Alternative Medicine from the Dominican Republic

In poor countries often come the same disease or health problems like being in rich countries. The difference is that the people can not afford expensive drugs in poor countries, so they have to help herself. 

How ? With the nature!

So they have acquired over many generations knowledge of herbal medicine that has fallen in technical-scientific and far more developed countries into oblivion or were not sufficiently developed.

In the Dominican Republic are growing 5600 different plants and 1800 of this grow only in on this island, not again on another place in the world - now you might imagine, over the richness the island offers. Slowly but surely, people are returning to tried and true methods of healing. Here's some information on medicinal plants of the Dominican Republic.

Cats Claw (Uncaria Tomentosa)

Cats Claw is a vine commonly known as Una de Gato and is used traditionally in Peruvian medicine for the treatment of a wide range of health problems, particularly digestive complaints and arthritis and to treat wounds, stomach problems, cancer, and more. It has only recently caught the attention of western herbalists and researchers. Today, mainly by word of mouth, it has become one of the best selling herbs in the USA

Cat's Claw can often be found combined with other 'immune' herbs with similar healing properties such as Echinacea and may:

• reduce pain and inflammation of rheumatism, arthritis and other types of inflammatory problems.
• have anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties that inhibits cancerous cell formation.
• promote the healing of wounds.
• be useful for treatment of gastric ulcers and intestinal complaints
• help to relieve chronic pain.
• enhance immunity by stimulating the immune system.
• help people experiencing stomach and bowel disorders, including colitis, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, leaky bowel syndrome, gastritis and duodenal ulcers, intestinal inflammation.
• help fight both viral and fungal infections such as Herpes and Candida

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-cats-claw.html

Noni   Morinda citrifolia

Traditional/Ethnobotanical uses

Polynesian healers have used noni fruits for thousands of years to help treat a variety of health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, aches, pains, burns, arthritis, inflammation, tumors, the effects of aging, and parasitic, viral, and bacterial infections. Ancient healing manuscripts cite the fruit as a primary ingredient in natural healing formulations. Today, fruit preparations are sold as juice, in dried “fruit-leather” form, and as a dry extract in capsules.

General uses

Noni has traditionally been used for colds, flu, diabetes, anxiety, and high blood pressure, as well as for depression and anxiety. All plant parts are used for a variety of illnesses in Samoan culture, and noni is one of the most frequently used Hawaiian plant medicines. Claims that have not been proven in clinical trials include: the use of bark for the treatment of bacterial infections, cough, diarrhea in infants, and stomach ailments; the flowers for sore or irritated eyes, styes, conjunctivitis, ocular inflammation, and coughs; the fruit for asthma, wounds, broken bones, mouth and throat infections, tuberculosis, worms, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, eye ailments, arthritis, depression, seizures, bacterial and fungal infections, viruses, and as a tonic; the fresh fruit juice for cancer; the dried leaves used externally for infections, burns, children's chest colds, and inflammation, and internally for boils, pleurisy, inflamed gums, and arthritic pain; the fresh leaves used externally for burns and internally for fevers, hemorrhage, bacterial infections, and inflammation; and the roots for oral ulcerations, fevers, and cancerous swellings.

http://www.drugs.com/npc/noni.html

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera has been used medicinally since the last few thousand years. Aloe verahas been used for medicinal purposes in several cultures for millenniums: Greece,Egypt, India, Mexico, Japan and China. Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra used it as part of their regular beauty regimes.

Mentioned in various books and Mesopotamian clay tabloids in various countries like Egypt, Greece,[1,24] South Africa, India, China, Mexico, Japan[1,25] for various ailments like: 

• Burns,
• Hair loss,
• Skin infections,
• Hemorrhoids,[1,26]
• Sinusitis,
• Gastrointestinal pain
• Wound healer for bruises,
• X-ray burns [1]
• Insect bites; and
• Anti-helminthic,
• Somatic,
• Anti-arthritic [1]

Aloe vera plant is known to contain in all its parts many Phenolic compounds, a certain type of active constituent found in Aloe that is also found in some essential oils and plants that exert very strong antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties.

http://www.herbcyclopedia.com/item/health-benefits-of-aloe-vera-2

In La Botella possibly used plant 

species

Anadenanthera peregrina

Anadenanthera peregrina, also known as Yopo, Jopo, Cohoba, Parica or Calcium Tree, is a perennial tree of the Anadenanthera genus native to the Caribbean and South America.^[1] It grows up to 20 m tall, having a horny bark. Its flowers are pale yellow to white and spherical. It is not listed as being a threatened species. It is an entheogen used in healing ceremonies and rituals. It is also a well known source of dietary calcium.

Traditional usage

Anadenanthera peregrina 1916

Archaeological evidence shows Anadenanthera beans have been used as hallucinogens for thousands of years. The oldest clear evidence of use comes from smoking pipes made of puma bone (Felis Concolor) found with Anadenanthera beans at Inca Cueva, a site in the northwest of Humahuaca in the Puna border of Jujuy Province, Argentina. The pipes were found to contain the hallucinogen DMT, one of the compounds found in Anadenanthera beans. Radiocarbon testing of the material gave a date of 2130 BC., suggesting Anadenanthera use as a hallucinogen is over 4000 years old.^[10] Snuff trays and tubes similar to those commonly used for yopo were found in the central Peruvian coast dating back to 1200 BC., suggesting that insufflation of Anadenanthera beans is a more recent method of use.^[11] Archaeological evidence of insufflation use within the period 500-1000 AD. in northern Chile has been reported.^[12]
Some indigenous peoples of the Orinoco basin in Colombia, Venezuela and possibly in the southern part of the Brazilian Amazon make use of yopo snuff for spiritual healing. Yopo snuff was also widely used in ceremonial contexts in the Caribbean area, including Cuba and La Española, up to the Spanish Conquest...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadenanthera_peregrina

Ocimum campechianum

Ocimum campechianum is a plant species in the Lamiaceae, widespread across Mexico, Central America, South America, the West Indies, and Florida.^[2]
Leaves of Ocimum campechianum are eaten in Brazil's Amazon jungle. Similar to basil, it has a pungent flavor and contains essential oils which have been used ethnomedicinally. It is referred to in Brazil as alfavaca and has also been referred to as albahaca del monte,^[3] Amazonian basil, wild sweet basil, wild mosquito plant, least basil, Peruvian basil, spice basil, alfavaca-do-campo, manjericao and estoraque



Essential oil from O. campechianum has been tested for its in vitro food-related biological activities and found comparable to the essential oils of common basil and thyme and superior in its capacity as an antioxidant. It has also been found to possess antifungal activity against food spoiling yeasts. The leaves have the highest concentration of essential oil (4.3%).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocimum_campechianum

Prunus occidentalis 

Western Cherry Laurel

Prunus occidentalis is a plant in the Rosaceae family of the Rosales order.^[2][3] The plant can be found in the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America.^[4] It is native to Puerto Rico.^[5] Its Spanish common names include almendrón.^[4] Its English common name is the western cherry laurel.^[5] The plant is common in the Toro Negro State Forest.^[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_occidentalis

Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Ambrosia artemisiifolia, common ragweed, is the most widespread plant of the genus Ambrosia in North America. It has also been called annual ragweed, bitterweed, blackweed, carrot weed, hay fever weed, Roman wormwood, stammerwort, stickweed, tassel weed, and American wormwood. It is native in North America. The species name, artemisiifolia, is given because the leaves were thought to bear a resemblance to the leaves of Artemisia, the true wormwoods

Invasive species

It has become an invasive species in some European countries,^[1] and in Japan, where it is known as butakusa —pig grass.^[2]
Common ragweed is a very competitive weed and can produce yield losses in soybeans as high as 30%. Control with night tillage reduces emergence by around 45%. Small grains in rotation will also suppress common ragweed if they are overseeded with clover. Otherwise, the ragweed will grow and mature and produce seeds in the small grain stubble. Several herbicides are effective against common ragweed, although resistant populations are known to exist.^[3]
SMARTER is a European interdisciplinary network of experts involved in the control of ragweed, health care professionals, aerobiologists, ecologists, economists, and atmospheric and agricultural modellers.^[4]

The occurrence of Ophraella communa, an invasive beetle in Europe, was found south of the Alps in southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Many attacked plants completely defoliated.^[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_artemisiifolia

Amacey

Tetragastris balsamifera (Sw.) 

Tetragastris balsamifera is an evergreen tree; it can grow 10 - 25 metres tall. The straight, cylindrical bole can be 50 - 60cm in diameter

The tree is harvested from the wild for use of its wood but we use parts of this plants in La Botella.

Range

S. America - Brazil; Caribbean - Haiti to the Virgin Islands.

General Information
Symbol:	TEBA
Group:	Dicot
Family:	Burseraceae
Duration:	Perennial
Growth Habit:	Tree
Native Status:	PR   N VI   N

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tetragastris+balsamifera

Polypodium

Polypodium is a genus of 75–100 species of true ferns, widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest species diversity in the tropics. The name is derived from Ancient Greek poly (πολύ) "many" + podion (πόδιον) "little foot", on account of the foot-like appearance of the rhizome and its branches. They are commonly called polypody^[1] or rockcap fern, but for many species unique vernacular names exist.

They are terrestrial or epiphytic ferns, with a creeping, densely hairy or scaly rhizome bearing fronds at intervals along its length. The species differ in size and general appearance and in the character of the fronds, which are evergreen, persisting for 1-2 years, pinnate or pinnatifid (rarely simple entire), and from 10-80 cm or more long. The sori or groups of spore-cases (sporangia) are borne on the back of the frond; they are globose and naked, not covered with a membrane (indusium).

Polypodies have some use in herbalism, but are today most important in horticulture where several species, hybrids, and their cultivars like Polypodium 'Green Wave' are commonly used as ornamental plants for shady locations. Polypodium have a bitter-sweet taste and are among the rather few ferns that are used in cooking; in this case as a spice e.g. for nougat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polypodium

Mating system and population structure of Acacia aroma and A. macracantha (Fabaceae) 1

Abstract
Acacia aroma and A. macracantha are closely related species that inhabit northern and central Argentina. The reproductive barriers between them seem to be weak. They exhibit low genetic differentiation, high levels of interspecific gene flow, and extensive areas of sympatry. Isoenzymatic approaches were used to evaluate the population structure and mating system parameters in natural Argentine populations of A. aroma and A. macracantha and to provide new tools for the analysis of relationships between these two species. All studied populations had high levels of genetic variability and no significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg expectations, but the two species did not differ from each other. Most variability occured within populations. Mating system analysis showed high levels of outcrossing, no biparental inbreeding, and a high probability that individuals within progeny arrays are full rather than half sibs. In all A. aroma and A. macracantha populations, polymorphic loci had the same allelic variants, and no geographic or genetic isolation between species was found. The results favor the hypothesis that these two entities represent a single polymorphic species rather than two distinct species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seed collections
Acacia aroma and A. macracantha are shrubs or trees, 2–6 m high. They usually occur in sympatry, although A. aroma populations can be found in isolation. Plants of the two species are morphologically very similar, their flowers are grouped in globose inflorescences, and their fruits are loments with 6–16 and 3–20 seeds per fruit in A. macracantha and A. aroma, respectively (Cialdella, 1984⇓). The main difference between these species is the length and shape of their thorny stipules. In A. aroma they are 0.80 ± 0.50 cm long (mean ± SD) and conical and circular in cross section, while in A. macracantha they are 1.67 ± 0.79 cm long and laterally compressed and rhomboidal in cross section. No genetic differentiation has been found between these species (Casiva et al., 2001b⇓, 2002⇓).
Three populations of A. aroma and two populations of A. macracantha were collected in Argentina (Fig. 1, Table 1). Thirty to 50 pods were collected from at least 10 trees separated from each other by more than 50 m following the method of Vilardi et al. (1988)⇓ and Saidman and Vilardi (1993)⇓ for legumes of genus Prosopis. All seeds (300–500) from each shrub were placed in a single bag from which they were chosen at random for isozyme analysis of progeny arrays.

http://www.amjbot.org/content/91/1/58.full

Arrayán

Punchberry
Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC

General Information
Symbol: MYSP
Group: Dicot
Family: Myrtaceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit:
Shrub
Tree
Native Status:
PR N
VI N
Symbol: MYSP
Group: Dicot
Family: Myrtaceae
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree Shrub
Native Status:
PR N
VI N
Synonyms:
MYSP3 Myrtus splendens Sw.
Distribution: Myrciasplendens(Sw.) DC. distribution:
USA+(PR, VI)
Classification:
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass Rosidae
Order Myrtales
Family Myrtaceae – Myrtle family
Genus Myrcia DC. ex Guill. – rodwood
Species Myrcia splendens (Sw.) DC. – punchberry
http://www.redorbit.com/…/reference_library/science_1/plant…

Ocotea floribunda 

is a species of Ocotea.

Ocotea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves.

There are 324 species currently accepted within the genus,^[2] distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (around 300 species)^[3] including the Caribbean and West Indies,^[4][5] but also with some species in Africa, Madagascar^[3] and the Mascarene Islands.^[6] One species (O. foetens) is native to the Macaronesia (in Canary Islands and Madeira).^[7]

Description

They are trees or shrubs, occasionally with adventitious roots (O. hartshorniana, O. insularis). Leaves simple, alternate, rarely opposite or whorled.^[8] The leaves are lauroid, they are commonly dark green glossy with sometimes brown on the underside and fragrant oil cells.^[9]

The African and Madagascan species all have bisexual flowers (possessing both male and female parts), whereas many of the American species have flowers that are unisexual (either male or female).^[3] The apetalous flowers are in small panicles.

The fruits are globose or oblong berries, 3–5 cm in length, hard and fleshy and at the junction of the peduncle part with the fruit covered by a cup-shaped, occasionally flat, cupule,^[10] giving them an appearance similar to an acorn. The fruit is dark green, gradually darkening with maturity. The cupule at the base of the berry, can be more brightly colored. The fruit has a single seed wrapped in a hard coat and can be slightly lignified.

Names

The genus has no standard common name. Names often refer to the aroma of the wood, which can be strong and not always pleasant. Sweetwood is usually applied only to this genus,^[11] although many names are also applied to this genus and other genera:

• Stinkwood can refer to several unrelated trees that have bad-smelling wood. Ocotea bullata is called black stinkwood or true stinkwood, and Ocotea foetens is also called stinkwood.
• Camphorwood is usually Cinnamomum camphora a close relative of Ocotea species.
• Rosewood (Peruvian rosewood, O. cernua) is normally Dalbergia or related members of the family Fabaceae.

The common names of some species refer to their similarity to other Lauraceae such as Sassafras (Brazilian sassafras: O. odorifera) or Laurus (Cape laurel: O. bullata, Sword laurel: O. floribunda, Guaika laurel: O. puberula, etc.).

Uses

Dried ishpingo (O. quixos) cupules can be used as spice.

Ocotea produce essential oils, which are rich in camphor and safrole. East African camphorwood (O. usambarensis), Peruvian rosewood (O. cernua) and Brazilian sassafras (O. odorifera) are traded internationally. Safrole derived from "Ocotea cymbarum oil" (a trade name) is used in the production of the recreational drug methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("ecstasy").^{[citation needed]} Research into the essential oils of some Ocotea species has demonstrated that the compounds can have anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties.^[26][27]

Dried fruit cupules of ishpingo (O. quixos) are used in Ecuador to flavor beverages, such as colada morada.

Some fast growing Ocotea tree species are harvested commercially for timber. These include O. puberula, O. bullata (black or true stinkwood) and O. usambarensis. The timber is valued for its resistance to fungal decay.

O. odorifera (Brazilian sassafras) and O. kuhlmanni are frequently used as honey plants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocotea

Cissus sicyoides

Bejuco caro (lian core)

Cissus sicyoides, also known as Princess vine, Millionaire vine and Curtain Ivy, is evergreen perennial vine in the Vitaceae (Grapevine) family.

In 2004, an aqueous extract from this plant was found to have hypoglycemic andanti-lipemic effects in rats.^[1]

 In La Botella we can use the foliage from this plant as a ingredient for a men´s Botella

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissus_sicyoides

Smilax

Smilax domingensis Willd.

Smilax is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics andsubtropics worldwide.^[1] In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which areendemic),^[2] while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico.^[3][4] They are climbing flowering plants, many of which are woody and/or thorny, in themonocotyledon family Smilacaceae, native throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Common names include catbriers, greenbriers,prickly-ivys and smilaxes. "Sarsaparilla" (also zarzaparrilla, sarsparilla) is a name used specifically for the Jamaican S. regelii as well as a catch-all term in particular for American species. Occasionally, the non-woody species such as the Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier (S. herbacea) are separated as genus Nemexia; they are commonly known by the rather ambiguous name "carrion flowers".

Greenbriers get their scientific name from the Greek myth of Crocus and the nymphSmilax.^[5] Though this myth has numerous forms, it always centers around the unfulfilled and tragic love of a mortal man who is turned into a flower, and a woodland nymph who is transformed into a brambly vine. (Compare the story ofBarbara Allen and sweet William: They buried Barbara in the old church yard / They buried Sweet William beside her / Out of his grave grew a red, red rose / And out of hers a briar.)

Description and ecology

On their own, Smilax plants will grow as shrubs, forming dense impenetrable thickets. They will also grow over trees and other plants up to 10 m high, their hooked thorns allowing them to hang onto and scramble over branches. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreenspecies. The leaves are heart-shaped and vary from 4–30 cm long in different species.

Greenbrier is dioecious. However, only about one in three colonies have plants of both sexes. Plants flower in May and June with white/green clustered flowers. If pollination occurs, the plant will produce a bright red to blue-black spherical berry fruit about 5–10 mm in diameter that matures in the fall.

The berry is rubbery in texture and has a large, spherical seed in the center. The fruit stays intact through winter, whenbirds and other animals eat them to survive. The seeds are passed unharmed in the animal's droppings. Since manySmilax colonies are single clones that have spread by rhizomes, both sexes may not be present at a site, in which case no fruit is formed.

Smilax is a very damage-tolerant plant capable of growing back from its rhizomes after being cut down or burned down byfire. This, coupled with the fact that birds and other small animals spread the seeds over large areas, makes the plants very hard to get rid of. It grows best in moist woodlands with a soil pH between 5 and 6. The seeds have the greatest chance of germinating after being exposed to a freeze.

Besides their berries providing an important food for birds and other animals during the winter, greenbrier plants also provide shelter for many other animals. The thorny thickets can effectively protect small animals from larger predators who cannot enter the prickly tangle. Deer and other herbivorous mammals will eat the foliage, as will some invertebrates such as Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), which also often drink nectar from the flowers.

Among the Lepidoptera utilizing Smilax are Hesperiidae like the Water Snow Flat(Tagiades litigiosa), Pieridae like the Small Grass Yellow (Eurema smilax)^{[verification needed]}, or moths like the peculiar and sometimes flightless genusThyrocopa. But particularly fond of greenbriers are certain Nymphalidae caterpillars, for example those of:

·         Faunis – duffer butterflies

·         Kaniska canace – Blue Admiral (on China Smilax, Smilax china)

·         Phalanta phalantha – Common Leopard (on S. tetragona)

Uses

An extract from the roots of some species – most significantly Jamaican Sarsaparilla (S. regelii) – is used to make the sarsaparilla drink and other root beers, as well as herbal drinks like the popular Baba Roots fromJamaica. Two species, S. domingensis andS. havanensis, are used in a traditional soda-like Cuban beverage called pru.^[6] The roots may also be used in soups or stews. The young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked and are said to taste like asparagus, and the berries can be eaten both raw and cooked. Stuffed smilax pancake, orfúlíng jiābǐng (simplified Chinese: 茯苓夹饼; traditional Chinese: 茯苓夾餅), is a traditional snack from the Beijing region. S. glabra is used in Chinese herbology. It is also a key ingredient in the Chinese medical dessert guīlínggāo, which makes use of its property to set certain kinds of jelly.

The powdered roots of Jamaican Sarsaparilla are known as Rad. Sarzae. Jam. inpharmacy and are used as a traditional medicine for gout in Latin Americancountries. Köhler's Medicinal Plants of 1887 discusses the American Sarsaparilla (S. aristolochiifolia), but as early as about 1590, the Persian scholar Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn Mas‘ud Shirazi gave a detailed evaluation of the medical properties of Chinaroot, especially its use against syphilis.^{[citation needed]}

Diosgenin, a steroidal sapogenin, is reported from S. menispermoidea.^{[citation needed]} Other active compounds reported from various greenbrier species are parillin (also sarsaparillin or smilacin), sarsapic acid, sarsapogenin andsarsaponin.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the nectar-rich flowers, species like S. medica and S. officinalis are also useful honey plants.

The common floral decoration smilax is Asparagus asparagoides.^[7][8] For example, in the stage version of Harvey, the opening scene describes the home as being "festooned with smilax".

Species

The genus is divided into a number of sections. Section Smilax includes "woody",^{[note 1]} prickly vines of temperate North America, for example Cat Greenbrier (S. glauca) and Common Greenbrier (S. rotundifolia).^[9] Section Nemexia includes unarmed herbaceous plants of temperate North America, for example "carrion flowers" like the Smooth Herbaceous Greenbrier (S. herbacea).^[9]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilax

Bunchosia

Bunchosia glandulosa (Cav.)

Bunchosia is a genus in the Malpighiaceae, a family of about 75 genera offlowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It contains roughly 75 species of trees and shrubs, which are native to dry woodlands, savannas, and wet forests. Their range extends from Mexico and the Caribbean to southeastern Brazil and adjacentArgentina. Bunchosia is one of three arborescent genera of Malpighiaceae with fleshy, bird-dispersed fruits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunchosia

Chrysophyllum oliviforme

Chrysophyllum oliviforme, commonly known as the Satinleaf, is a medium-sized tree native to Florida, the Bahamas, the greater Antilles, and Belize. It is also known as Damson Plum, Wild Star-Apple, Saffron-tree, Caimitillo, Caimitillo de Perro, Camitillo Cimarró, Teta de Burra, Macanabo, and Caïmite Marron.^[1] It gets the name Satinleaf from the distinctive colors of the leaves. The top of the leaf is dark green while the bottom is light brown or copper. This distinctive look makes it a very aesthetically pleasing tree that is commonly used as an ornamental in yards and public spaces.

Taxonomy

The satinleaf was one of the many species described by Linnaeus, appearing for the first time in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1759.

A combined DNA and morphological study of the subfamily Chrysophylloideae found the two main genera, Chrysophyllum and Pouteria, to be highly polyphyletic, and that C. oliviforme is in a clade with other members of the genus. It is most closely related to C. cainito.^[2]

Description

Individuals of the species are generally shrubs or small trees between 3 and 5 m (10–15 ft) in height, but under good growing conditions they can reach up to 10 meters (35 ft) tall. The trunks can be around 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. The bark is thin with fissures and plates. It is gray-brown in color. Typically they have only one trunk. The twigs are thin and brown in color. The branches droop slightly as the tree matures. The leaves are alternate and are a shiny dark green on top and light brown on the bottom. They are simple leaf types with pinnate venation. The leaves are ovate and range in length from 3 to 11 cm (1.4-4.4 in). The breadth of the leaves ranges from 2 to 5 cm (0.8–2 in). The leaves are evergreen so they are present year round. These trees flower all year round in some places, such as Florida, and in other places they only flower between July and October, producing matured fruit in February. Puerto Rico is an example of a place where they only flower part of the year. The flowers are small and creamy yellow in color.^[3] They have 5 petals and 5 stamens. The flowers inflorescence is fasciculate. The fruit that form are dark purple when ripe and have a gum-like skin that covers an inner whitish flesh. They resemble an olive in size. The fruits are edible, albeit very chewy. They have several black seeds.^[1]

Flowers and fruits

The flowers are small, usually about 3 to 5 cm (1.2–2 in) in diameter, and have a creamy yellow color.^[3] They are pollinated by insects. In Florida, the flowers are present all year round and so are the fruit. However, in some places, for example Puerto Rico, the flowers are only present between July and October. The fruit take several months to mature and are usually ripe by February. The fruit are about the same size as an olive and are green as they ripen. Once mature they turn a dark purplish color. There are normally several black seeds per fruit. The seeds are protected by a white fleshy interior surrounded by a rubbery, gum-like covering. When cut, the seeds ooze a milky white liquid. The seeds are dispersed by birds. They eat the fruit and disperse the seeds in their feces. These trees grow at a slow pace throughout their development.^[1]

Distribution

Chrysophyllum oliviforme is native to Florida, the Bahamas, the greater Antilles, and Belize. It is also used as a decorative tree in many tropical countries. It has been declared invasive in Hawaii^[4] and has been naturalized in French Polynesia. They live in warmer, tropical climates because they do not do well with cold and can be severely damaged by temperatures lower than 0 °C.^[1]

Distribution in the United States

In Florida Chrysophyllum oliviforme is listed as endangered in the wild, although many can still be found in south Florida owing to their role as ornamentals.^[1]

Chrysophyllum oliviforme is invasive in Hawaii. No specific actions are being funded to remove this species, but its cultivation is discouraged.^[4]

Habitat and ecology

Chrysophyllum oliviforme can grow in a variety of soil types, including clay, sand, loam, alkaline or acidic, and well-drained or moist.^[5] They grow in the sand and shallow clay in Puerto Rico, while in Florida they are known to grow in pinelands and hammocks. They grow well in low elevation moist secondary forests. They have a low to moderate tolerance of salt and a moderate tolerance of drought.^[3] They can withstand pH between 5 and 8. As mentioned earlier, they can be severely damaged by freezing temperatures below 0 °C.^[1]

Usage

Food

Chrysophyllum oliviforme have edible fruit, which are generally eaten fresh.^[1][3]

Other uses

Hard, heavy, and strong, the wood of the tree is used in construction. It is difficult to carve but good for things such as fence posts, rafters, and other situations where a strong beam is needed.^[1]

It is also used as a decorative tree for yards, sidewalks, and other public spaces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysophyllum_oliviforme

Sabal umbraculifera Griseb

This palm is one of 15 species of palmetto palm (Arecaceae, genus Sabal). It is native in the Dominican Republic, the subtropical Gulf coast/south Atlantic coast of the USA, as well as Cuba,^[4] the Turks & Caicos Islands, and The Bahamas.^[4]

In the United States the native range of Sabal Palmetto is the coastal plains of the Gulf states and south Atlantic states from Cape Fear, North Carolina south to Florida, though a disjunct population occurs in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. ^[5][6][7]It is the state tree of both South Carolina and Florida.

Description

Sabal palmetto grows up to 65 ft (20 m) in height (with exceptional individuals up to 92 ft (28 m) in height, with a trunk up to 2 ft (60 cm) diameter. It is a distinct fan palm (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with a bare petiole which extends as a center spine or midrib, (costa) 1/2 to 2/3 the length into a rounded, costapalmate fan of numerous leaflets. A costapalmate leaf has a definite costa (midrib) unlike the typical palmate or fan leaf, but the leaflets are arranged radially like in a palmate leaf. All costapalmate leaves are markedly recurved or arched backwards. Each leaf is 5 to 6.5 ft (1.5–2 m) long, with 40-60 leaflets up to 2.6 ft (80 cm) long.

The flowers are yellowish-white, .20 in (5 mm) across, produced in large compound panicles up to 8.2 ft (2.5 m) long, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe about .5 in (1.3 cm) long containing a single seed. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near both the Atlantic Ocean coast and the Gulf of Mexico coast.

Sabal Palmetto is hardy to USDA zone 8, and has been reported to have some cold hardness down to -13 C (7 F). Maintenance of the Cabbage Palm tree is very easy and very adaptable. The Cabbage Palm is known to tolerate drought, standing water and brackish water. Even though this palm is drought-tolerant, it thrives on regular light watering and regular feeding. It is highly tolerant of salt winds, but not saltwater flooding.^[8]

Historical background

The cabbage-like terminal bud has been eaten as hearts of palm. The bristles on the sheaths of young leaves have been made into scrubbing brushes. The trunks have been used as wharf piles. On June 28, 1776, Charleston patriots underWilliam Moultrie made a fort of palmetto trunks and from it defended successfully against the British in the Revolutionary War.^[9]

Cultivation and uses

Sabal palmetto is a popular landscape plant known for its tolerance of salt spray and cold. Because of their relatively long establishment period and prevalence on ranchlands, few, if any are grown from seed in nurseries. Instead, established plants are dug in the wild with small rootballs since virtually all the severed roots die and must be replaced by new roots in the new location. Most leaves are removed at this time to reduce transpiration. It is the state tree of South Carolina and Florida. Most references rate the species as hardy to USDA hardiness zone 8a. Cabbage palms have good hurricane resistance, but are frequently overpruned for a variety of reasons.

The growing heart of the new fronds, also known as the terminal bud, gives the tree its "cabbage" name, since this is extracted as a food and tastes like other undifferentiated plant meristem tissue, such as the heart of a cabbage orartichoke. It is one of several palm species that is sometimes used to make heart of palm salad. Heart of palm was commonly eaten by Aboriginal Americans. However, extracting the heart will kill this species of palm, because the terminal bud is the only point from which the palm can grow and without this bud the palm will not be able to replace old leaves and will eventually die.

The cabbage palm is remarkably resistant to fire, floods, coastal conditions, cold, high winds and drought. Despite this, alarming causes of recent mortality include rising sea level (most noticed on the Big Bend Coast of Florida), and Texas phoenix palm decline (TPPD) a phytoplasma currently found on the west coast of Florida.

Sabal palmetto trunks appear in two different conditions, which can be confusing (see photo). When leaves die, the leaf bases typically persist for a while, creating a spiky, "basketweave" effect. These remnant leaf bases are called "bootjacks" or "boots", for short. The name stems from the "Y" shape that was reminiscent of devices used to aid individuals in removing boots. Transplanted palms are sometimes deliberately shorn of these bootjacks. Taller specimens are more likely to have lost their bootjacks and appear relatively smooth and columnar. The loss of bootjacks is a natural, if poorly understood, phenomenon as the palm does not create a leaf abscission zone so the loss of the leaf bases results from some other physical or biological process.

Recently, a new mutant form of Sabal palmetto has been discovered in South West Florida, and named as a cultivar Sabal palmetto 'Lisa'. The difference between the 'Lisa' and the wild-type Sabal palmetto is in the form of the leaf. The 'Lisa' has leaves that are costapalmate, acute, not pendulous, not filamentose, rigid, not strongly divided, cupped, and slightly undulating. This mutation of Sabal palmetto is beginning to be seen in the nursery trade, as it is just as hardy to cold, salt, drought, fire and wind as the wild type of the species, but looks different. Two specimens can be seen in Fort Myers, Florida at the intersection of Luckett Road and I-75, and many seed is collected and distributed from these specimens. Seeds from Sabal palmetto 'Lisa' have a 68% chance of becoming true to type, the other 32% develop as the wild type.^[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabal_palmetto

The most expensive medicinal plant that we use in La Botella original Robert Reichert®: Saffron (Crocus sativus)

This pretty, originally from Asia Minor autumn flowering bulbs, whose orange-red scars extend beyond the violet flowers far delivers the saffron spice used in the kitchen. The scars of saffron contain the dye crocin and pleasant smelling at Saffron. True saffron is the most expensive among the spices, as 120000-140000 flowers only more than a kilogram of saffron resignation. 1 gram costs about 20 euros or 22 US dollars

In the Ebers papyrus scrolls by, in Homer's Iliad and the Song of Songs of King Solomon of saffron is praised as an important medicinal plant. Dioskurides decreed saffron as anticonvulsant. Arab doctors prescribe Saffron to promote menstruation and also during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance of saffron has been used for all sorts of ailments. Until the 18th century the saffron remained a medicinal plant.

Effect of medicinal plant / healing effect - Saffron

Saffron is considered as a natural sexual enhancer - both for men and for women. At the same time Saffron is effective in depression and PMS. Since the saffron also contains strong anti-oxidant agents, it brings anti-inflammatory and cancer hostile characteristics with them. As the "little" bonus helps the appetite-suppressing saffron while losing weight. Saffron is therefore a real insider tip for everyone who wants to finally enjoy life.

Saffron regulates menstruation, promotes sleep, sedative (calming), stimulating (stimulating), tonic

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-saffron.html