Dwarf white bauhinia

Common names : Dwarf white bauhinia, White orchid-tree, Snowy orchid-tree, 

kanchan, Safed Kachnar

Scientific name: Bauhinia acuminata Family: Fabaceae

Bauhinia is a genus of more than 500 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after Swiss-French botanists, the Bauhin brothers Gaspard Bauhin and Johann Bauhin. 

Beautiful white flowers cover this tree in spring and fill the air with a sweet clean fragrance. The white flowers look like snowflakes hanging on the branches. Sometimes it is called Snowy Orchid Tree. 
Orgin:
The exact native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation, but probably from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Plant Characters:

Stem:

Plant grows two to three meters tall. Young stems, petioles and inflorescence axes with sparse curled pubescence. Stipules lance-linear, 5-12 mm long, acuminate, curled puberulent, caducous; largest colleter swollen, divergent, 1.5-2.1 mm long.

Leaves:

Like the other Bauhinia species, the leaves are bilobed, shaped like an ox hoof; they are 6 to 15 cm long and broad, with the apical cleft up to 5 cm deep; the petiole is 1.5 to 4 cm long, membranous, glabrous adaxially, densely puberulent abaxially.

Flowers:

The flowers are fragrant, 8 to 12 centimetres  in diameter, with five white petals, ten yellow-tipped stamens and a green stigma. The plant can flower all year round.  

Inflorescences axillary racemes, 2.5-5.8 cm long; peduncles negligible; bracts and bracteoles lance-linear, 3-9 mm long, puberulent, especially on margins, caducous. 

Flower characters: 

• Flowers with pedicel 6-12 mm long.
• Hypanthium 5-9 mm long.
• Calyx limb spathaceous, with few scattered hairs abaxially, apex of 5 spidery lobes.
• Petals not clawed, elliptic to oblanceolate, glabrous, white.
• Fertile stamens 10, filaments strigose at base.
• Ovary stipitate, strigose on sutures, stigma peltate, bilobed.

Fruits:

The fruit is a pod 7.5 to 15 centimetres  long and 1.5 to 1.8 centimetres  broad. 

Species:

There are a number of species in this genus Bauhinia. You may click link to view the Species included in Bauhinia

Some of the Cultivated Species are the following: (Click to view flowers)

Bauhinia acuminata - White flowers

Bauhinia variegata - bright pink to white flowers

Bauhinia purpurea -  Pink flowers

Bauhinia blakeana - Magenta

Bauhinia galpinii  - Red

Bauhinia monandra - Four petals white and one yellow with reddish streaks

Bauhinia rufescens - greenish-yellow to white and pale pink

Bauhinia tomentosa -  Yellow coloured flowers

Climatic requirements:

Sunlight:

Succeeds in full sun to partial shade. Full sun exposure is preferred but they can be grown under partial sun.

Soil:

Prefers a fertile, well-drained but moisture-retentive soil. Succeeds in a variety of soils. Prefers a pH in the range 5.6 - 6.5.They thrive in alkaline soils and do not tolerate salty conditions.

Propagation:

Propagation of Bauhinia species is from seeds or cuttings.  

Irrigation:

Generous watering is needed during summer; moderate moisture required in winter.

Uses:

It is widely cultivated throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant.

The plant is grown as a hedge.

Medicinal uses:

• It is advantageous in treating Skin Ailments like Acne, Sores, Pimples, Skin Discoloration, etc 
• Its roots cooked in oil is used to treat Bums
• Its bark is helpful against Cancer.
• It is a good herbal remedy for Diabetic Patients. 
• Paste prepared from Bauhinia Acuminata Leaves is used as medication for throat infections.
• Respiratory Ailments are best treated by Bauhinia Acuminata. 
• Its roots are effective in treating Cough and Cold. 
• The mixture prepared from it is a good herbal remedy for treating Asthma.
• It is beneficial for controlling Liver Disorders.
• Decoction prepared from its leaves and bark is a pain reliever in Biliousness.
• In West Java a cold extract of the root is drunk as a cough medicine. 
• In Malaysia the pounded leaves are used for poulticing ulcerations of the nose. 
• In Thailand roots are used to treat cough, and flowers to treat headache and hypertension. 

Other uses:

The root have been used for their insecticidal properties and have shown antifungal activity as well. 

 

 

Note: Although many species within the family Fabaceae have a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, this species is said to be devoid of such a relationship and therefore does not fix atmospheric nitrogen.

References:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhinia_acuminata
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhinia#Accepted_species
3. http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Dwarf%20White%20Orchid%20Tree.html
4. https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/264727
5. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Bauhinia+acuminata
6. https://www.gbif.org/species/112101297
7. http://www.hear.org/pier/species/bauhinia_acuminata.htm
8. https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/species/a---l/f/fabaceae/bauhinia
9. https://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Bauhinia_acuminata_(PROSEA)
10. https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Bauhinia-Acuminata-Cid5364
11. https://www.gbif.org/species/2953747/treatments

Coral vine

Common name: Coral vine, Coralita, bee bush

Scientific name: Antigonon leptopus

Family: Polygonaceae

Origin

Native to Mexico and possibly also parts of Central America.

Plant characters

It is a perennial climbing vine with stems often climbing up over vegetation.

Stem:

Antigonon leptopus is a fast-growing climbing vine that holds on via tendrils, and is able to reach 25 ft or more in length. 

Leaf:

It has cordate (heart-shaped), sometimes triangular leaves 2½ to 7½ cm long. 

Flowers:

The flowers are borne in panicles, clustered along the rachis.  Producing pink from spring to autumn

Roots:

it forms underground tubers and large rootstocks. 

Fruits:

The small brown fruit (i.e. achenes) are cone-shaped or three-angled (8-12 mm long and 4-7 mm wide) and shiny in appearance. These fruit usually remain hidden within the enlarged and persistent remains of the 'petals' (8-20 long and 4-15 mm wide), which turn dull pink and then eventually brown as they age.

Seeds:

It is a prolific seed producer. The seeds float on water. The fruit and seeds are eaten and spread by a wide range of animals such as pigs, racoons and birds. The tubers will resprout if the plant is cut back or damaged by frost.Tubers and root segments can also be spread by the movement of soil.

Varieties:

Antigonon leptopus - pink flower

Antigonon leptopus alba - white flower

Climatic requirements:

A. leptopus prefers to grow in areas with warm temperatures and high precipitation at low elevation (i.e., from sea level to about 1000 meters. 

It tolerates drought well by shedding leaves and re-growing strongly after rains. 

Foliage dies back at temperatures just below freezing and the roots die if the soil freezes.

Soil:

A. leptopus has the ability to grow in almost any soil type including coral-derived soils, sandy soils, seasonally waterlogged soils, and alkaline limestone soils.

Propagation:

Propagated through seeds, tubers and suckers.

Uses:

Ornamental:

A. leptopus is used as potted plant.

A. leptopus is commonly planted as an ornamental in gardens and yards and as a “fence cover plant” in warm climates in tropical and subtropical regions. 

Human food and beverage:

It is also used as a nectar source for honey production.

Antigonon leptopus was prepared for consumption by the aboriginal inhabitants of Baja California in a way somewhat reminiscent of preparing popcorn. 

Medicinal:

A. leptopus is also used in traditional medicine in the West Indies and Central America. For example, tea prepared from the leaves, aerial parts, and flowers of A. leptopus is used as a remedy for colds, throat constriction, and pain relief in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Mexico, and Trinidad-Tobago.

Environmental impact:

Antigonon leptopus is regarded as an environmental weed in many parts of the world. 

A. leptopus is an aggressive invasive vine with the potential to collapse native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures and altering ecological functions. This fast-growing vine forms dense colonies that engulf native vegetation, climbing high into forest canopies and shading-out herbs, shrubs, and trees in the understory of native forests. Consequently, in just one or two growing seasons, this species can completely out-compete native vegetation communities.

Reference:

1.  https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/112316#11A2F944-BCE0-45C8-8F17-49AE8658208D

2.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigonon_leptopus

3.  https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/antigonon_leptopus.htm

4.  https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Antigonon_leptopus_(Coral_Creeper).htm

5.  http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/White%20Coral%20Vine.html

Melastoma/Princess Flower/Glory Bush/lasiandra/Purple glory tree

Common name: Melastoma/Princess flower/Glory bush/Lasiandra/Purple glory tree

Scientific name:  Tibouchina semidecandra

  Syn :  Pleroma semidecandrum

Family: Melastomataceae

          Tibouchina semidecandra, commonly known as the Melastoma, princess flower, glory bush, purple glory tree or lasiandra.  The generic name is derived from a native name of the plants in Guiana. The name of the species is the combination of the Latin prefix “semi” means half and of the Greek words “deka” means ten and “anér, andrós” means man, male, with reference to the ten stamina divided in two groups of five, of different shape.

Origin and distribution:

                This plant is a native to Brazil and grown as a garden plant throughout the world.

Species:

               Tibouchina comprises about 350 evergreen herb, shrub and tree species, many native to Brazil, but also ranging from southern Mexico and the West Indies to northern Argentina.  The most common species are,

                  Tibouchina granulosa 

                  Tibouchina herbacea

                  Tibouchina heteromalla 

                  Tibouchina laxa

                  Tibouchina longifolia

                  Tibouchina semidecandra 

                  Tibouchina urvilleana

Plant characters:

Stem:

             T. semidecandra is a sprawling, evergreen shrub or small ornamental tree .Plant height ranges from 10 to 15 feet.  It can be trimmed to any size.

Leaves:

           The dark green, velvety, four to six-inch-long leaves have several prominent longitudinal veins instead of the usual one, and are often edged in red. 

Flowers:

          The flowers are terminal solitary, or, one terminal and two lateral, with five slightly unequal petals, obovate, 3-6 cm long, of a colour varying from the purple pink to the violet, and ten stamina where the lower five are longer and the upper ones shorter.  T. semidecandra flowers through out the year.  Large, royal purple blossoms, flaring open to five inches, are held on terminal panicles above the foliage, creating a spectacular sight when in full bloom. 

Fruits and seeds:

             The fruit is a globular capsule of about 1 cm of diameter, containing tiny seeds.

Climatic requirements:

            This is a tropical and sub-tropical species preferring moist climates. It is widely cultivated in warm regions. It can be damaged by cold and will not tolerate sub-freezing temperatures. Glory bush can be damaged by cold and will not tolerate sub-freezing temperatures.

Sunlight:

            Plant in full sun for best color and maximum flowering. They can tolerate the shade but blooming will be diminished.

Soil:
            Loamy and sandy loam soils are suitable for growing this plant.  Plant in moist soils with good drainage.  It prefers slightly acidic soil.

Water requirement:
            It requires soil rich of organic substance with good drainage, as it is much sensitive to water stagnation. Over watering may cause root rot.

Propagation:

           It can be propagated by seed and by semi-woody cutting.

Pest and diseases:
          Pests -  Nematodes, Scales, Spidermites, Mealybug.
          Diseases - Root rot (Fungus) due to over watering.

Uses:
               Princess flower is grown as a garden plant.  It is ideal for the mixed shrubbery border or used in small groupings to compound the impact of bloom-time.

References:-

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibouchina_semidecandra
2. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/53848#totaxonomicTree
3. http://www.flowersofindia.net/
4. https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/tibouchina-semidecandra/?lang=en
5. https://garden.org/plants/view/470992/Princess-Flower-Pleroma-semidecandrum/
6. https://plants.usda.gov/java/ClassificationServletsource=profile&symbol=TIBOU&display=31
7. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/purple-glory-bush-problems-27715.html

Ganges Primrose/Chinese violet

Common Name: Ganges Primrose, Chinese violet, Creeping foxglove

Scientific name: Asystasia gangetica 

Family:  Acanthaceae

              Asystasia means inconsistency and relates to the fact that the corolla is more or less regular which is unusual in the family Acanthaceae. The word gangetica is derived from the Ganga river in India where it is presumed the species occurs.  

Origin and Distribution:

         The species A. gangetica is native to tropical Malaysia, India, and Africa, but has been introduced into tropical areas in North, Central and South America, Hawaii, West Indies, and Australia as an ornamental herb and eventually escapes into natural and disturbed areas.

Sub Species:

• A. g. gangetica, has larger (30–40 mm long) blue or mauve flowers.
• A. g. micrantha, has smaller (up to 25 mm long.) white flowers with purple markings on the lower lip.

Plant Characters:

Stem:

• Ganges primrose is an attractive, fast-growing, spreading, herbaceous ground cover that grows from 30 cm to 60 cm in height.  It is semi-hardy, and young plants require protection in areas of heavy frost. In tropical areas it can grow rampantly. The stems root easily at the nodes. 

Leaves:

• Leaves are The leaves are simple and opposite and dark green. 

Flowers:

• It produces a blue or mauve - coloured flowers in A. g. gangetica and in A. g. micrantha   with tessellated purple markings on the palate (lower petal of the corolla) in spring and summer. 
• Flowers are produced over a long period. 

Fruits:

• Fruits are capsules with brown seeds.  
• The fruit is an explosive capsule which starts out green in colour, but dries to brown after opening.
• The seeds are then expelled explosively upon ripening via hooked retinacula.

Climatic requirments:

• Grows best in the humid areas of the tropics.
• It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 1,200 - 2,100mm.
• Plants may not survive without irrigation in areas with a dry season of 4 months or more.

Sunlight:

• This is a shade-loving plant, optimum photosynthesis occurs between 33 - 50% full sunlight and the plant can grow, albeit slowly, with only 10% sunlight.

Soil:

• An easily grown plant, preferring a relatively dry soil and a position in full sun or partial shade.
• Thrives on sedentary soils, coastal alluvium, sandy loams and clays
• Plants can succeed in peat soils with 85% organic matter and a pH as low as 3.5 - 4.5.
• Established plants are drought tolerant.

Propagation:

• Seeds
• Cuttings with 1 - 3 nodes.
• Single-node cuttings, buried in the soil, can produce flowers and fruit within 6 weeks.
• Division of rooted stems.

Uses:

Edible uses:

• Leaves and young shoots - cooked. 
• The leaves and flowers are eaten as a pot herb. 
• The leaves are consumed as a popular vegetable, mixed with beans, groundnut or sesame paste.

Medicinal uses:

• The plant is used as a traditional medicine in many parts of its range
• Chinese medicine shops sell it as 'kaw kua chai'
• Modern investigation of the plant has shown that it contains several active compounds. 
• Phytochemical screening yielded carbohydrates, proteins, alkaloids, tannins, steroidal saponins, flavonoids and triterpenoids. Another study yielded a megastigmane glucoside, asysgangoside, from the aerial parts, with other known compounds.
• The leaf extract has been shown to relax histamine-precontracted trachial strips and to exhibit antiinflammatory activity. 
• The study justified its use in Nigerian folk medicine as a treatment for asthma.
• Another study suggests that the leaves provide benefit through a bronchospasmolytic effect of the terpenoid compounds.
• The juice of the plant, combined with lime and onion juice, is recommended for dry coughs with an irritated throat and discomfort in the chest.
• The sap of the plant is used as a vermifuge and is applied externally to swellings and rheumatic joints.
• Sap of the leaf is put up the nostrils to stop a nose-bleed, and is also used as an embrocation on a sore neck.
• A leaf-decoction is used in the treatment of fever-aches, epilepsy, stomach-pains, heart-pains and urethral discharge.
• The pulped leaf is used as a suppository for piles.
• The leaves and flowers are used as intestinal astringent. 
• The leaves are used in the treatment of asthma.
• The plant is popularly used in many parts of Africa to ease childbirth. It is boiled and the infusion mixed with peppers then used as a syringe (vaginal douche or enema?) during the later months of pregnancy in order to ease childbirth pains. The infusion is also drunk for the same purpose. 
• In Congo leaf-sap is placed on the stomach of women in childbirth to facilitate labour
• The powdered roots are a general remedy for stomach-pains and are used as an emetic in treating snake-bite.

Agro forestry usse:

       The plant has weak stems forms a good ground cover and make a dense mat and so form a good, weed-excluding ground cover. The plant is useful in slopes where it can help prevent soil erosion.(The plant is not generally regarded as useful in plantations of crops such as cocoa, oil palm or rubber, nor amongst vegetables or field crops.) It is liked as a naturally occurring plantation cover in some orchards, however, because the bees which pollinate the flowers of fruit trees such as starfruit or durian, are attracted to the orchard by the flowers of this plant.

Some other uses:

        The plant is used as a soap-substitute. It froths in water, suggesting the presence of saponins.

Ecological Significance:

• This is an important plant for honeybees, butterflies and other insects. 
• In southern Africa there are at least seven species of butterfly and moth that use A. g. micrantha as a larval foodplant; Junonia oenone, Junonia hierta, Junonia natalica, Junonia terea, Protogoniomorpha parhassus, Hypolimnas misippus and Microplexia costimaculalis. 
• The vigorous growth of A. g. micrantha in tropical regions makes it a weed which can smother certain indigenous vegetation where it has been introduced.

References:

1. https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/7641#toclimate
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asystasia_gangetica
3. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Asystasia+gangetica

Pomegranate flower

Common name: Pomegranate 

Scientific name: Punica granatum 

Family: Lythraceae

The name pomegranate derives from medieval Latin pōmum "apple" and grānātum "seeded". 

Pomegranate is one of the commercially important fruit crops of India. It is native to Iran.

🌲Plant Characters:

A shrub or small tree growing 5 to 10 m high, the pomegranate has multiple spiny branches and is extremely long-lived, with some specimens in France surviving for 200 years.

🍀Leaves:

Leaves are opposite or subopposite, glossy, narrow oblong, entire, 3–7 cm long and 2 cm broad. 

🌹Flowers:

The flowers are bright red and 3 cm in diameter, with three to seven petals.

Some fruitless varieties are grown for the flowers alone.

🍊Fruits:

They are Red-purple in color

The pomegranate fruit husk has two parts: 1. An outer, hard Pericarp

2. An inner, spongy mesocarp  which comprises the fruit inner wall where seeds attach. Membranes of the mesocarp are organized as nonsymmetrical chambers that contain seeds inside sarcotestas, which are embedded without attachment to the mesocarp. 

In mature fruits, the juice obtained by compressing the seeds yields a sour flavor due to low pH 4.4 and high contents of polyphenols, which may cause a red indelible stain on fabrics. Primarily, the pigmentation of pomegranate juice results from the presence of anthocyanins and ellagitannins.

🥜Seeds:

Number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1,400.

🥛Nutritional facts: Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy                             346 kJ (83 kcal)

Carbohydrates                 18.7 g

Sugars                               13.67 g

Dietary fiber                        4 g

Fat                                        1.17 g

Protein                                 1.67 g

Vitamins                    Quantity%         DV†

Thiamine (B1)                   6%          0.067 mg

Riboflavin (B2)                  4%          0.053 mg

Niacin (B3)                         2%         0.293 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)      8%          0.377 mg

Vitamin B6                          6%          0.075 mg

Folate (B9)                        10%        38 μg

Choline                                 2%          7.6 mg

Vitamin C                           12%       10.2 mg

Vitamin E                              4%         0.6 mg

Vitamin K                            16%      16.4 μg

Minerals                    Quantity%       DV†

Calcium                           1%          10 mg

Iron                                   2%            0.3 mg

Magnesium                     3%          12 mg

Manganese                     6%            0.119 mg

Phosphorus                     5%          36 mg

Potassium                       5%        236 mg

Sodium                             0%             3 mg

Zinc                                   4%             0.35 mg

🌐Agro-climatic requirements:

Pomegranate grows well under semi-arid conditions and can be grown upto an altitude of 500 m. above m.s.l. 

It thrives well under hot, dry summer and cold winter provided irrigation facilities are available. 

The tree requires hot and dry climate during fruit development and ripening.

🌡️Temperature:

Pomegranate tree is deciduous in areas of low winter temperature and an evergreen or partially deciduous in tropical and sub-tropical conditions. 

It can tolerate frost to a considerable extent in dormant stage, but is injured at temperature below  - 11degree C.

🍀Soil:

Well drained, sandy loan to deep loamy or alluvial soils is suitable for cultivation.

🍀Varieties Cultivated:

Important pomegranate varieties cultivated in India are Alandi or Vadki, Dholka, Kandhari, Kabul, Muskati Red, Paper Shelled, Spanish Ruby, Ganesh (GB I), G 137, P 23, P 26, Mridula, Aarakta, Jyoti, Ruby, IIHR Selection, Yercaud 1 and Co 1.

📌Land preparation:

Land is prepared by ploughing, harrowing, leveling and removing weeds.

📌Planting Material:

Pomegranate is propagated vegetatively by cuttings, air layering or gootee.

⛅Planting season

Air layering is usually done during the rainy season and also in November-December. 

🌴Planting:

Planting is usually done in spring (February-March) and July-August in sub-tropical and tropical regions respectively.

📌Spacing:

5m x 5m

Closer spacing increases disease and pest incidence.

📌Pit size:

Pits of 60 X 60 X 60 cm. size are dug

The pits are filled with top soil mixed with 20 kg. farmyard manure and 1 kg. super phosphate.

Cuttings/air layers are then planted and staked. Irrigation is provided immediately after planting.

📌Fertilizer recommendation:

The recommended fertilizer dose is 600-700 g. N, 200-250 g. P2O5 and 200-250 g. K2O /tree/year.

🌦️Irrigation:

Regular irrigation till the monsoon sets in. Weekly irrigation in summers and that during winters at fortnightly intervals is recommended. The check basin system of irrigation is usually followed.

✂️Training:

Plants are trained on a single stem or in multi-stem system. 

✂️Pruning:

Pruning is not much required except for removal of ground suckers , water shoots, cross branches , dead and diseased twigs and also to give shape to the tree. A little thinning and pruning of old spurs is done to encourage growth of new ones.

🐞Insect Pests:

Insect pests mostly observed are fruit borer, mealy bugs, aphids, white fly and fruit sucking moths. Spraying with dimethoate , deltamethrin or malathion etc. depending upon the type of pest infestation has been found to be effective in most cases.

🍂 Diseases:

 The main diseases reported are leaf spot and fruit rot. Application of Mancozeb (2g./l.) during rainy season in case of the former and application of Kavach (2g./l) and Carbendazim/Thiophanate methyl/Baycor/Benomyl (1g./l.) during September/October in case of the latter has been found to be effective in most cases.

🍁Disorders:

Fruit cracking is a serious physiological disorder observed in young fruits is due to boron deficiency and that in fully grown fruits is mainly due to moisture imbalances. Tolerant varieties viz. Bedana Bose and Khog may be cultivated and in other cases spraying with calcium hydroxide soon after fruit set has been found to be beneficial.

🏺Medicinal Properties:

📌Pomegranate is a potent antioxidant. 

📌This is rich in flavonoids, anthocyanins, punicic acid, ellagitannins, alkaloids, fructose, sucrose, glucose, simple organic acids, and other components and has antiatherogenic, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. 

📌Pomegranate can be used in the prevention and treatment of several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases. 

📌It improves wound healing and is beneficial to the reproductive system.

Stinking Passion Flower

Common name:  Stinking passion flower/ stoneflower

Scientific name: Passiflora foetida 

Family: Passifloraceae

It is a species of passion flower out of 550 species of Passiflora that is native to the southwestern United States (southern Texas and Arizona), Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Africa ,and much of South America. 

🌲Plant characters

🌿It is a creeping vine like other members of the genus, and yields an edible fruit. 

🌿The specific epithet, foetida, means "stinking" in  Latin and refers to the strong aroma emitted by damaged foliage. 

🌿The stems are thin, wiry and woody, covered with sticky yellow hairs.

🌿The leaves are three- to five-lobed and viscid-hairy. 

🌿They give off an unpleasant odour when crushed. 

🌸The flowers are white to pale cream coloured, about 5-6 cm diameter. 

🍈The fruit is globose, 2-3 cm diameter, yellowish-orange to red when ripe, and has numerous black seeds embedded in the pulp; the fruit are eaten and the seeds dispersed by birds. 

🌦️Climatic requirements:

Plants require a temperature not lower than around 16°c when they are flowering in order to ensure fruit set.

Soil:

Requires a humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil and a position in dappled shade. 

Prefers a circumneutral soil, disliking very acid or very alkaline conditions. 

Passiflora species tend to flower and fruit more freely when grown in soils of only moderate fertility. 

plant can flower and produce fruit all year round. 

♀️Propagation

📌Seed

Best sown as soon as it is ripe along with the pulp which will help break down the seed coat and speed up germination. Stored seed should be soaked for 24 hours in warm water and germination time can be reduced if the seed is then mixed with the juice of a fresh passion fruit (of any species) Even so, it can take 12 months for stored seed to germinate. Place the seed tray in a shady position, maintaining a temperature around19 - 24oC.

📌Cuttings:

Cuttings of young shoots, taken at the nodes. The cuttings root best in a neutral to slightly acid compost, but 100% sharp sand also produces good results.

Cuttings of fully mature wood taken at a node. They can take 3 months, but there is usually a high percentage

📌Air layering can be done easily.

✂️Pruning

Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back to ground level if required to rejuvenate the plant

🛠️Uses:

🍀Medicinal uses:  This  species can be helpful in treating digestive problems, including dyspepsia and diarrhea; or used as an astringent and expectorant for nervous conditions and spasms.

🍀Edible Uses

Fully ripe fruit - raw. Sweet and juicy

🚫Do not eat the under-ripe fruit since it can be toxic.

🌱Leaves - cooked. Used as an ingredient in soups

🌳Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is used as a ground cover and as a hedge

🐞Other Uses:

Substances in the leaves deter feeding insects

😮An interesting fact about plant:

The bracts of this plant serve as insect traps, but it is as yet unknown whether the plant digests and gains nourishment from the trapped insects or if it merely uses the bracts as a defensive mechanism to protect its flowers and fruit. This is still an issue of debate and research among carnivorous plant enthusiasts.

🔻Warning

The unripe fruits contain cyanide and are poisonous.

Spider plant/ Ribbon grass

Common name: Spider plant/ Ribbon plant

Scientific name: Chlorophytum comosum variegatum

Family: Asparagaceae

     Spider plant due to its fast and dense growth the spider plant has become one of the most popular room and office plants worldwide. Plant is a native of South Africa.

Plant Characters:

🍀 Chlorophytum comosum grows to about 60 centimetres (24 in) high. 

🍀 It has fleshy, tuberous roots, about 5–10 cm long. 

☘️ The long narrow leaves reach a length of 20–45 cm and are around 6–25 millimetres wide.

Flowers:

🌸Flowers are produced in a long branched inflorescence, which can reach a length of up to 75 cm and eventually bends downwards. 

🌸Flowers initially occur in clusters of 1–6 at intervals along the stem of the inflorescence. Each cluster is at the base of a bract,  which ranges from 2–8 cm in length, becoming smaller towards the end of the inflorescence. 

🌸Most of the flowers which are produced initially die off, so that the inflorescences are relatively sparsely flowered.

🌸The inflorescences carry plantlets at the tips of their branches, which eventually droop and touch the soil, developing adventitious roots. 

🌾Cultivation:

🌦️Climate and Soil:

🌞Sunlight:

☀️A half-shaded area would be preferable.

☀️Do not expose the plant directly to mid day sun especially in summer.

☀️In a darker environment and in the shade, however, it grows only slowly. 

🌡️Temperature:

⭐Low temperatures will slow down the growth too. 

⭐The plant grows best when the room temperature is as constant as possible between 14 °C and 18 °C. 

⭐This plant is very adaptable, so it can withstand temperatures between 10 °C and 30 °C.

👉Soil:

Soil pH of 6 to 7 is preferred ie.  soil should be slightly acidic to neutral

👉Varieties:

🤙C.comosum variegatum

This has darker green leaves with white margins. It is generally smaller than the previous cultivar. The long stems are green.

🤙C.comosum Vittatum

This has mid-green leaves with a broad central white stripe.

🤙Ocean

This is the youngest species and is characterized by light green leaves with a white edge

🤙Picturatum

It forms green leaves with a yellow strip in the center

🤙Bonnie

This has green and white leaves, which are not straight but wave-like

🤙Mandaianum

It has especially short, dark green leaves with a yellow middle stripe

🤙Chlorophytum comosum

This is the wild form of chlorophytum comosum is characterized by pure green leaves without any markings.

🌳Planting:

🚩The dense and rapidly growing root ball of the chlorophytum comosum requires much space, so this green plant should be placed in a pot with sufficient space. 

🚩There should be a 2 to 3 cm area filled with soil between the roots of the plant and the end of the pot. 

🚩As soon as the roots can be seen, because they displace the substrate on the surface or even damage the pot, the spider plant should be transplanted as quickly as possible into a larger pot independent of the season.

💧Irrigation:

Spider plant should be irrigated regularly.

Waterlogging should be avoided.

🌱Propagation:

1.Sprouts: small daughter plants emerge from the hermetic blossoms after they have faded.

2. Seeds:The wild form as well as a few cultivated varieties of the spider plant form small capsule fruits and in each of them three seeds will approach. If the capsule is opened, the black seeds will fall to the ground.

🍂Pests and diseases

🐞Pests:

Aphids, Mealy bugs, Whiteflies, Spidermites

🍃Diseases:

Bacterial wet rot: Waterlogging causes bacterial wet rot. So avoid waterlogging.

🔧Uses

Used as indoor plant

Used in hanging pots

🔺The NASA Clean Air Study determined that this plant was effective at removing common household air toxins formaldehyde and xylene and reduce indoor air pollution.

🔻Approximately 70 Spider plants would neutralize the formaldehyde released by materials in a representative (ca. 160 m2 [1,700 sq ft]) energy-efficient house, assuming each plant occupies a 3.8 L pot.