Goodluck Plant, also referred to as Ti Plant, Palm-lily, Ti, and Tree-of-kings is an evergreen shrub belonging to Asteliaceae family. The plant is native to Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea, but was carried throughout much of the Pacific by early Polynesians. It is now widely cultivated and sometimes naturalized in these areas including northeastern Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Boundary Marsh, Broadleaf Palm-lily, Cabbage Palm, Chinese Fire Leaf, Cordyline, False Palm, Good Luck Plant, Hawaiian Ti, Hawaiian Ti Leaf, Hawaiian Ti Plant, Palm Lily, Polynesian Ti Plant, Ti Plant, Tree Of Kings are some of the popular…
Author: Sylvia
Terminalia catappa, a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, is naturally widespread in the subtropical and tropical zones of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and is planted widely in many countries as an ornamental tree. The plant is native to Indian subcontinent through Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, and New Guinea to the Pacific Islands. The plant goes by several other common names including Barbados Almond, Bastard Almond, Beach Almond, Bengal Almond, Catappa, Coastal Almond, Country Almond, Demarara Almond, False Kamani, Fiji Almond, Indian Almond, Katapang, Java Almond, Malabar Almond, Malay Almond, Sea Almond, Singapore Almond, Story Tree,…
Santol also referred to as Kechapi, Lolly Fruit, is an ornamental evergreen tree belonging to Mahogany family Meliaceae. Known scientifically as Sandoricum koetjape, the plant goes by several other common names including Kechapi, Lolly Fruit, Santol, Sentol, Wild Mangosteen, Red santol, cotton fruit, sandal, sentul, Sayai and Visayan. The plant is native to Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia, and has been introduced into India, Borneo, Indonesia, Mauritius, the Andaman Islands, and the Philippines where it has become naturalized. It has also been introduced into China, Taiwan, Australia and into a few locations in Central America and Southern Florida. It is usually…
Mimusops elengi commonly known as Spanish Cherry is a medium-sized evergreen tree belonging to Sapodilla family Sapotaceae. The plant is native to India, Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Indo-China, and Peninsular Malaysia to Vanuatu; introduced and cultivated elsewhere. English common names include Spanish cherry, Tanjongtree, Medlar, Bakul, bakuli, barsoli, elagi, Elengitrd, Intianbaulapuu, Kirakuli, Magadam, Marouc, Maulsari, west india medlar, Asian bullet wood, bullet wood, Asian Bulletwood, Indian Medlar and Red Coondoo Spanish Cherry. This tree is especially useful in treating gum problems and dental disorders such as bleeding gums, loose teeth, sensitive teeth, cavities, etc. Its tender parts are…
Ficus benghalensis, commonly known as the banyan, banyan fig and Indian banyan is a huge tree belonging to the Mulberry family Moraceae. The tree is native to tropical Asia, from India through Myanmar, Thailand, southern China, and Malaysia. It is also cultivated and naturalized in many tropical regions of the world including western Africa, North America, the West Indies, Australia, the Middle East, and many islands in the Pacific Ocean. Specimens in India are among the largest trees in the world by canopy coverage. Known in Hindu folklore as ‘the wish-fulfilling tree’, banyans represent eternal life. Few of the popular…
Peepal, also referred to as Bo tree, Bodhi tree, is large broadleaf evergreen tree belonging to the Mulberry family Moraceae. The plant is native to India, Nepal, Chad, Thailand, Southwest China, and Southeast Asia east to Vietnam. However, the species is supposed to have originated in India After which humans introduced the tree to the other Asian areas. Bo tree, Bodhi tree, Peepul tree, Pipal tree, Pippala, Po tree, sacred fig, sacred fig tree, holy ficus, pipal, poplar-leaved fig tree, sacred ficus and tree-of-wisdom are some of the popular common names of the tree. Genus name comes from the Latin…
Cotton, also referred to as tree cotton, Ceylon cotton, is much-branched shrub related to the common mallow, marsh mallows, hollyhocks, hibiscus, okra, musk mallow, Indian or country mallow, the kapok tree, the red silk cotton tree, the dinner plate tree and the fruit, durian, among others. The plant belongs to the Mallow family Malvaceae. Known scientifically as Gossypium arboreum, the plant goes by several other common names including Bluntleaf cotton, Tree cotton, Ceylon cotton, Ceylon tree cotton, Cotton tree, Indian cotton tree, Red-flowered cotton tree, Tree cotton and Asiatic cotton. The plant is native to India, Pakistan and other tropical…
Knotgrass, also referred to as common knotgrass is an annual plant related to dock and buckwheat belonging to the Buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Known scientifically as Polygonum aviculare L, the plant goes by several other common names including bird grass, door-weed, goose grass, hogweed, ironweed, knotgrass, knotweed, mat grass, pink weed, polygonum, prostrate knotweed, Ray’s knotgrass, sea knotgrass, small leaved knotgrass, stone grass, way grass, wire weed, yard knotweed, Centinode, Ninety-knot, Nine-joints, Allseed, Bird’s Tongue, Sparrow Tongue, Red Robin, Armstrong, Cow grass, Pigweed, Pigrush, Swynel Grass, Swine’s Grass, Black strap and surface twitch. The plant is widespread across many countries in…
Cut leaf Ground Cherry with the scientific name Physalis angulata is an erect, herbaceous, annual plant belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is related to, but not to be confused with Physalis peruviana, the Cape gooseberry, a fruit native to, and cultivated in the western Andes, and exported worldwide. The plant is native to tropical America. It is now distributed pan tropically as a weed. Few of the popular common names of the plans are Angular Winter Cherry, Annual Ground Cherry, Balloon Cherry, Bladder Cherry, Bladder berry, Bolsa Mulaca, Cape Gooseberry, Cherry lance- Leaf Ground Cherry, Cow Pops, Cut-Leaved…
Gardenia jasminoides, commonly called common gardenia or Cape jasmine, is an evergreen flowering plant of the coffee family Rubiaceae. The plant is native to Asia and is most commonly found growing wild in Vietnam, Southern China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar, India and Bangladesh. The plant has got several common names including common gardenia, garden gardenia, cape jasmine, cape Jessamine, Danh Danh, Fleur Jaune, Gardênia, Gardenia, Gardenia augusta, Gardenia florida, Gardenia jasminoides, Gardénia Jasminoïdes, Gardenia radicans, Jasmin, Jasmin Do Cabo, Jasmin du Cap, Varneria augusta and Zhi Zi. The generic name Gardenia is named in honor of Alexander Garden (1730-1791) of…
Galangal scientifically known as Alpinia galanga is a perennial herb with finger-like rhizomatous rootstocks in the Zingiberaceae family, of the genus Zingiber. This perennial herb is indigenous to India, to Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam) to Southern China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan) and Taiwan. Blue Ginger, Chinese Ginger, False Galangal, Galangal, Galangal Root, Greater Galangal, Java Galangal, Languas, Laos Root, Siamese Galangal, Siamese Ginger, Spice Ginger, Thai Galangal, Thai Ginger, Chewing John, China root, East Indian root, Galanga, Galangal root, Kulanjan, Laos, Lesser galangal, Little John chew, Lesser galangal, small galangal, galingale, gargaut, India root,…
Curcuma zanthorrhiza commonly known as temulawak, Javanese ginger, or Javanese turmeric is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant species, belonging to the ginger family. The plant originated from Indonesia, more specifically from Java Island, out of which it spread to several places in the bio-geographical region Malesia. Currently, most of the temu lawak is cultivated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Outside of South East Asia, cultivars may be found also in China, Indochina, Barbados, India, Japan, Korea, the United States and some countries in Europe. It is known in Javanese as temulawak, in Sundanese as koneng gede and in…
Zingiber zerumbet, commonly known as pinecone ginger, shampoo ginger or wild ginger, is a rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial of Zingiber Mill genus and Zingiberaceae family. The plant is native to tropical Indo-Malesian– India, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is widely cultivated in the Asian tropics—Cambodia, India, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Pacific Islands including China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan) and Taiwan. It has been transported over time to many tropical areas in the Pacific Ocean with subsequent naturalization. Polynesians brought this plant to Hawaii in canoes many years ago. Although native to tropical areas, this plant goes dormant in winter…
Jasminum sambac also known as jasmine sambac is a species of jasmine in the genus Jasminum which contains approximately 217 to 229 species and belongs to the family of the Oleaceae (Olive Family). The plant is native to a small region in the eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and neighboring Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. It is cultivated in many places, particularly across much of South and Southeast Asia. It is naturalized in many distributed localities: Mauritius, Madagascar, the Maldives, Cambodia, Indonesia, Christmas Island, Chiapas, Central America, southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles. In India…
Mirabilis Jalapa, commonly known as Four O’clock, Sweet Marvel of Peru, or Printoponite belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family. This species is cultivated for the brilliant color and pleasing odor of its flowers. Due to its simplicity, the breeding behavior of the self-flower colors has furnished classical material for illustrating the simple laws of inheritance. The plant is native to tropical South America but has become naturalized throughout tropical and warm temperate regions. It was cultivated by the Aztecs for medicinal and ornamental purposes. Some common names of the plant are Beauty of the Night, Common Four O’ Clock, False Jalap,…
Barringtonia asiatica commonly known as fish poison tree, putat or sea poison tree is a species of genus Barringtonia and Lecythidaceae family. The plant is native to mangrove habitats on the tropical coasts and islands of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean extending from Zanzibar in the east to Taiwan and the Philippines (where it is locally known as botong or bitoón), Japan’s Yaeyama Islands and Ogasawara Islands (where it is locally known as gobannoashi), Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesiain the west. The plant is grown along streets for…
Passiflora mollissima also known as P. tripartita is a vine of the passion fruit family Passifloraceae, commonly known as banana poka in Hawai‘i. It is one of more than 30 species of Passiflora in the Islands, all of which have been introduced. The plant is native to Andes of South America, including eastern Cordillera of the Andes of Colombia, southeastern Andean slopes of Peru and western slopes of the Bolivian and Venezuelan Andes. Some of the common names of the plant are Banana passion fruit, Soft leaf passion flower, Sweet calabash, Banana passionflower, Banana poka, Bananadilla, Curuba sabanero blanco, curuba,…
Piper cubeba, the dried ripe berries commonly known as Cubeb Pepper, Cubeb has been used in traditional medicines for various disorders like urogenital diseases, gonorrhea, dysentery, syphilis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, enteritis and asthma. It is a member of the piper family, cousin to piper longum and piper nigrum, better known as black and white pepper. The dried, wrinkled cubeb berries are similar in appearance to peppercorns, though grayish-brown in color. Their thin stalks, or “tails” that remain attached, give the fruit its nickname of “tailed pepper.” Its flavor is described as a cross between allspice and black pepper. The plant…
Garcinia humilis known commonly as achachairú or achacha is a small, prolifically-fruiting tree related to the Clusiaceae – Mangosteen family. The plant is native to Bolivia and Guyana, Panama and in the Caribbean: Antilles, Dominica, Trinidad Grenada and Haiti. The fruit took third place in the 2012 Fruit Logistica Innovation Awards held in Berlin. It is a quite popular fruit in Bolivia where it is cultivated. The other name, achachairu means a honey kiss in Guarani language. Achacha has also now been introduced into Australia and is being grown there in Burdekin area of Queensland. Few of the popular common…
Alexandrian Laurel scientifically known as Calophyllum inophyllum is a low-branching evergreen tree belongings to Clusiaceae ⁄ Guttiferae (Mangosteen family) with a broad, spreading crown of irregular, gnarled branches. The plant is native to Old world tropics from East Africa, southern coastal India to Malesia, northern Australia and the Pacific islands. It is primarily a tree of the seashore and adjacent lowland forests, though it occasionally grows at higher elevations and has been effectively planted in inland areas. Other common names occasionally used include Alexandrian Laurel, Ball Nut, Ball Nut Tree, Beach Callophyllum, Beauty Leaf, Borneo Mahogany, Indian Laurel, India-Oil Nut,…
Passiflora foetida commonly known as wild maracuja, bush passion fruit, love-in-a-mist or running pop is a species of passion flower belonging to Passifloraceae (Passion-flower family). The plant is native to southwestern United States (southern Texas and Arizona), Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and much of South America. It has been introduced to tropical regions around the world, such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Hawaii. It is a creeping vine like other members of the genus, and yields an edible fruit. It is a popular plant with many names including running pop, Stinking passionflower, fetid passionflower, scarletfruit passionflower, Galapagos passionflower,…
Borassus flabellifer, commonly known as doub palm, palmyra palm, tala palm, toddy palm, wine palm, or ice apple is a large fan palm of Arecaceae ⁄ Palmae (Palm family). The plant is native to Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is supposedly naturalized in Pakistan, Socotra, and parts of China. Some of the popular common names of the plant are African Fan Palm, Asian Palmyra Palm, Borassus Palm, Brab Tree, Cambodian Palm, Doleib, Doub Palm, Great Fan Palm, Ice-Apple, Lontar Palm, Palmyra Palm, Ron…
Hala fruit scientifically known as Pandanus tectorius is a robust, hardy plant of Pandanaceae (Screw-pine family) for tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate maritime areas where frost is not a problem. The plant is native to south Asia (south India, Sri Lanka), southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines), eastward through Papua New Guinea and tropical northern Australia (the Port Macquarie area to Cape York and Torres Strait islands in Queensland) and extending throughout the Pacific islands, including Melanesia (Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji), Micronesia (Palau, Northern Marianas, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru),…
Rubia tinctorum, the common madder or dyer’s madder, is an herbaceous perennial plant species belonging to the bedstraw and coffee family Rubiaceae. The plant is native to Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, but was early on introduced to the Central and Northwestern Europe where it became naturalized. Some of the well-known names of the plants are Alizarin, Common madder, Dyer’s madder, European madder, madder and Indian Madder. The name Rubia is from the Latin word ruber meaning red, referring to the red dye from the plant’s roots. Madder makes a permanent red dye called Turkey red that has…
Salsola kali L, (synonyms: Salsola. tragus, Salsola. kali var tragus or Salsola. pestifer) is a xero-halophyte plant that belongs to the Chenopodiaceae family. The plant is native to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, China and Australia. It is usually absent in huge areas that include tropical zones, Pacific islands and the Eastern coast of Africa. It is categorized as an important weed in Argentina and Afghanistan, a main weed in Canada and Hungary and a common weed in Iran, Italy, Morocco, South Africa and the USA. The plant has several common names including Common saltwort, Prickly Russian…
Sinapis arvensis, the charlock mustard, field mustard, wild mustard or charlock, is an annual or winter annual plant of the genus Sinapis in the family Cruciferae that includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts. As such, they have similar health benefits as other cruciferous vegetables. The plant is native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia Minor, southwest Asia and North Africa. It was introduced into North America, South America, Australia, Japan and South Africa and now occurs throughout all Canadian provinces, as well as in the MacKenzie District, Northwest Territories. The genus name Sinapis derives is derived from the…
Mangifera Odorata commonly known as Kuini, Kurwini Mango or Kwini is a medium-sized, evergreen tree belonging to Anacardiaceae (Sumac family). The plant is native to tropical Asia, specifically to West Malaysia. It is found in Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is commonly cultivated in Borneo, Sumatra and Jawa and it seems to be occasionally cultivated in southern Vietnam, and on Christmas and Guam Islands. This fruit has never been found in the wild. Botanists are of the opinion that kuwini has originated as a hybrid between Mangifera indica and Mangifera foetida. Few of the well-known…
Monstera deliciosa, also known as ceriman, is a species of flowering plant belonging to Monstera Adans. (monster) and Araceae (Arum family). The plant is native to southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. Monstera deliciosa may be confused with Philodendron bipinnatifidum as they have similar leaves and growing habits however, the ingestion of Philodendron bipinnatifidum may cause irritation to the digestive tract and will induce internal swelling. The sap is also known to irritate the skin. The specific…
Chile hazel scientifically known as Gevuina avellana is an evergreen tree or large shrub that belongs to a mono specific genus of the family Proteaceae. The plant is native to southern Chile and adjacent valleys in Argentina. It is a popular plant with many names including Chile hazel, Chilean hazel, Chilean hazelnut, Chilean wild nut, Gevuina nut, Hardy macadamia, gevuina nut and Chilean nut. The tree is commonly harvested from the wild as a food and source of wood. It is cultivated as a seed crop in its native Chile and also in New Zealand, and is often grown as…
Known scientifically as Lathyrus palustris , Marsh Pea is a perennial plant that also has a number of other common names including Slenderstem Peavine, Marsh pea, Marsh Vetchling, Wing-stemmed, Wild Pea-vine, Blue marsh vetchling and Wild pea. The plant is native to Europe, parts of Asia, and North America. It is present throughout North America except Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Hawaii. It also exists in parts of Canada that border the USA. Lathyrus comes from the Greek word lathyros, which means a legume. Palustris comes from the…