Family • Gentianaceae - Canscora diffusa (Vahl) R. Br. - Pu di chuan xin cao Scientific names Canscora diffusa (Vahl) R. Br. Canscora decurrens Dalzell Exacum diffusum Willd. Cobamba dichotoma Blanco Gentiana diffusa Vahl Common names Chang-bato (Tag.) Kobamba (Tag.) Maliñgal (Tag.) Other vernacular names BENGALI: Dhankuni. CHINESE: Pu di chuan xin cao. HINDI: Bhuin neem. MALAYALAM: Jeerakapullu. MARATHI: Kilwar. SANSKRIT: Sankhapushpi. Botany Chang-bato is a slender, much-branched, erect, smooth, annual herb, 10 to 50 centimeters high, with four-angled stems. Leaves are opposite and very thin; the lowers ones are lanceolate, 4 to 7 centimeters long, and pointed at both ends; the upper leaves are much smaller and ovate, gradually merging into bracts. Flowers are slender stalks, about 1 centimeter in length, borne in lax, diffuse panicles. Calyx is 5 to 6 millimeters long, with slender teeth. Corolla is white and has four lobes, 2 of which are longer than the others. Fruit is an oblong capsule, and as long as the calyx. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Dichotosin and dichotosinin, two adaptogenic glucosyloxy flavans from Hoppea dichotoma / Phytochemistry, Volume 24, Issue 4, 1985, Pages 831-833 / doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)84903-1 (2) Kilwar / Common names / Flowers of India (3) Canscora diffusa / Common names / India Biodiversity Portal (4) Screening of Indian Plant Extracts for Antibacterial Activity / Yogesh Mahida and J.S.S. Mohan / Pharmaceutical Biology, 2006, Vol. 44, No. 8 , Pages 627-631 / doi/abs/10.1080/13880200600897551 (5) Review: Herbs Used for Brain Disorders / Sandhya S*, Vinod KR, Sravan Kumar / HYGEIA. J .D.MED, Vol.2, No.1,38-45 March-Aug, 2010 (6) [...]

Family • Araceae - Caladium bicolor (Ait.) Vent. - HEART OF JESUS - Wu cai yu Scientific names Caladium bicolor name Linn. Caladium regale Lem Caladium surinamense Miq. Caladium x hortulanum Birdsey ? Arum bicolor Ait. Common names Linsang pula (Bik.) Corazon de Maria (Span.) Angel wings (Engl.) Common caladium (Engl.) Fancy-leaf caladium (Engl.) Fancy-leaved elephant's ear (Engl.) Heart of Jesus (Engl.) Mother-in-law plant (Engl.) Wu cai yu (Chin.) Other vernacular names CHAMORRO: Corazon de Santa Maria. CHINESE: Hua ye yu, Cai ye yu (as C. hortulanum) FRENCH: caladium du Brésil, palette de peintre. INDONESIA: Keladi berwama, Keladi hias. MALAY: Keladi. HAWAIIAN: Kalo kalakoa. NIUEAN: Talotalo. SAMOAN: Lau talotalo, Talo, Talo teu fale. SPANISH: Corazon de Jesus. TAHITIAN: Taro purepure. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Sorting Caladium names / Maintained by: Michel H. Porcher / MULTILINGUAL MULTISCRIPT PLANT NAME DATABASE / A Work in Progress / Copyright © 1997 - 2000 The University of Melbourne. (2) Caladium bicolor / Vernacular names and synonyms / GLOBinMED (3) Survey of medicinal plants used in the region Northeast of Brazil / Maria de Fátima Agra,* Kiriaki Nurit Silva, Ionaldo José Lima Diniz Basílio, Patrícia, França de Freitas, José Maria Barbosa-Filho / Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy 18(3): 472-508, Jul./Set. 2008 (4) Ethno-Veterinary Practices of India with Particular Reference to Use of Plant Bio Resources in Animal Health Care / C Varshneya (5) Caladium bicolor / Common names / PIER Botany Corazon de Maria is a long-lived perennial herb arising from a fleshy, roundish, underground stem (corm). Leaves have an elongated stalk and a heart-shaped [...]

Family • Euphorbiaceae - Acalypha hispida Burm. F - RED CAT'S TAIL Scientific names Acalypha hispida Burm. F Acalypha sanderi N. E. Br. Acalypha sanderi K. Schum. Ricinocarpus hispidus (Burm. f.) Kuntze Other vernacular names VIETNAMESE: Tai turong duoi chon, Tai turong xanh. MALAYSIA: Ekor kucing. Common names Buntot-pusa (Tag.) Chenille plant (Engl.) Monkey tail (Engl.) Philippine medusa (Engl.) Red cat's tail (Engl.) Red-hot cat tail (Engl.) Botany Acalypha hispida is a shrub growing to a height of 1-3meters. Leaves are alternate, petioled 2-11 cm long, broad-ovate, bright green atop, pale green underneath, with crenulate-serrate margins. Inflorescence is axillary, solitary, in long pendant spikes, up to 15-40 cm long. Flowers are small and bright red. Distribution Popular garden cultivation for its decorative red catkins. Constituents - Phytochemical screening yielded flavonoids, carbohydrates, phenols and alkaloids. - Plant has yielded gallic acid, corilagin, cycloartane-type triterpenoids, quercetin and kaempferol derivatives. - Leaves yielded kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside. - Phytochemical screening of hexane extract (non-polar fraction) of leaves and twigs yielded flavonoids, carbohydrates, phenols, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, proteins, and alkaloids, with an absence of tannins, sterols and saponins. (see study below) - Proximate composition of leaves showed moisture (11.02%), crude fate (6.15%), ash (10.32%), crude protein (13.78%), crude fiber (10.25%) and carbohydrate (44.48%). Aqueous and methanolic extracts of leaves yielded phenolics, flavonoids, hydroxyanthraquinones, saponins, steroids, and phlobatannins. Properties  - Diuretic, emollient, expectorant and laxative. - Studies suggest antidiarrheal, anti-leishmanial, antioxidant, trypanocidal properties. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Antimicrobial constituents of the leaves of Acalypha wilkesiana and Acalypha hispida / S K Adesina et [...]

Family • Euphorbiaceae - Euphorbia milli Desmoul - CROWN OF THORNS Other scientific names Euphorbia splendens Bojer Common names Corona de espina (Span.) Crown of thorns (Engl.) Botany Erect and branched shrub growing up to a meter high, with cylindric or obscurely angled branches lined with stiff, slender, divergent spines. Leaves are few, alternate, pale green, oblong-obovate, or short acuminate, up to 5 cm long. Inflorescences arise from the upper leaf axils and is peduncled with 2-4 involucres in each peduncle, each involucre with 2 spreading red kidney-shaped lobes. Distribution Widely cultivated in settled areas in the Philippines. Native to Madagascar. Parts used Flowers, latex. Uses Folkloric No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines. • Popular use in South Brazil as "dragon's blood," the red latex from Christ's crown Euphorbia milli (Euphorbiaceae) as a treatment for warts. source • In Chinese folk medicine, euphorbia compounds used in cancer treatment. Study Findings • Antibacterial: In a study of 41 plants tested against E coli, Shigella spp, and Vibrios spp among others, Euphorbia milli was one of 28 that showed antibacterial activity. • Aspergillus Inhibition: Dry flower powder of Euphorbia milli was found to have 100% total inhibition on aflatoxin-producing fungi on agar-medium. The effect may be due to the interference of the simple phenols and phenolic acids, quinones, flavones, flavonoids and flavanols, possibly at the biosynthetic level. This may find application in the elimination or control of aflatoxin contamination of foodstuffs, as well as controlling aspergillosis, a large spectrum of disease caused by members of genus Aspergillus. • Mollusicidal / Non-Teratogenic: Study [...]

Family • Sapotaceae - Achras zapota Linn. - CHIKU TREE - Ren xin guo Scientific names Achras zapota Linn. Achras mammosa L., non. illeg. Achras zapotilla (Jacq.) Nutt. Sapota achras Mill. Sapota zapotilla Coville Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg Manilkara zapota (Linn.) van Royen Common names Chico (Tag.) Chico sapote (Engl.) Chicle (Engl.) Chiku tree (Engl.) Naseberry (Engl.) Sapodilla (Engl.) Sapodilla plum (Engl.) Other vernacular names CHINESE: Ren xin guo. FRENCH: Nèfle d'Amérique, Sapote, Sapotier, Sapotillier. GERMAN: Breiapfel, Breiapfelbaum, Kaugummibaum , Sapote, Sapotille, Sapotillbaum. JAPANESE: Sabojira, Sapojira. KHMER: Lomut. KOREAN: Kkom na mu. LAOTIAN: Lamud. MALAY: Ciku, Sawo londo (Indonesia), Sawo manila (Indonesia). NEPALESE: Gudalu, Saapotaa. SPANISH: Níspero, Sapote (Latin America), Zapote, Zapotillo. THAI: Lámút farang VIETNAMESE: Hông xiêm, Hong xuan dinh, Xabôchê. Botany Chico is a much-branched tree growing to a height of 8 meters. Leaves are oblong to narrowly oblong-obovate, 8 to 13 centimeters in length, pointed at both ends. Flowers are hairy outside, 6 to 8 millimeters long and 6-parted. Fruit is brown, fleshy, ovoid to round, 3 to 8 centimeters long, containing 5 or more shiny blackish-brown seeds. Fleshy is brown, soft, slightly gritty, sweet, and very agreeable in flavor. Distribution - Cultivated in most parts of the Philippines. - Introduced from tropical America in the early colonial period. - Cultivated in the tropics. Constituents - Leaves contain a bitter principle alkaloid, sapotin 0.076%, fixed oil 1.45%, etc. - Fruit also yields sapotin, 0.013%. - Seeds yield sapotin, saponin, achrassaponin, an alkaloid, fixed-oil 16-23%, the bitter principle, sapotinine 0.08%, etc. - Bark contains sapotin, saponin, and tannin [...]

Family • Moraceae - Ficus pumila L. - P'i-li - CLIMBING FIG Scientific names Ficus repens Hort. Ficus pumila L. Common names Creeping fig (Engl.) Climbing fig (Engl.) Creeping rubber plant (Engl.) Fig ivy (Engl.) P'i-li (Chin.) Mu-lien / wood lotus (Chin.) Botany Creeping fig is a prostrate or climbing shrub; when young, flattened, creeping and clinging close to adobe walls, woods, etc., and ascending when old with ultimate branches 30 - 80 cm long. Leaves are more or less two-ranked, on very short petioles, ovate, 1.5 to 3 cm long with obtuse tip, round or heart-shaped based and with entire or slightly wavy margins. Leaves on the erect branches are very much larger, oblong, 5 to 10 cm long and on long petioles. Pedicels are axillary, 2.5 to 4 cm in diameter. Flowers are minute, unisexual, arranged inside a fleshy receptacle called syconium. Syconium are bell-shaped, 2.5 to 4 cm in diameter. Fruits are achenes, borne in the axils of leaves, somewhat pear-shaped, 4 to 6 cm long. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Three new sesquiterpenoid glucosides of Ficus pumila fruit / Chemical & pharmaceutical bulletin / 2000-Jan; vol 48 (issue 1) : pp 77-80 (2) Chinese Medicinal Herbs / Shizhen Li, Porter Smith, G. A. Stuart (3) Bioactive furanocoumarin derivatives from Ficus pumila / Juan E A et al / Philippine Journal of Science Distribution Grown widely as an ornamental plant or creeper; vigorously growing on adobe and concrete walls. Parts utilized · Stem, leaves and fruits. · Stem and leaves: Collect year [...]

Family • Convulvulaceae - Quamoclit pennata Desr. - CYPRESS VINE - Niao luo Scientific names Convolvulus pennatus Desr. Ipomoea quamoclit Linn. Quamoclit cardinalis Quamoclit vulgaris Perr. Quamoclit pennata (Desr.) Bojer Common names Agau (Tag.) Tartaraok (Ilk.) Cabello de angel (Span.) Tentenedor (Ilk.) Lumpitan (Mag.) Star of Bethlehem (Engl.) Malabukbok (Tag.) Cardinal climber (Engl.) Malmarama (C. Bis.) Cupid's flower (Engl.) Piros-piros (C. Bis.) Cypress vine (Engl.) Sailatan (Sul.) Indian pink (Engl.) Silauak-an-kambing (Sul.) Star glory (Engl.) Other vercular names BENGALI: naKunja lota. CHINESE: Niao luo. HINDI: Kamlata. MALAYALAM: Suriyakanthi. MARATHI: Vishnukranti. TAMIL: Mayilmannikkam, Kembumalligai. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Components of Ether-Insoluble Resin Glycoside (Convolvulin) from Seeds of Quamoclit pennata / Ono Masateru et al / Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin; ISSN:0009-2363; VOL.58; NO.5; PAGE.666-672; (2010) (2) Cypress Vine / Common names / Flowers of India (3) Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities screening of some Brazilian medicinal plants used in Governador Valadares district / Beatriz Gonçalves Brasileiro1, Virgínia Ramos Pizziolo, Délio Soares Raslan, Claudia Mashrouah Jamal, Dâmaris Silveira / Brazilian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Vol. 42, n. 2, abr./jun., 2006 (4) Traditional remedies of Kani tribes of Kottor reserve forestm Agasthyavanam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala / Arun Vijayan, Liju V B, Reena John JV, Parthipan B & Renuka C / Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol 6(4), Oct 2007, Pp 589-594. Botany Cabello de angel is a slender, twining, smooth vine growing 4 to 6 meters or more. Leaves are ovate, 4 to 7 centimeters long, dark green, and pinnately divided into numerous, linear, distant segments. Cymes are axillary, containing few, erect flowers; the peduncles are 4 to [...]

Family • Sapotaceae - Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merr. - MARMALADE PLUM - Ren xin guo Scientific names Calocarpum sapota (Jacq.) Merr. Achras mammosa Linn. Achras tchicomame Perr. Lucuma mammosa Gaertn. f. Vitellaria mammosa Radlk. Calospermum mammosum Pierre Calocarpum mammosum Pierre Achradelpha mammosa O. F. Cook Pouteria mammosa (L.) Cronquist Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) HE Moore & Stearn Common names Chico-mamei (Tag.) Mamei (Tag.) Sapote (Span.) Zapote (Span.) Mamey (Engl.) Mamey sapote (Engl.) Marmalade fruit (Engl.) Marmalade plum (Engl.) Ren xin guo (Chin.) Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Genus Pouteria: Chemistry and biological activity / Cintia A M Silva, Luiz A Simeoni, Damaris Silveira / Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy, 19(2A): 501-509, Abr./Jun. 2009 (2) Constitution of Lucumin and Its Related Glycosides from Calocarpum sapota MERRILL / Takeda Tadahiro, Gonda Ryoko and Hatano Keiichiro / Chemical & pharmaceutical bulletin 45(4), 697-699, 1997-04-15 (3) Analysis of Polyphenolic Antioxidants from the Fruits of Three Pouteria Species by Selected Ion Monitoring Liquid Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry / Jun Ma, Hui Yang et al / J. Agric. Food Chem., 2004, 52 (19), pp 5873-5878 / DOI: 10.1021/jf049950k Botany Chico-mamei is a large tree with a thick trunk and stout branches, growing to a height of 15 meters. Leaves are clustered toward the ends of the branchlets, oblanceolate, 12 to 30 centimeters long, 4 to 7 centimeters wide, smooth, light green above, pale brownish beneath, and pointed at both ends. Flowers are white, 6 to 12 in the axils of fallen leaves, and measures 10 to 12 millimeters across. Sepals are ten, densely imbricated in several series. Corolla has five lobes. Fruit [...]

Family • Bignoniaceae - Crescentia cujete Linn. - CALABASH TREE - Hu lu shu Scientific names Crescentia cuneiflora Gardn. Crescentia cujete Linn. Common names Ayale (Engl.) Cujete (Span., Tag.) Calabash tree (Engl.) Kalebas (Engl.) Other vernacular names CHINESE: Hu lu shu. DUTCH: Kalebasboom. FRENCH: Calebassier. GERMAN: Kalebassenbaum. ITALIAN: Calebassa Guiana, Icara. PANAMANIAN: Totumo. PORTUGUESE: Coité, Cuieira, Cuité, Cujeté. SPANISH: Calabacero, Crescencia, Guacal, Guiro, Jicara, Morro, Cujete. Botany Cujete is a smooth, much-branched tree growing to a height of 4 to 5 meters. Branches are arching with close-set clusters of leaves. Leaves are alternate, often fascicled at the nodes, oblanceolate, 5 to 17 centimeters long, glossy at the upper surface, blunt at the tip and narrowed at the base. Flowers develop from the buds that grow from the main trunk, yellowish and sometimes veined with purple, with a slightly foetid odor, occurring singly or in pairs at the leaf axils, stalked and about 6 centimeters long, and opens in the evening. Calyx is about 2 centimeters long, and split into two lobes. Fruit is short-stemmed, rounded, oval or oblong, green or purplish, 15 to 20 centimeters in diameter. Distribution - Occasionally cultivated for ornamental purposes. - Recently introduced from tropical America. Additional Sources and Suggested Readings (1) Bioactive furanonaphthoquinones from Crescentia cujete / (2) Uses of medicinal plants by Haitian immigrants and their descendants in the Province of Camagüey, Cuba./ J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009 May 18;5:16 (3) The Calabash (Crescentia cujete) in Folk Medicine / Julia F Morton / © 1968 New York Botanical Garden Press. [...]

Family • Polygonaceae - Antigonon leptopus Hook. & Arn. - CORAL VINE Scientific names Antigonon leptopus Hook. & Arn. A. cinerascens M. Martens & Galleotti A. cordatum M. Martens & Galleotti A. platypus Hook. & Arn. Martens Corculum leptopum (H & A) Stuntz Other vernacular names BENGALI: Anantalata. SPANISH: Bellisima. TAMIL: Kodi rose. Common names Cadena-de-amor (Span., Tag.) Bride's tears (Engl.) Chain of love (Engl.) Coral creeper (Engl.) Coral vine (Engl.) Chinese love vine (Engl.) Coralila, coralita (jamaica) Hearts on a chain (Engl.) Love vine (Engl.) Quuen's wreath (Engl.) Botany Cadena-de-amor is a climbing, somewhat woody, perennial vine, with stems attaining a length of 10 meters. Leaves are alternate, ovate to oblong-ovate, with cordate base, serrate margins, up to 10 centimeters long. Flowers are borne in racemes at the upper axils of the terminal parts of the branches, the rachis of the racemes producing tendrils. Flowers are white or pale to deep pink, up to 2 centimeters long, with 5-parted and persistent perianth. Fruit is an ovoid achene, about 1 centimeters long, broad at the base, narrowing towards the tip, loosely surrounded by the persistent lobes of the flower. Distribution  - Widespread in the Philippines. - Usually cultivated in gardens. - Some have escaped cultivation to become noxious weeds. Propagated by seeds or cuttings. - Native to Mexico. - Found in tropical Asia, Africa, Caribbean and the Americas. Constituents  - Phytochemical screening of plants flowers extracts yielded alkaloids, quinines, resins, tannins, fixed oils, flavonoids, fats, saponins phenolic compounds, proteins, and carboxylic acids. - Screening of [...]