MimosaMimosa is a genus of about 400 species of herbs and shrubs, in the subfamily Mimosoideaeof

the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word μιμος (mimos),

meaning "mimic."[1]

There are two species in the genus that are notable[citation needed]. One is Mimosa pudica, because of

the way it folds its leaves when touched or exposed to heat. It is native to

southernCentral and South America but is widely cultivated elsewhere for its curiosity value, both

as ahouseplant in temperate areas, and outdoors in the tropics. Outdoor cultivation has led

toweedy invasion in some areas, notably Hawaii. The other is Mimosa tenuiflora, which is best

known for its use in shamanic ayahuasca brews due to the psychedelic drug DMT found in its

root bark.

Taxonomy

The genus Mimosa has had a tortuous history, having gone through periods of splitting and

lumping, ultimately accumulating over 3,000 names, many of which have either been

synonymized under other species or transferred to other genera. In part due to these changing

circumscriptions, the name "Mimosa" has also been applied to several other related species with

similar pinnate or bipinnate leaves but now classified in other genera, most commonly toAlbizia

julibrissin (Silk Tree) and Acacia dealbata (Sattle).

[edit]Description

Members of this genus are among the few plants capable of rapid movement; examples outside

of Mimosa include the Telegraph plant, and the Venus Flytrap. The leaves of the plant close

quickly when touched. Mimosa can be distinguished from the large related

genera,Acacia and Albizia, since its flowers have 10 or fewer stamens. Note that, botanically,

what appears to be a single globular flower is actually a cluster of many individual ones.

Justicia adhatodaJusticia adhatoda L. (Adulsa, Malabar Nut); syn. Adhatoda vasica Nees, (Kannada: Aadumuttada Soppu)(Malayalam: ആടലോ��ടകം� ("aadalodakam") , Sanskrit: अडु�सा� adusa, aruha, अरुष arusha, others) is a medicinal plant native to Asia.

The plant grows wild in abundance all over Nepal, India, and the Pothohar region of Pakistan, particularly in the Pharwala area.

Botanical Description

This is a shrub with lance-shaped leaves 10 to 15 centimeters in length by four wide. They are oppositely arranged, smooth-edged, and borne on short petioles. When dry they are of a dull brownish-green colour. They are bitter-tasting. When a leaf is cleared with chloral hydrate and examined microscopically the oval stomata can be seen. They are surrounded by two crescent-shaped cells at right angles to the ostiole. The epidermis bears simple one- to three-celled warty hairs, and small glandular hairs. Cystoliths occur beneath the epidermis of the underside of the blade.

Chemical Composition

Several alkaloids are present in the leaves. The most important is vasicine, a quinazolinealkaloid responsible for the medicinal activity of the plant. The vasicine yield of the herbage has been measured as 0.541 to 1.1% by dry weight.

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Angiosperms

Class: Eudicots

Order: Lamiales

Family: Acanthaceae

Phyllanthus emblica

Phyllanthus emblica (syn. Emblica officinalis), the Indian gooseberry, or aamla', is adeciduous tree of the Phyllanthaceae family. It is known for its edible fruit of the same name.

Plant anatomy and harvesting

The tree is small to medium in size, reaching 8 to 18 m in height, with a crooked trunk and spreading branches. The branchlets are glabrous or finely pubescent, 10–20 cm long, usually deciduous; the leaves are simple, subsessile and closely set along branchlets, light green, resembling pinnate leaves. The flowers are greenish-yellow. The fruit are nearly spherical, light greenish yellow, quite smooth and hard on appearance, with six vertical stripes or furrows.

Ripening in autumn, the berries are harvested by hand after climbing to upper branches bearing the fruits. The taste of Indian gooseberry is sour, bitter and astringent, and is quite fibrous. In India, it is common to eat gooseberries steeped in salt water and turmeric to make the sour fruits palatable[citation needed]. It is used to straighten hair.

Medical research

Indian gooseberry has undergone preliminary research, demonstrating in vitro antiviral andantimicrobial properties.[2] There is preliminary evidence in vitro that its extracts induceapoptosis and modify gene expression in osteoclasts involved in rheumatoid arthritis andosteoporosis.[3] It may prove to have potential activity against some cancers.[4] One recent animal study found treatment with E. officinalis reduced severity of acute pancreatitis (induced by L-arginine in rats). It also promoted the spontaneous repair and regeneration process of the pancreas occurring after an acute attack.[5]

Experimental preparations of leaves, bark or fruit have shown potential efficacy against laboratory models of disease, such as forinflammation, cancer, age-related renal disease, and diabetes.[6][7][8]

A human pilot study demonstrated a reduction of blood cholesterol levels in both normal and hypercholesterolemic men with treatment.[9]Another recent study with alloxan-induced diabetic rats given an aqueous amla fruit extract has shown significant decrease of the blood glucose, as well as triglyceridemic levels and an improvement of the liver function caused by a normalization of the liver-specific enzymealanine transaminase activity.[10]

Although fruits are reputed to contain high amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), 445 mg/100g,[11] the specific contents are disputed, and the overall antioxidant strength of amla may derive instead from its high density of tannins.[12] The fruit also contains other polyphenols:flavonoids, kaempferol, ellagic acid and gallic acid.[12][13]

Garcinia indica

Garcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as kokum, is a fruit tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. The tree is also ornamental, with a dense canopy of green leaves and red-tinged, tender, emerging leaves. It is indigenous to the Western Ghats region of India, along the western coast. It is found in forest lands, riversides, and wasteland, and also gets cultivated on a small scale. It does not require irrigation, spraying or fertilizers.

These plants prefer evergreen forests, but some also thrive in relatively low-rainfall areas.Garcinia indica is known by various names across India, including amsol/aamsul, bindin,biran, bhirand, bhinda, bhrinda, brinda, kokum/kokam, katambi, looikya, sour apple,panarpuli or ratamba.

Further, the extract/concentrate of this fruit is called aagal in Konkani and Marathi. It is ready to use for preparation of sol kadhi when mixed with coconut milk.

The genus Garcinia, belonging to the family Clusiaceae, includes some 200 species found in the Old World tropics, especially Asia and Africa. Of the 35 species found in India, 17 are endemic. Of these, seven are endemic to the Western Ghats region (lying along western coastal India), six in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and four in the northeastern region of India.

Called kokum, kokam, or bin'na in parts of western India, the Garcinia indica seed contains 23-26% oil, which remains solid at room temperature and is used in the preparations ofconfectionery, medicines and cosmetics.

The outer cover of fruit is dried in the sun to get aamsul or kokam. It is used as a slightly sour spice in recipes from Maharashtra that yields peculiar taste and dark red colour. It is a preferred substitute for tamarind in curries and other dishes from Konkan. It is also used in Konkani cuisine, in Gujarat, and some cuisines of South India.

Recently, industries have started extracting hydroxycitric acid (HCA) from the rind of the fruit.[citation

needed]

India's first national seminar on kokum or Garcinia indica was held March 4-5, 2005 at theGoa University, Goa. Those researching on the crop see it as having a bright future: it is rainfed, does not have any pest or diseases apart from the monkey menace, and is almost a "zero-attention" crop.[citation needed]

One paper presented at the Goa seminar (March 2005) suggested Garcinia indica has medicinal uses both as a digestive tonic, and to cope with paralysis. In the first case, about half to one glass of curry is prepared from the fruits, with a little salt and sugar, to be taken after meals.[citation

needed] For paralysis, the clean-chopped stem bark is finely powdered and is added to boiling water. After two to three minutes, a lightly cooled decoction is used for washing the affected parts, two to three times a day.[citation needed]

Kokum juice is also thought to be effective against allergies due to bee stings and other insect bites, sun exposure symptoms and acidity.[citation needed]

Brahmi Plant

Other names : Bacopa, Babies tear, Bacopa monnieri, Hespestis monniera, Nirbrahmi, Indian Pennywort, Jalanevari and water hyssop are the other names that are used for Brahmi. In English it is commonly called as the 'Herb of Grace'. 

Description : Brahmi is the small creeping herb with the numerous branches. It grows to a height of 2 -3 feet and its branches are 10 -35 cm long. It has oval shaped leaves that are 1-2 cm long and 3- 8 mm broad. Leaves are formed in pairs along the stems. Small- tubular, five petaled flowers are white- purple in colour. Its stem is soft, succulent, and hairy with the glands. Roots emerge out of the nodules and directly go to the soil. The fruit is oval and sharp at apex.

Other Species : Herpestis monniera, or Moniera cuneifolia is the other specie of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri). 

Location : Brahmi is found in marshy areas near streams and ponds throughout India especially in the North eastern regions. It is found at an elevations from sea level to altitudes of 4,400 feet. It is found in `Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Foot hills of Himachal Pradesh & Uttaranchal. It is also widely grown in the Bandhavgarh National Park in India. 

Cultivation methods :Brahmi is propagated by seed, cuttings and also by the root division. Before establishing the plant cutting the field should be ploughed properly ans must be made free of weeds. The cuttings should be 4-5 cm long and must contain roots and leaves. Hand weeding is required in every 5 -20 days. It grows faster in the high temperature (33- 42 Degree celcius) and humidity (65 -80%). It prefers wet spots. It is grown in the pots in the house garden. It can grow in both the sun and shade. It requires water from time to time as its roots are shallow. It also requires regular organic fertilizer for its growth. It gives flowers ans fruit in the summer season. It requires moderate to high lightening to grow well. Medicinal uses : Brahmi is used in traditional Indian medicines for centuries. for the treatment of bronchitis, chronic cough, asthma, hoarseness, arthritis, rheumatism, backache, fluid retention, blood cleanser, chronic skin conditions, constipation, hair loss, fevers, digestive problems, depression, mental and physical fatigue and many more. It is used to treat all sorts of skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, abscess and ulceration. It stimulates the growth of skin, hair and nails. Brahmi posses anticancer activity. It is taken to get relief from stress and anxiety. According to the Ayurveda Brahmi has antioxidant properties. It has been reported to reduce oxidation of fats in the blood stream, which is the risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Brahmi is considered as the main rejuvenating herb for the nerve and brain cells. 

Greenhouse

A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a building where plants are grown. These structures

range in size from small sheds to very large buildings. A miniature greenhouse is known as a cold

frame.

A greenhouse is a structure with different types of covering materials, such as a glass or plastic

roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming visible solar radiation (for

which the glass is transparent) from the sun is absorbed by plants, soil, and other things inside

the building. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the

roof and wall. In addition, the warmed structures and plants inside the greenhouse re-radiate

some of their thermal energy in the infra-red, to which glass is partly opaque, so some of this

energy is also trapped inside the glasshouse. However, this latter process is a minor player

compared with the former (convective) process. Thus, the primary heating mechanism of a

greenhouse isconvection. This can be demonstrated by opening a small window near the roof of

a greenhouse: the temperature drops considerably. This principle is the basis of

theautovent automatic cooling system. Thus, the glass used for a greenhouse works as a barrier

to air flow, and its effect is to trap energy within the greenhouse. The air that is warmed near the

ground is prevented from rising indefinitely and flowing away.

Although there is some heat loss due to thermal conduction through the glass and other building

materials, there is a net increase in energy (and therefore temperature) inside the greenhouse.

Greenhouses can be divided into glass greenhouses and plastic greenhouses. Plastics mostly

used are PEfilm and multiwall sheet in PC or PMMA. Commercial glass greenhouses are often

high tech production facilities for vegetables or flowers. The glass greenhouses are filled with

equipment like screening installations, heating, cooling, lighting and may be automatically

controlled by a computer.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as the Chinese hibiscus, China rose and shoe flower, is

an evergreen flowering shrub native to East Asia.

It is widely grown as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics and subtropics. The flowers are large,

generally red in the original varieties, and firm, but generally lack any scent. Numerous varieties, cultivars,

and hybrids are available, with flower colors ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and

shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals. Despite their size and red hues attractive to

nectar-feeding birds, they are not visited regularly by hummingbirds when grown in

the Neotropics. Generalists, like the Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Amazilia lactea, or long-billed species, like

the Stripe-breasted Starthroat,Heliomaster squamosus, are occasionally seen to visit it, however.[1] In the

subtropical and temperate Americas, hummingbirds are attracted to them on a regular basis.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis was named by Carolus Linnaeus. It has many names in Chinese:chijin 赤槿、riji 日及、

fusang 扶桑、fosang 佛桑、hongfusang 红扶桑、hongmujin 红木槿、sangjin 桑槿、huohonghua 火红花、

zhaodianhong 照殿红、songjin 宋槿、erhonghua 二红花、huashanghua 花上花、tuhonghua 土红花、

jiamudan 假牡丹 and zhongguoqiangwei 中国蔷薇. Each of these many names is from a different state in

China, each state having its own name for the plant. It also has prominent presence in the various part of

Indian subcontinent. It has several names in different languages,Jaswand in

Marathi, Bengali: জবা�(Jaba), Sembaruthi-செ�ம்பருத்தி� in Tamil, Hindi: गु�ड़हल, Chemparathy -

ചെമ്പരത്തി in Malayalam, Mondaro in Oriya,Wada Mal in Sinhala, Mamdaram (మం�దారం�)

in Telugu, Kembang Sepatu in Indonesia and Gumamela in Filipino.

Hibiscus flower preparations are used for hair care. The flowers themselves are edible and are used in

salads in the Pacific Islands. The flowers are used to shine shoes in parts of India.It is also a pH

indicator.China rose indicator turns acidic solutions to magenta/dark pink and basic solutions to green. It is

also used for the worship of Devi and especially the red variety takes an important part intantra.

In Indonesia, these flowers are called "kembang sepatu", which literally means "shoe flower".

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is considered to have a number of medical uses in Chinese herbology.[2]

Asparagus racemosus

Asparagus racemosus (Satavar, Shatavari, or Shatamull) is a species of asparagus common throughout India and the Himalayas. It grows one to two metres tall and prefers to take root in gravelly, rocky soils high up in piedmont plains, at 1,300 - 1,400 metres elevation).[2][3] It was botanically described in 1799.[1] Due to its multiple uses, the demand forAsparagus racemosus is constantly on the rise. Due to destructive harvesting, combined with habitat destruction, and deforestation, the plant is now considered 'endangered' in its natural habitat.

Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari) is recommended in Ayurvedic texts for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers, dyspepsia and as a galactogogue. A. racemosus has also been used successfully by some Ayurvedic practitioners for nervous disorders.[4]

Shatawari has different names in the different Indian languages, such as Shatuli, Vrishya and other terms. In Nepal it is called Kurilo. The name Shatawari means "curer of a hundred diseases" (shat: "hundred"; vari: "curer").

Leaves, flowers and fruits

Satavar has small pine-needle-like phylloclades (photosynthetic branches) that are uniform and shiny green. In July, it produces minute, white flowers on short, spiky stems, and in September it fruits, producing blackish-purple, globular berries.[3]

[edit]Roots

It has an adventitious root system with tuberous roots that measure about one metre in length, tapering at both ends, with roughly a hundred on each plant.[3]

[edit]Uses

Asparagus racemosus is an important medicinal plant of tropical and subtropical India. Its medicinal usage has been reported in the Indian and British Pharmacopoeias and in traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. It is mainly known for itsphytoestrogenic properties. The plant has been shown to aid in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and in alcohol abstinence-induced withdrawal symptoms. In Ayurveda, Asparagus racemosus has been described as a rasayana herb and has been used extensively as an adaptogen to increase the non-specific resistance of organisms against a variety of stresses. Besides use in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, the plant also has potent antioxidant, immunostimulant, anti-dyspepsia and antitussive effects."[5]

The roots are used in Ayurvedic medicine, following a regimen of processing and drying. It is generally used as a uterine tonic, as agalactogogue (to improve breast milk), in hyperacidity, and as a general health tonic. It is also used as an anodyne and aphrodisiac.

Banana Tree

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruitthey produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red.

Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic bananas come from the two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of bananas are Musa acuminata,Musa balbisiana or hybrids Musa acuminata × balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific names Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca are no longer used.

Banana is also used to describe Enset and Fe'i bananas, neither of which belong to theMusa genus. Enset bananas belong to the genus Ensete while the taxonomy of Fe'i-typecultivars is uncertain.

In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet "dessert" bananas. By contrast, Musa   cultivars  with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains or "cooking bananas". The distinction is purely arbitrary and the terms 'plantain' and 'banana' are sometimes interchangeable depending on their usage.

They are native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea.[1] Today, they are cultivated throughout thetropics.[2] They are grown in at least 107 countries,[3] primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and as ornamental plants.

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.[4] The plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy and are often mistaken for trees, but their main or upright stem is actually apseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres (20 to 24.9 ft) tall, growing from a corm. Each pseudostem can produce a single bunch of bananas. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Many varieties of bananas are perennial.

Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) long and 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide.[5]They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.[6]

Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the banana heart. (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.)[7] The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly called petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

Calabash

Lagenaria siceraria or Lagenaria vulgaris, the calabash, bottle gourd, opo squash orlong melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as avegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd. The fresh fruit has a light green smooth skin and a white flesh. Rounder varieties are called calabash gourds. They come in a variety of shapes, they can be huge and rounded, or small and bottle shaped, or slim and more than a meter long.

The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not primarily for food, but for use as a water container. The bottle gourd may have been carried from Africa to Asia, Europe and the Americas in the course of human migration.[1] It shares its common name with that of the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete).

Etymology

The word comes from the Spanish calabaza, possibly from Arabic qar'a yabisa "dry gourd," from Persian kharabuz, used of various large melons; or from a pre-Roman Iberian calapaccia.[2]

Origin and dispersal

It is a commonly cultivated plant in tropical and subtropical areas of China, Eurasia and the Americas, now believed some have spread or originated of wild populations in southern Africa. Stands of Lagenaria siceraria that may be source plants, and not merely domesticated stands run wild, were reported recently in Zimbabwe.[3] This apparent domestication source plant produces thinner-walled fruit that, when dried, would not endure the rigors of use on long journeys as a water container. Today's calabash may owe its tough, waterproof wall toselection pressures over its long history of Chinese domestication.[4]

CultivationCalabash had been cultivated in Asia, Europe and the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus's discovery of America. Historically, in Europe,[5] Walahfrid Strabo (808–849), abbot and poet from Reichenau, advisor to the Carolingian kings, discussed it in his Latin Hortulus as one of the 23 plants of an ideal garden.[6][7]

Recent research indicates some can have an African origin and at least two unrelated domestications: one 8–9 thousand years ago, based on the analysis of archeological samples found in Asia, a second, four thousand years ago, traced from archeological discoveries in Egypt.

The mystery of the calabash – namely that this African or Eurasian species was being grown in America over 8000 years ago[8] – came about from the difficulty in understanding how it came to be on the American continent. Genetic research on archeological samples published by the National Academy of Sciences in December 2005 suggests calabash may have been domesticated earlier than food crops and livestock, and, like dogs, were brought into the New World at the end of the ice age by Paleo-Indians. It is supposed that bottle gourds were carried by people in boats or on foot across the then-existing land bridge between China, Asia and America. Once in Florida and Mexico, bottle gourd seeds could still be viable after long periods of migration.

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos.[2] The term coconut can refer to the entirecoconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word.[3] The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese andSpanish cocos, meaning "grinning face", from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resembles a human face.

Found across much of the tropics, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Its endosperm is known as the edible "flesh" of the coconut; when dried it is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut waterwithin is a refreshing drink and can be processed to create alcohol. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.

PlantCocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 meters (98 ft) tall, with pinnateleaves 4–6 meters (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. Coconuts are generally classified into two general types: tall and dwarf.[4] On very fertile land a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30 mainly due to poor cultural practices.[5] In recent years, improvements in cultivation practices and breeding has produced coconut trees that can yield more.[6][7]

FruitBotanically the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut.[8] Like other fruits it hasthree layers: exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp and mesocarp make up the husk of the coconut. Coconuts sold in the shops of non-tropical countries often have had the exocarp (outermost layer) removed. The mesocarp is composed of fibers called coir which have many traditional and commercial uses. The shell has three germination pores (stoma) or eyes that are clearly visible on its outside surface once the husk is removed.

A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.44 kilograms (3.2 lb). It takes around 6000 full-grown coconuts to produce a tonne of copra.[9]

SeedWithin the shell is a single seed. When the seed germinates, the root (radicle) of its embryo pushes out through one of the eyes of the shell. The outermost layer of the seed, the testa, adheres to the inside of the shell. In a mature coconut, a thick lbuminous endospermadheres to the inside of the testa. This endosperm or meat is the white and

Jambul

Jambul (Syzygium cumini) is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant familyMyrtaceae. Jambul is native to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, andIndonesia.[citation needed] The name of the fruit is sometimes mistranslated as blackberry, which is a different fruit in an unrelated family.

Jambul is also known as jambu/jambula/jamboola, Java plum, jamun, jaam/kalojaam,jamblang, jambolan, black plum, Damson plum, Duhat plum, Jambolan plum, orPortuguese plum. Malabar plum may also refer to other species of Syzygium. In Tamil, this fruit is called Naaval Pazham or Navva Pazham.

The tree was introduced to Florida, USA in 1911 by the USDA, and is also now commonly grown in Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. In Brazil, where it was introduced from India during Portuguese colonization, it has dispersed spontaneously in the wild in some places, as its fruits are eagerly sought by various native birds such as thrushes, tanagers and the Great Kiskadee. This species is considered an invasive in Hawaii, USA.[1]

A fairly fast growing species, it can reach heights of up to 30 m and can live more than 100 years. Its dense foliage provides shade and is grown just for its ornamental value. The wood is strong and is water resistant. Because of this it is used in railwaysleepers and to install motors inwells. It is sometimes used to make cheap furniture and village dwellings though it is relatively hard to work on.

Jambul trees start flowering from March to April. The flowers of jambul are fragrant and small, about 5 mm in diameter. The fruits develop by May or June and resemble large berries. The fruit is oblong, ovoid, starts green and turns pink to shining crimson black as it matures. A variant of the tree produces white coloured fruit. The fruit has a combination of sweet, mildly sour and astringent flavour and tends to colour the tongue purple. The seed is also used in various alternative healing systems like Ayurveda (to control diabetes, for example.[2]), Unani and Chinese medicine for digestive ailments. The leaves and bark are used for controlling blood pressure and gingivitis. Wine and vinegar are also made from the fruit. It has a high source in vitamin A and vitamin C.[3][4][5]

Jambul has been spread overseas from India by Indian emigrants and at present is common in former tropical British colonies.[6]

Bombax

Bombax is a genus of mainly tropical trees in the mallow family. They are native to westernAfrica, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, as well as sub-tropical regions of East Asiaand northern Australia. Common names for the genus include Silk Cotton Tree, Simal, Red Cotton Tree, Kapok and simply Bombax. In Chinese they are known as Mumian (Chinese:木棉; pinyin: mùmián), meaning "tree cotton". Currently three species are recognised, though many plants have been placed in the genus that were later moved.[1]

The genus is best known for the species B. ceiba, which is widely cultivated throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is native to southern and eastern Asia and northern Australia.

Bombax species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the leaf-miner Bucculatrix crateracma which feeds exclusively on Bombax ceiba.

The tree appears on the flag of Equatorial Guinea.

Description

Bombax species are among the largest trees in their regions, reaching 30 to 40 meters in height and up to 3 meters trunk diameter. The leaves are compound with entire margins anddeciduous, being shed in the dry-season. They measure 30 to 50 cm across and are palmate in shape with 5 to 9 leaflets. The calyx is deciduous, meaning it does not persist on the fruits. They bear 5 to 10 cm long red flowers between January and March while the tree is still leafless. The stamens are present in bundles in two whorls, while the staminal column lacks lobes. The ovary matures into a husk containing seeds covered by a fiber similar to that of thekapok (Ceiba pentandra) and to cotton, though with shorter fibers than cotton, that does not lend itself to spinning, making it unusable as a textile product.[2]

[edit]Castle of the Devil

According to the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago, the Castle of the Devil is a huge silk cotton tree growing deep in the forest in which Bazil the demon of death was imprisoned by a carpenter. The carpenter tricked the devil into entering the tree in which he carved seven rooms, one above the other, into the trunk. Folklore claims that Bazil still resides in that tree.[3]