Tag: medicinal plants

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blog Native Plants of India

Son Champa: A perfume that spreads joy

Magnolia champaca aka Son Champa or Son Chafa is a native tree of India, and is found in abundance throughout the country.

It is popularly known as the joy perfume tree in English due to its strong aroma and attractive yellow petals, which is a key ingredient in perfumery.

The flowering season usually starts from May and stays until December. From a large, evergreen tree to a bonsai shrub, Son Champa is one of the most fragrant and aesthetic flowers indigenous to India.

It holds immense ornamental, medicinal and religious values. From anti-cancer to antimicrobial, antioxidant properties, Son Champa is an all-rounder plant to ensure one’s wellbeing. In Indian scriptures, Son Champa is revered as a sacred and divine flower. From Lord Vishnu to Lord Krishna, son champa finds it way in almost all mythological stories in India.

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blog Native Plants of India

Tarwar: The miracle flower

Tarwar – The miracle flower
Tarwar (Senna auriculata) is a miracle plant. It is popularly known as Avartaki, Avarampoo, Tanner’s Cassia. Bright yellow flowers, medicinal values, and an evergreen foliage, defines this humble plant
Found widely growing in the dry zones of peninsular India as far as the northern parts of Rajasthan, Tarwar is an extremely hardy plant. It can survive the harshest weather conditions.
Grown as a hedge plant, it is typically found along roadsides and various other open degraded habitats and in scrub forests, usually on stony, dry or sandy soils.
Tarwar is widely used a a household medicinal plant from being an antiseptic to treating skin disorders. In Ayurveda, the root of this plant is used in a decoction for fevers, diabetes, diseases of the urinary system and constipation.
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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

Flower of the month – July – Kaner

Kaner
Oleanders or kaner are one the most talked about flowers – for good and bad reasons both.

Kaner or karavira (Nerium indicum) as its popularly known in India, holds a special place in Ayurvedic medicine and Hindu religion. Strong bushy structure, colourful flowers and deep green leaves make it one of the most favourite ornamental plants in landscaping throughout the country.

It is a paradox plant. On one hand it is considered to be highly toxic for humans, pets, birds, etc. On the other hand, this indigenous, hardy plant of India is loaded with healing properties too. Almost all parts of the flower from its roots, barks, leaves have rich medicinal quotient. From skin disorders to treating life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc, Kaner is nothing less than a miracle herb.

As per Vastu Shastra, the white kaner flower is considered to bring wealth and prosperity as its associated with Goddess Lakshmi. On important festivals, kaner is offered to Gods for eternal health and happiness.
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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

Top 5 issues related to home gardening in India

Place of birth

Who doesn’t like Monstera or Pachira? These gorgeous, top-dollar plants have left a long-lasting impression – not just on us but also on our environment.

Native to the Central and South Americas, such plants when brought to a foreign land needs a lot of help to survive. After all, change of place doesn’t impact our health alone but of plants too.

Understanding nativity or place of origin of plants can help you make conscious and cost-effective decisions for your garden.

Build your garden instead with native plants such as Champa (Plumeria), Chameli (Jasmine), Balsam (Rose Balsam) and so many other aromatic, medicinal ones.

They will not only uplift your senses but also support the friends of our planet aka bees, butterflies, birds.

Special Growing Conditions

Lucky Jade and Aloe escaped the scorching heat of Africa’s desert to make their way into our tropical and humid climate.

To make such succulents survive, one has to invest in a special soil mixes, growing conditions, etc. to replicate their home environment.

Overwatering and wrong soil mix issues among succulents are the most as compared to other plants,. Such issues reduce their survival rates to negligible.

Instead, choose native succulents such as Malayan Spurge (Euphorbia antiquorum), Indian Spurge / Dog’s Tongue (Euphorbia neriifolia).

Such plants are well-versed with the local environment. It can be a good start to opt for such native, hardy succulents, if you love such plants.

Toxic Content in Plants

Talking about mindless gardening and not mentioning about Dumb Cane will be really dumb on our part.

Dieffenbachia, popularly known as dumb cane, has the potential to render someone speechless. It is one of the most toxic houseplants commonly found today. With its poisonous raphides, it can give someone infectious skin allergies to both people and pets.

Similar to dumb cane, most exotic houseplants today such as ZZ (Zamioculcas zamiifolia), Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) etc have toxic elements which can harmful to humans and animals upon ingestion or exposure.

When you think of creating an outdoor garden, replace such plants with native varieties that have numerous health benefits.

From nettle to neem, select plants that are useful to you, not harmful for your kids, pets or anyone in the family.

Depletion of Resources

Imagine one day you wake up in a city taken over by aliens! As crazy as it sounds, growing exotic plants, especially outdoors, is just like inviting an alien invasion.

In order to survive in unfamiliar, sometimes hostile conditions, such plants reproduce in abundance to create their future generations. In the process, they not only take over the local habitats but also erode soil quality over time by sucking out groundwater, essential nutrients, etc.

Lantana, Morning Glory, Bougainvillea, Eucalyptus, Pine are a few examples of invasive species in India which have outrun several native plant varieties.

Native alternatives to these plants such as Ixora, Thunbergia, Madhumalti (Rangoon Creeper), Sal, Deodar are beneficial to both – your garden and our environment.

Barrier to Biodiversity

Plants which have originated in some other parts of the world and introduced in an unknown place are known as exotic plants. Such plants are cultivated in controlled environments to make them survive on foreign soil.

Some of the favourite houseplants Pachira, Dracaena have originated in the West and introduced in all parts of the world. Such cultivation not only disrupts the local environmental cycle but also degrades the foreign habitat.

Instead adopting and using plants which are native, originated or endemic to your region can help preserve soil health, biodiversity, among several other benefits.

Keep this is mind the next time you choose plants or seeds for your organic farm or lawn.

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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

How sustainable gardening can help reduce negative impact on our environment

Nature has not only decided the birthplace of every plant but also its family and friends who can depend on it. Even the external surroundings and habitat which will provide ensure its growth and development has been well planned for them.

Native plants require lesser time and resources as they have spent centuries learning and adapting to the local environment and growing conditions. They also tend to be healthier and stronger thus, reducing the risk of withering or premature dying, falling, pest attacks, frequent maintenance among other aspects. More importantly, most native plants in India have immense medicinal and healing qualities that benefit the gardeners, in turn.

However, sustainable gardening isn’t about native plants alone.

However, sustainable gardening isn’t about native plants alone.It combines knowledge of resource optimization and conservation with natural gardening practices. Native plants are just a part of it. Sustainable gardening encompasses these five elements:
1. Soil
Healthy soils produce healthy plants. Healthy soil is full of organisms that turn organic matter and minerals into vital plant nutrients. When the soil is healthy, the need to apply fertilizers to boost plant growth is minimized.
2. Water

Drinking water is a precious resource that, in many parts of the country, is in short supply.

Optimizing the water application techniques such as designing water-thrifty gardens can help reduce burden on our water resources.

3. Material
To be truly earth-friendly, it makes sense to think sustainably beyond plant selections — about the other parts of a garden, such as planters, raised beds, pathways, fences, and outdoor furniture.
4. Biodiversity
Wilderness is disappearing at an alarming rate. Supporting a natural ecosystem is something that home gardeners can do to combat loss of plant and animal species.
5. Plants

Native plants are adapted to the local climate and soil conditions where they naturally occur.

In addition to supporting pollinators and other wildlife, native plants are inherently sustainable as they require less watering and fertilization than most non-natives.

They also have significant medicinal importance & are being used in traditional therapeutic systems like Ayurveda for thousands of years in India.
Besides the above, a sustainable garden maintains the natural look of landscape with the systematic growth of plants. It also spreads the message of nature conservation by protecting local flora of the region.
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blog Sustainable Gardening Basics

Microblog Series: Why should you opt for native plants in your home garden

Native plants play a vital role in supporting our lives as well as the biodiversity around us. When starting a home garden either indoors or outdoors, one must consider choosing plants which are indigenous or native to the environment one lives in.

3 reasons why you must choose native plants for your garden:

1. They complete their family – other plant species find it easy to co-exist with them.

2. Their friends depend on them – birds, butterflies, insects, worms, etc derive their food, nutrition, shelter, medicines in the form of nectar, pollen, seeds, leaves from them.

3. They hold us together – moisture, soil, water, sunlight – all facilitate the natural multiplication of plants and become a part of the larger ecosystem we thrive in.

Besides the above, native plants are also low on maintenance as they’re well equipped to adapt with the local environment.

When starting a home garden either indoors or outdoors, one must consider choosing plants which are indigenous or native to the environment. This is the foundation of building an eco-friendly garden. Native plants also tend to have higher medicinal value which is good for your well-being.

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