Scientifically called Musa, banana is inherent to Southeast Asia. It is a perennial and herbaceous plant which grows to 12-40 feet tall. Plants bear 8 to 30 torpedo shaped leaves which are 3.7 m long and ½ meter wide. Flowers are creamy to yellow which appears at the time of mid-summer. Fruits are elongated and slightly curved having a fleshy outer peel with white or yellow flesh. Fruits have wide range of colors such as yellow, red, green and brown. The plant needs sunny sheltered position in well-drained and fertile soil having pH between 6 and 7.5. It has the…
Author: Sylvia
Urtica dioica often called Stinging nettle, common nettle, stinging nettle, nettle leaf, Big string nettle, Nettle, devil’s leaf, European nettle, Grosse Brennesse is an dioecious, herbaceous, perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae and is native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America. The plant has been used medicinally for ages, dating back as far as Ancient Greece. Today, stinging nettle can be found all over the world. The plant has a long history of use as a medicine, as a food source and as a source of fiber. The entire plant is covered with tiny stiff hairs, mostly…
Passion Fruit scientifically known as Passiflora edulis is actually a shallow-rooted, tendril-climbing, evergreen vine that belongs to the family of Passifloraceae. It is also known as black passionfruit, maracuya, passion fruit, passionflower, purple granadilla, purple passion fruit, purple water lemon, qarandila and yellow passion fruit. The plant is native to southern Brazil, Paraguay to northern Argentina, but is now grown in tropical and subtropical climates throughout the world. Genus name comes from the Latin words passio meaning passion and flos meaning a flower for the flower’s symbolism of the crucifixion of Christ. It is cultivated commercially in tropical and…
Leonurus cardiac is an herbaceous and perennial plant that belongs to the mint family Lamiaceae which includes over 3000 species of plants. It was originated from Southeastern Europe and Central Asia and got widely spread as an herbal remedy. It has got naturalized in North America and is grown in wild. Other common names for Motherwort are Lion’s Tail, Throw-Wort, Lion’s Ear, Cow Wort, Motherwort, Chinese Motherwort, Oreille de Lion, Mother’s Wort, Patte de Sorcier, Queue de Lion, Throw-Wort and Roman Motherwort. Motherwort is a perennial plant having stout and square stems upto 3 feet high. Leaves have long petioles,…
Melissa officinalis, commonly called lemon balm, Balm, Bee balm, Sweet balm, common balm, Garden Balm, Melissa, balm mint, blue balm, heart’s delight, cure-all and dropsy plant is a bushy herbaceous perennial of the mint family that is typically grown in herb gardens and border fronts for its lemon-scented leaves. The plant is native to south-central Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean region, and Central Asia but has escaped gardens and naturalized in many parts of the U.S. (Eastern, Midwestern and Pacific Northwest states). Genus name comes from the Greek word Melissa meaning a honeybee, also the name of a Cretan princess…
You may know milk thistle by different other names, depending on where you are in the world, including cardus marianus, blessed milk thistle, Marian thistle, Mary thistle, Saint Mary’s thistle, Mediterranean milk thistle, variegated thistle, Scotch thistle, blessed thistle, bull thistle, cabbage thistle, gundegai thistle, gundy, holy thistle, lady’s thistle, spotted thistle and St. Mary’s thistle. Scientifically, it is known as Silybmom marianum, and is an annual or biennial plant of the Asteraceae family which also includes ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and daisies. The plant is native to the Mediterranean region (southern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa). It has naturalized…
Tilia cordata, commonly called littleleaf linden, Lime Flower, Small-leaved Lime, Small-leaved Linden is a deciduous tree native to Europe from Britain, through central Scandinavia, to central Russia, and south to central Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, the Caucasus, and western Asia. It has been widely planted in the U.S. as an ornamental shade tree because of its attractive foliage, dense, low-branched, and pyramidal to ovate form and tolerance for urban conditions. Genus name comes from the Latin name for the linden or lime tree, known in southern Sweden as linn and the origin of the name Linnaeus. Linden trees…
Lobelia inflata commonly known as Lobelia, Indian tobacco, Pukeweed, Asthma Weed, Gagroot, Vomitwort, Bladderpod, Eyebright and rapuntium inflatum is a flowering herb that is named after the Belgian botanist, Matthias de l’Obel. The plant belongs to Campanulaceae family and is native to Eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas. It has been considered to be one of the most valuable herbal remedies ever discovered, according to Potter’s Encyclopedia of Botanical Drugs and Preparations. Lobelia has historically been used and appreciated for a number of…
Marshmallow is actually the root of the marshmallow plant, which bears the scientific name Althaea officinalis. Apart from Marshmallow it is also known as althea, sweet weed, mallards, guimauve, mortification plant, schloss tea, wymote, Mallow, white mallow, common marshmallow, malvavisco, hatmi, iviscus, ghasul, khitmi, khatmah and usubeni-tati-aoi. The plant is native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. It is most commonly found in France, Germany, and some parts of the United States including mostly the northeastern states but also North Dakota, Nebraska, and Arkansas. The generic name, Althaea, is derived from the Greek “ἄλθειν” (to cure), from its healing…
Psyllium scientifically known as Plantago ovata comes from a shrub-like herb which grows worldwide but is most common in India. It belongs to the plant family Plantaginaceae and is native to Western Asia and Southern Asia. Apart from Psyllium it is also known as Blond Plantago, Che Qian Zi, Dietary Fiber, Englishman’s Foot, Indian Plantago, Ispágula, Isabgola, Isabgul, Ispagol, Pale Psyllium, Plantaginis Ovatae Semen, Plantaginis Ovatae Testa, Plantago decumbens, Plantago ispaghula, Ispaghula, Psilio, Psillium Blond, Psyllium, Psyllium Husk, Sand Plantain, Spogel. Each plant can produce up to 15,000 tiny, gel-coated seeds, from which psyllium husk is derived. The shell of…
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) commonly known as centella is a small, slender, low-growing perennial, creeping herb from the Apiaceae family of plants, right alongside carrots, celery and parsley. It is also known as Brahmi, Spadeleaf, Indian pennywort, hydrocotyle, mandukaparni, madecassol, TECA, centelase, tsubo-kusa, luei gong gen, idrocotyle, kaki kuda, antanan, pegaga, chi-hsueh ts’ao, man t’ien hsing and Tiger’s Herb. It is native to India, Japan, China, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the South Pacific but it also grows widely in many other parts of the world, particularly tropical areas. It is used as a culinary vegetable and as medicinal…
Hop (Humulus lupulus), a member of the Cannabaceae family, is an herb that was traditionally used to provide relaxation, sedation and treat insomnia. This perennial climbing vine is native to Europe, western Asia and North America. Being a temperate European plant, hops is grown in Czech Republic, Poland, England and Germany. It is also found in the United States, South America and Australia. Apart from hops it is also known as Asperge Sauvage, Common Hops, Couleuvrée, Couleuvrée Septentrionale, European Hops, Hop, Hop Strobile, Hopfenzapfen, Houblon, Humulus lupulus, Lupuli Strobulus, Lupulin, Lúpulo, Pi Jiu Hua, Salsepareille Indigène and Vigne du Nord.…
Eutrochium purpureum, commonly called Gravel root, Green-stemmed joe-pye-weed, Joe-pye, Joe-pye weed, Marsh-milkweed, Purple Joe-pye-weed, Purple Boneset, Queen-of-the-meadow, Sweet joe-pye-weed, bluestem, sweet scented joe pye weed, trumpet weed, gravel weed and Jopi weed, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the sunflower family. The plant occurs in low moist ground, wooded slopes, wet meadows and thickets and stream margins throughout northwest, eastern and central North America, from Ontario east to New Hampshire and south as far as Florida, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Genus name is derived from the Greek words eu meaning well and troche meaning wheel-like in reference to the whorled leaves.…
Gentian scientifically known as Gentiana lutea L is also known as Great Yellow Gentian, bitter root, bitterwort, centiyane, genciana, pale gentian, feltwort, gall weed and stem less gentian. It belongs to a large plant family known as Gentianaceae which consists of about 180 species. The plant is native to the Alpine and sub-alpine pastures of central and southern Europe, frequent in the mountains of Spain and Portugal, the Pyrenees, Sardinia and Corsica, the Apennines, the Mountains of Auvergne, the Jura, the lower slopes of the Vosges, the Black Forest and throughout the chain of the Alps as far as Bosnia…
Bladder wrack scientifically known as Fucus vesiculosus, is a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, also known by the common names Sea kelp, Brown kelp seaweed, Sea wrack, Marine oak, Fucus, Kelp-Ware, Black-Tang, Quercus marina, Cutweed,Bladder Fucus, Fucus (Varech) vesiculeux, Blasentang, Seetang, Meeriche, rockweed, bladder fucus, sea oak, black tany, cut weed, dyers fucus, red fucus, and rock wrack. It was the original source of iodine, discovered in 1811, and was used extensively to treat goitre, a swelling of the thyroid gland related to iodine deficiency. Bladder…
Alder buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), also called Black Dogwood. Frangula Bark, Glossy Buckthorn, Alder Buckthorn, Fernleaf Buckthorn, Tallhedge Buckthorn, Alder Dogwood, Black Dogwood, Arraclán, Arrow Wood, Black Alder Tree, Aulne Noir, Black Dogwood, Bois Noir and Bois à Poudre is a woody shrub or small tree of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), native to western Asia, Europe, and northern Africa. It has been introduced into North America and other regions, where it is often cultivated as an ornamental. The genus name is derived from the Latin word ‘frangere’ meaning to break, perhaps a reference to the brittle nature of its branches. Plant…
Navy beans scientifically known as Phaseolus vulgaris, is a large and annual vegetable that belongs to the family pea and is inherent to South and Central America. Few species are inherent to North America. The beans have trifoliate leaves having ovate to ovate-orbicular leaflets and bilateral symmetrical pea shaped flower that grow in clusters from leaf axils. Later on the flower turn into elongate pods which comprises of seeds and the color of the seeds vary somewhat. Flowers are usually red, pink, yellow or white and pods are yellow, purple or green in color. Other common names for navy beans…
Lupini beans, also called lupins, are the seeds of the lupinus plant. It is a very popular yellow legume seeds in Mediterranean regions and also in certain parts of America like Latin America. The plant is native to West Asia (Turkey, Palestine) and the eastern Mediterranean region of southern Europe (Balkans, Greece, Cyprus, Italy,). Other common names of the beans are bitter White Lupin, Broad-Leaved Lupin, Broadleaf Lupin, Egyptian Lupin, European White Lupin, Mediterranean White Lupin, White Lupin, White Lupine and Termis seeds. These yellow legume seeds are a part of Lupinus genus. There are mainly 3 types of…
Eyebright is an herb with the botanical name Euphrasis officinalis and belongs to the family of Orobanchaceae which was earlier part of the Scrophulariaceae family. Currently, there are more than 450 species of this herb on Earth. Other common names of Eyebright are Meadow eyebright, red eyebright, euphrasia, Augentrostkraut, Herbe d’Euphraise, euphrasy, figwort, Frasia, Luminella, Ambrosia, Eufragia, Adhib, Ewfras, Euphraise and Casselunette. The plant is native to Europe but has been introduced to Asia and North America. The term Euphrasis is derived from the word Euphrosyne which in Greek language means gladness. The name of the herb is related to…
Fenugreek is the oldest and useful herb that is known to humans many years ago. Archaeologists recorded that fenugreek was known around 4000 BC and was discovered in Tell Halal of Iraq. It is known that fenugreek was used to prepared kuphi and also consumed by ancient Egyptians. The term fenugreek was derived from the latin name Trigonella foenum graecum meaning Greek hay. Other common names of Fenugreek are Premium Fenugreek Seed, Sicklefruit fenugreek, Bird’s Foot, Alholva, Bockshornsame, Bockshornklee, Chandrika, Egypt Fenugreek, Fenugrec, Fenogreco, Foenugraeci Semen, Foenugreek, Greek Hay, Greek Clover, Hu Lu Ba, Greek Hay Seed, Medhika, Methika, Methi,…
Chamaelirium luteum commonly known as False Unicorn, Blazing-Star, Devil’s Bit, False Unicorn, Fairy Wand, Helonias, Devil’s Claw, helionas dioica, helonias lutea, veratrum luteum, chamaelirium carolinianum, helionas root, blazing star root, starwort, squirrel tails, grub root, drooping starwort , rattlesnake , fairy-wand is an herbaceous dioecious perennial plant native to the eastern United States. It is the only member of monotypic genus, and is quite rare at the fringes of its range. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including wet meadows and deciduous woodlands. Genus name comes from the Greek words chamai meaning dwarf and lirion meaning a…
Evening primrose scientifically known as Oenothera biennis is native to Europe as well as North America and has been a part of traditional medications since ancient times. Legend has it that leaves and seeds of the Evening Primrose were used by Native Americans for curing bruises, wounds, hemorrhoids as well as other skin related problems. The biennial herbaceous plant grows wild in North America and blooms bright yellow flowers. The plant gets its name because of its large fragrant flowers which bloom in evening and partly or fully closed during a day time. The plant can thrive in various adverse…
Eucalyptus scientifically known as Eucalyptus globule is very important and highly exploited plant belonging to the myrtle (Myrtaceae) family. There are more than 300 species of eucalyptus, and Eucalyptus globulus is one of the most well-known species. Its common names are Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum, Tasmanian Blue Gum, Eurabbie, Blue Eucalyptus, eucalyptus tree, ironbark, blood wood, gum tree, Australian fever tree and stringy bark tree. The tree is native to Tasmania and southeastern Australia. Its name is actually derived from the Greek word “eucalyptos,” which means “well covered,” and refers to the cuplike membrane that covers the budding flowers…
Elecampane, Inula helenium, also called horse-heal, marchalan, Elecampagne Inula, Horse Yellowhead, Wild Sunflower, Scabwort, marchalan, elf dock, velvet dock, alanroot is a widespread plant species belonging to the Compositae or Sunflower family. It is native to Europe and Asia from Spain to Xinjiang Province in western China and naturalized in parts of North America. The species name helenium can be traced back to Greek mythology. It was named after Helen of Troy, who is supposed to have carried elecampane flowers with her when she was kidnapped from Sparta. Legend has it that the herb would grow wherever her tears fell.…
Primula veris, commonly called cowslip, is a clump-forming, herbaceous perennial plant of the primrose family that is noted for its early to mid-spring bloom of showy, nodding, lemon yellow flowers. Apart from cowslip it is also known as Arthritica, Buckles, Butter rose, Crewel, Cuy lippe, Drelip, Fairy cups, Herb peter, Key of heaven, Key flower, Mayflower, Our Lady’s keys, Paigle, Pasywort, Password, Peagle, Peggle, Petty mulleins, Plumrocks, Printemps, Promrose, Primula, Primular officinalis and Tittypines. It is native to temperate areas of Europe and Asia. It has been introduced and has naturalized in eastern North America from Quebec and Ontario south…
Couch grass scientifically known as Elymus repens is a diuretic herb that is native to Europe, Asia as well as Northwest Africa. It is a perennial grass and the common names are Witch grass, Wheat grass, Couchgrass, Durfa grass, Quack grass, Dog grass, Quick grass, Scutch grass as well as Twitch grass. It belongs to the Hordae genera of the Poaceae or grass family. The genus name Agropyron is derived from the Greek terms ‘agros’ meaning field and ‘puros’ denoting wheat. The main parts used as herbal medicine are the root, rhizome and seeds. The farmers usually consider the couch…
Chamaemelum nobile commonly known as chamomile, Roman chamomile, English chamomile, garden chamomile, ground apple, low chamomile, mother’s daisy or whig plant, is low growing carpeting hardy perennial plant found in dry fields and around gardens and cultivated grounds in Europe, North America, and in Argentina. C. nobile is, along with Matricaria chamomilla, an important source of the herbal product known as chamomile. Chamaemelum nobile is a member of the Asteraceae, or daisy family. The word chamomile, and the genus name Chamaemelum come from the Greek χαμαίμηλον (chamaimēlon), “earth-apple”,from χαμαί (chamai), “on the ground” + μήλον (mēlon), “apple”, so-called because of…
Chelidonium majus, commonly known as greater Celandine, Swallow Wort, wartwort, yellow spit, St John’s wort, Jacob’s ladder, garden calendine, calendine poppy, felonwort and wart wort is a herbaceous perennial plant, the only species in the genus Chelidonium. The plant is native to Europe and western Asia and introduced widely in North America. Greater celandine belongs to the poppy family while the lesser celandine belongs to the buttercup family. Genus name comes from the Greek word chelidon meaning a swallow as it flowered when the swallows arrived. Although all parts of this plant are toxic to humans, the plant has a…
Night Blooming Cereus (Selenicereus grandiflorus) is an exquisite flowering plant which is considered to be nocturnal since it opens in the evening and closes at dawn. It is a plant species of the family Cactaceae and it is commonly known as princess of the night, Honolulu queen, Christ in the Manger, Dama de Noche, queen of the night, sweet-scented cactus, large-flowered cactus, vanilla cactus, large blooming cereus, large-flowered torch thistle, lunar flower and organillo. The plant is native to the desert and semi-desert regions of the Antilles, tropical America, Mexico, and the southern United State. It is described as a…
Centaurium erythraea is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common names Centaury , minor centaury , lesser centaury , centaury herb , centaurri herba , common centaury , feverwort , filwort , bitter herb, red centaury , Christ’s ladder and centaury gentian. The plant is native throughout Europe, south to North Africa and east through Eastern Europe to the Middle East and Pakistan. It has been introduced to a wide area, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and scattered localities in Central and South America. Centaury belongs to the Erythraea genus and…