA and Mexico), Central America (i.e. Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama), the Caribbean (i.e. Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and South America (i.e. French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Argentina). Apart from…
Himalayan Marsh Orchid scientifically known as Dactylorhiza hatagirea is a medicinal herb belonging to Orchidaceae which is now considered critically endangered. The plant is native to India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Tibet, Bhutan, Europe, North Africa, Temperate Asia, Mongolia and Nepal. In India, the plant is found in Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim. Some of the popular common names of the plant are Nar mada, Salap, Panch aunle, Himalayan Marsh Orchid, Marsh Orchids, Salam panja, Hatta had and Spotted Heart Orchid. Roots of D. hatagirea are resembled with 5 fingered hands, so named…
Silky Oak scientifically known as Grevillea robusta is an agroforestry, timber, flowering and honey tree in the Proteaceae (Protea family). The plant is native to coastal eastern Australia from the Clarence River, New South Wales, to Maryborough, Queensland, and is now naturalized in Hawaii and southern Florida. Its natural range limited to pockets of subtropical forest on the east coast of the continent. Australian silky-oak, he oak, she-oak, silk oak, silky oak, silver oak, southern silky-oak, Fernleaf, Golden pine, silk-oak grevillea, grevillea and river oak are some of the well-known common names of the plant. The genus name Grevillea is…
Cedrus deodara, popularly known as deodar, Himalayan cedar or deodar cedar is a species of cedar belonging to Pinaceae (Pine family). The plant is native to Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan and India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu-Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh). It is massively found in the north-west Himalayas from Kashmir to Mussoorie. It grows at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m (5,000–10,000 ft.). In Sanskrit scripts, it is stated as the tree that grows in the place of Gods. Some of the popular common names of the plant are Deodar, Deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, cedar, Devadara, Beyar, Devadarm and Devdar. The botanical name…
Stinking Cassia scientifically known as Senna tora (originally described by Linnaeus as Cassia tora) is a plant species belonging to family Fabaceae and the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. The plant is native to Indian sub-continent (i.e. India, Bhutan, Nepal, eastern Pakistan and Sri Lanka), southern China, south-eastern Asia (i.e. Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea) and parts of western Polynesia (i.e. the Solomon Islands). It is considered invasive in New-Caledonia. Its name is derived from its Sinhala name tora. Most common English name is sickle senna and sickle wild sensitive-plant. Other popular common names include…
Camwood scientifically known as Baphia nitida is a shrubby, erect small tree belonging to Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is widespread forest plant spread around the globe and is more common within the coastal region of central West Africa and Asia where they are used for managing wide range of disorder. It is more common in under wood of the African dense forests. Apart from Camwood it is popularly known as Barwood, Dolo, Doro, shiny camwood and African sandalwood (although not a true sandalwood). It is normally grown as an ornamental shade tree or hedge. Bark and heartwood…
Coffee Senna scientifically known as Senna occidentalis is a smooth annual plant belonging to Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is native to Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Mexico and other regions of North American continent. Also in the South American subcontinent, it is indigenous to Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and other regions. It is invasive in parts of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Apart from Coffee Senna it is also known as septicweed, coffee senna, coffeeweed, Mogdad coffee, negro-coffee, senna coffee, Stephanie coffee, styptic weed, ant bush, arsenic bush, Nigerian senna, sickle pod, stinking pea, stinking weed,…
Dichrostachys cinerea, popularly known as sicklebush or Chinese lantern tree is a legume of the genus Dichrostachys in the Fabaceae / Leguminosae (Pea family). The plant is native to Africa, Indian subcontinent and North Australia and introduced to the Caribbean and parts of Southeast Asia. In Africa it occurs in all regions except the rain forest belt, from Cape Verde eastward to Somalia and southward to Namibia and northern South Africa. In Ethiopia, the species is common in the Nechisar National Park. Chinese lantern tree, Kalahari Christmas tree, Saint Domingue, Sen Domeng, acacia Saint Domingue, aroma, marabú, marabou-thorn, sickle bush,…
Commonly known as Monkey Guava or Jackalberry, Diospyros mespiliformis is an evergreen tree belonging to Ebenaceae (Ebony family) and is related to the true ebony and edible persimmon. The plant is native to Senegal east to Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya, and south to Namibia, northern South Africa and Swaziland, but it is nearly absent in the more humid forest zones of West and Central Africa. It is also found in Yemen. West African Ebony, Monkey guava, jackalberry, African ebony, wild African ebony, West African ebony, swamp ebony, Transvaal ebony, ebony diospyros, Betre musie, Chuma, Cum, Cumu, Ekumi, Ekumoit, Gaa, Gar,…
Prunus pensylvanica, also known as bird cherry or pin cherry is a North American cherry species in the genus Prunus and in the Rose Family (Rosaceae). The plant is native to Canada from Newfoundland and southern Labrador to British Columbia and the southern Northwest Territories. Additionally it is very common in New England and the Great Lakes region. It can also be found in the Appalachian Mountains as far south as northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee. Few of the popular common names of the plants are Pin cherry, Bird cherry, Fire cherry, Red cherry, Wild red cherry, Northern pin cherry,…