Indian
medicinal plants are being used to cure diseases, since several millennia.
These plants are grown throughout the Indian subcontinent. They are significant
parts of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is one of the most popular codified medical
traditions in India. This treatment method traces its origins to the Vedic
ages. Numerous Indian medicinal plants are mentioned in the Vedic texts.
Besides Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicinal practices
use several medicinal plants to prepare medicines. Whilst most of the medicinal
plants are native to India, some have their origin in foreign countries. The
probable trade taking place during the existence of ancient civilizations and
the arrival of the Europeans, paved the way for medicinal plants in India.
Some
important Indian medicinal plants are:
Ashoka Tree: Ashoka tree is one of the sacred
trees of the Hindus as well as the Buddhists. The astringent bark is reported
to have a stimulating effect on the endometrial and ovarian tissue, and is
useful for treating menstrual pain and menorrhagia due to uterine fibroids,
leucorrhoea, and internal bleeding, hemorrhoids and hemorrhagic dysentery. In
Ayurveda ashoka tree is used for treating dyspepsia, other diseases of the
blood, biliousness, tumours, abdominal enlargement, colic, piles, ulcers and
bone fractures.
Sundari Tree: Sundari Local name of the dominant plant species,
Heritiera fomes, of the family Sterculiaceae, in the Sundarbans, the mangrove
forests of the southern districts. The species is distributed up to about 70
per cent of the forest. Sundari
Tree is a large tree with wing shaped nuts, which is most easily recognised by
the silvery scales on the underside of its leaves. Scientifically known as
Heritiera littoralis, it is commonly called the Sundari tree in both Hindi and
Bengali language.
Orchid Tree: Orchid tree or Raktakanchan is a small, usually evergreen,
ornamental tree. The tree looks strikingly beautiful when in bloom which
continues for several months. The medicinal properties of Raktachandan or Orchid
tree have made it precious among the medicinal plants and it is used hugely by
the people of India for treating various diseases. Indian Postal Department had
also issued a postal stamp to commemorate this tree.
Badam Tree: The almond is a deciduous tree growing to 4–12.2 metres
(13–40 feet) in height,with a trunk of up to 30 centimetres (12 inches) in
diameter. The young twigs are green at first, becoming purplish where exposed
to sunlight, then gray in their second year. The leaves are 8–13 cm (3–5 in)
long, with a serrated margin and a 2.5 cm (1 in) petiole.
Jasmine Tree: Jasmines are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Eurasia,
Africa, Australasia and Oceania, although only one of the 200 species is native
to Europe. Their center of diversity is in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Several jasmine species have become naturalized in Mediterranean Europe. For
example, the so-called Spanish jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum) was originally
from West Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Northeast Africa, and East Africa, and
is now naturalized in the Iberian peninsula
Matchstick Tree : A. macrophylla (Matchstick Tree) is a fast-growing,
medium-size (30-40 m tall) tree with a wide distribution in south Asia, where
it is also planted. Its wood is pale yellow-white, soft, light, easy to work
and has a wavy, attractive figure; it is durable and moderately resistant to
attack by boring insects. The wood is used as a general-purpose construction
material for window frames, doors, panelling, ceiling boards, packing cases and
chests, for transmission poles, and for matchstick and plywood manufacture. The
alkaloids in A. macrophylla are used for treating dysentery and also have
pesticidal properties. Alkaloidal content is highest in the stem bark and
lowest in the leaves.
Musket Tree:
Mesquite, (genus Prosopis), genus of spiny deep-rooted shrubs or small trees in
the pea family (Fabaceae). They form extensive thickets in areas from South
America into the southwestern United States. They are considered pests and have
been eradicated in some places. The wood of the mesquite, formerly used in
railroad ties, is of limited economic value, though it is useful for unusual
furniture and for aromatic firewood.
Thorny staff
tree: Thorny shrubs are considered as an important driver in the
natural development of temperate forest structures, particularly in European
lowland forests. We assessed the current role of thorny shrubs in the
regeneration of deciduous tree species under heavy browsing pressure in a
central European temperate forested landscape. The study’s military training
area offered a unique opportunity to investigate the processes in which
deciduous tree seedlings grew under thorny shrubs and in the close vicinity of
thorny shrubs in a landscape with a high density of large herbivores (red deer and sika deer).
Oriental Cashew Tree: The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale)
is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus Anacardium
that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree
can grow as tall as 14 metres (46 feet), but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to
6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields.
The cashew seed is commonly considered a snack nut (cashew nut) eaten on its
own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter.Like the
tree, the nut is often simply called a cashew. Cashew allergies are triggered
by the proteins found in tree nuts, and cooking often does not remove or change
these proteins.
Nasinda Tree: Vitex negundo, commonly known as the
Chinese chaste tree, five-leaved chaste tree, or horseshoe vitex, or nisinda is
a large aromatic shrub with quadrangular, densely whitish, tomentose
branchlets. It is widely used in folk medicine, particularly in South and
Southeast Asia.Vitex negundo is an erect shrub or small tree growing from 2 to
8 m (6.6 to 26.2 ft) in height. The bark is reddish brown. Its leaves are
digitate, with five lanceolate leaflets, sometimes three. Each leaflet is
around 4 to 10 cm (1.6 to 3.9 in) in length, with the central leaflet being the
largest and possessing a stalk. The leaf edges are toothed or serrated and the
bottom surface is covered in hair. The numerous flowers are borne in panicles
10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) in length. Each is around 6 to 7 cm (2.4 to 2.8 in)
long and are white to blue in color. The petals are of different lengths, with
the middle lower lobe being the
longest. Both the corolla and calyx are covered in dense hairs.
Sacred Trees of
South India: Sacred trees of south India are those trees, which are revered and
worshipped in southern part of the country. They hold immense religious
significance in the land of gods and goddesses called India. The worship of
trees in India can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization. The hymns
of the Vedas contain references to sacred trees and plants, on account of them
being associated with certain deities and also because of their potent
medicinal properties. This tradition continues till the present day in most
parts of India, including villages and urban centers in south India. Trees like
pipal and plants like tulsi are
worshipped on a daily basis by the citizens of India.
Sitaphal /
Custard Apple Tree: Custard apple is synonymous with the chilly weather in India, being
extensively used in desserts, such as kheers, milkshakes and ice creams, for
its intense sugary flavour. Moreover, this delightful winter fruit offers some
fabulous wellness incentives such as renewing skin texture, boosting vitality
and managing diabetes. Locally known as “Sitaphal” in Hindi and Telugu,
“Sharifa” in Punjabi and “Seethapazham” in Malayalam, the custard apple is also
called sugar apple, cherimoya or sweetsop. The scientific names for the
different varieties of this tasty fruit are Annona squamosa, Annona cherimola
and Annona reticulate.
