Skip to main content

Ginger lily, garland flower, ginger lily, white ginger

Ginger lily, garland flower, ginger lily, white ginger are the common names for Hedychium spicatum Buch.-Ham. ex Smith. This plant is also known as Gandasulium sieboldii (Wall.) Kuntze, Gandasulium spicatum (Sm.) Kuntze, Hedychium acuminatum Roscoe, Hedychium album Buch.-Ham. ex Wall., Hedychium sieboldii Wall., Hedychium spicatum var. acuminatum (Roscoe) Wall., Hedychium spicatum var. khasianum C.B.Clarke ex Baker, Hedychium spicatum var. spicatum, Hedychium spicatum var. trilobum (Wall. ex Roscoe) Wall., Hedychium tavoyanum Horan. and  Hedychium trilobum Wall. ex. Roscoe.


Other Common Nmes Include:
in China: cao guo yao
in India: abir, aithur, amlaharidra, amlanisha, bagldu, ban haldi, ban-kela, banhaldi, banhaldu, cimai kiccilikkilanku, dudh kenwara, dudh kenwra, durva, gandapatari, gandasati, gandha, gandha saathi, gandha-shati, gandhamuli, gandhamulika, gandhapalashi, gandhapalasi, gandharika, gandhasati, gandhashati, gandhavadhu, gandholi, haimi, haridracchadana, himaja, himodbhava, jangli haldi, jharanbaja, jimutamula, kachari, kachhora, kachor, kachur-kachu, kafur-kachri, kapoor, kapoor kachli, kapoorakachari, kapoorkachali, kapur kachari, kapur kachiri, kapur kachri, kapura kachali, kapurakachari, kapurkachli, kapurkachri, kapurkachur, karbura, karchura, karpur, karpura, karpurakachali, karpurakachari, khor, malai inci, ndhori, prithupalashika, prthupalasika, saduwa, samudra, sara, sapur kachri, saru, sathi, sati, saumya, sedhua, sedua, seer, selru, shadugrantha, shathi, shati, shedwa, sheduri, shimai-kich-chilik-kishangu, shimai-kich-chilik-kizhangu, sima-kich-chili-gaddalu, simaikkichilikkilhangu, sitruti, sutti, shimai-kich-chilik-kishangu, simaikkichilik-kilhangu, sitruti, sonatakka, sugandha, sugandhamula, sugandhasati, sutthee, suvata, takhellei-hanggam-mapan, tuni, van haldi, velati kachur, vilaayithi kachhar, viteise
in Nepal: gaisya, tariya
in Tibetan: zur pa dkar po

Floral Description:
Leaves sessile or shortly petiolate; ligule entire, 1.5--2.5 cm, membranous; leaf blade oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 10--40 × 3--10 cm, glabrous or abaxially sparsely villous along midvein, base acute, apex acuminate. Spikes to 20 cm, laxly few or densely many flowered; bracts oblong, 2.5--3 cm, 1-flowered. Flowers fragrant. Calyx 2.5--3.5 cm, apex 3-toothed, split on 1 side. Corolla pale yellowish; tube to 8 cm, apex sometimes purplish red; lobes linear, ca. 2.5 cm, base sometimes purplish red. Lateral staminodes white or becoming yellow, sometimes purplish red, obovate, apex 2-lobed; lobes clawed, apex acute. Labellum yellowish, sometimes purplish red. Filament pale reddish, shorter than labellum. Capsule subglobose, 1.5--2.5 cm in diam., 3-valved; valves ca. 6-seeded. 

Medicinal Properties and Uses:
Stem juice given in case of fever. Rhizomes bitter, pungent, purgative, carminative, stimulant, heating, tonic, blood purifier, used in stomach trouble, dyspepsia, skin lesions, asthma, liver complaints, vomiting, diarrhea, dysentery, inflammation, snakebite; decoction as eye drop for diseases of the eyes; paste applied on boils. Powdered rootstock and rhizome powder stomachic, carminative, anthelmintic, stimulant, tonic. Rhizome and leaf extracts together given to regulate menstruations and alleviate arthritis. Roots chewed as a relief from the snakebite.  Veterinary medicine, rhizome and flower extract given orally in treating food poisoning; root paste given for cough.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jackal jujube, littlefruit jujube, squirrel’s jujube; Ziziphus oenoplia;

Ziziphus oenoplia commonly well known as makai in hindi and Jackal Jujube in english, is a straggling shrub distributed all over the hotter regions of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and Tropical Asia. The flowers are green, in sub sessile axillary cymes. The fruits are containing a single seed having globose drupe, black and shiny when ripe.  It is frequently used for liver disease, the roots of the plant possess antiulcer and antioxidant, anthelminthi, antiplasmodial, angiogenic potential,  antidenaturation and antibacterial. It has wound healing activity,  hepatoprotective potential against antitubercular drugs induced hepatotoxicity and as an ingredient in the preparation of stomach ache pills.  Z. oenoplia plant is widely used in Ayurveda for the treatment of various diseases, such as ulcer, Stomach ache, obesity, asthma and it has an astringent, digestive, antiseptic, hepatoprotective, wound healing and diuretic property. 

Crown flower; Calotropis gigantea

Calotropis gigantea Common Names: in English : asclepiad tree, bowstring-hemp, crown flower, crown plant, giant Indian milkweed, giant milkweed, giant milky weed, gigantic swallow wort, madar, madar flower, milkweed, mudar in East Africa : mpumbula in China : niu jiao gua in India : aak, aakdo, aank, aarka, ab shir madar, aditya, aekka, aekka maale, aekki gida, ag, aharbandhava, aharmani, aharpati, ahauna, ahgaram, ak, aka, akado, akan, akanak, akanda, akaona, akarai, akari, akahua, akda, akda cha jhada, akda nu jhada, akdachajhada, akdamu-jhada, akdo, ake, akh, akh ke phool, akom, akom aring, akon, akona, akond, akond mul, akondo, akra, akro, akuan, alacikacceti, alacikam, alagar, alakam, alal, alark, alarka, alarkah, alarpal, amarkkam, ancolam, angkot, ank, arak arak mara, arakh, arakha, arakho gatch, arakkam, arakkanceti, arakkaparani, ariccunam, ark, arka, arka-gida, arka vrikshaha, arkagatch, arkah (= sun), arkamu, arkavrikshaha, arkkam, arkku, arkopat

Gin berry, Jamaica mandarine orange, orangeberry, village rue, Glycosmis pentaphylla

Glycosmis pentaphylla is commonly known as gin berry, Jamaica mandarine orange, orangeberry, village rue. It is widely found in Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malayan, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It is cultivated throughout Pakistan and its wood is used for making tools, handles and tent pegs. Glycosmis pentaphylla is small glabrous tree or shrub with 3-5-foliolate leaves. Its leaflets  are glandular-punctate and sessile. Calyx lobes are ovate, with scarious margins. Petals are white, free, orbicular and imbricate. Ovary is 5-locular, glabrous while style is short. It contains Carbalexin A, Carbazole, Glycolone, Glycophylone, Glycophymoline, Glycosminine, Glycosolone, Glycozolidal, Glycozolidine, Glycozoline, Glypentoside A, GlypentosideB, Glypentoside C, Homoglycosolone, Noracronycine and Seguinoside F. Medicinal Properties and Uses Glycosmis pentaphylla is used for cough, rheumatism, anemia and jaundice. Stem bark paste of Glycosm