Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a strong odor obtained from a gland of the musk deer. The substance has been used as a popular perfume fixative since ancient times and is one of the most expensive animal products in the world. The name originates from the Late Greek μόσχος 'moskhos', from Persian mushk and Sanskrit मुष्क muṣka derived from Proto-Indo-European noun múh₂s meaning "mouse". The deer gland was thought to resemble a scrotum. It is applied to various plants and animals of similar smell and has come to encompass a wide variety of aromatic substances with similar odors, despite their often differing chemical structures and molecular shapes.
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus. It is also the national flower of The Bahamas
Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian times evolved into today's marshmallow treat, but most modern marshmallow treats no longer contain any marsh-mallow root.
Malva is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Europe.
Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus, known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family native to East Africa. It has edible green seed pods. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the world, okra is used in the cuisines of many countries.
Abelmoschus is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae), native to tropical Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It was formerly included within Hibiscus, but is now classified as a distinct genus. The genus name derives from Arabic meaning 'father of musk' or 'source of musk' referring to the scented seeds.
August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof was a German miniature painter, naturalist and entomologist. With his accurate, heavily detailed images of insects he was recognised as an important figure in modern entomology.
Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies, but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation. Common names for this species include poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of Barbados, flos pavonis, and flamboyant-de-jardin. The Hawaiian name for this plant is ʻohai aliʻi.
Maria Sibylla Merian was a German entomologist, naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to document observations about insects directly. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Merian family.
Thysania agrippina is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Maria Sibylla Merian in her 1705 publication Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, and Pieter Cramer provided the formal description of the species in 1776. The most commonly accepted English name is the white witch. Other common names include the ghost moth, great gray witch and great owlet moth. Thysania agrippina is of interest as a competitor for title of "largest insect". This may be true by the measure of wingspan—a Brazilian specimen with a wingspan of almost 30 cm (12 in) appears to hold the record. The Atlas moth and Hercules moth, however, have greater wing areas. The white witch occurs from Uruguay to Mexico, and appears as a stray as far north as Texas in the U.S. Collection dates shows no discernible pattern with respect to location or season.
Lloyd Library and Museum is an independent research library located in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Its core subject and collection focus is medicinal plants, with emphasis on botany, pharmacy, natural history, alternative medicine, and the history of medicine and science.
Abelmoschus manihot, commonly known as aibika, is a flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is a tropical subshrub or shrub native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, central and southern China, Malesia, New Guinea, and Queensland. It is cultivated and eaten as a leaf vegetable, among other uses. It was previously classified as a species of Hibiscus but is now categorized under the genus Abelmoschus. This plant is also referred to as the sunset muskmallow, sunset hibiscus, or hibiscus manihot.
Abelmoschus caillei, the West African okra, is a plant species in the family Malvaceae. It occurs in humid areas of West and Central Africa, where it is used as a vegetable. It originated as an allopolyploid hybrid of Abelmoschus esculentus and A. manihot, and is often mistaken for either of those two plants. It was officially described elevated to the status of a species in 1988. The same hybrid was produced experimentally in Japan where it is known as Abelmoschus glutino-textile.
Caspar Commelijn or Caspar Commelin, was a Dutch botanist.
Abelmoschus ficulneus is a species of flowering plant in the genus Abelmoschus, family Malvaceae. Commonly known as white wild musk mallow or native rosella, it is fibrous perennial with a woody stem. Its flowers are about an inch in diameter, either pink or white, with a rose center; its leaves are palmate.
Mexican tea culture is known for its traditional herbal teas which are reputed to have medicinal properties. In recent decades, imported tea beverages have also become popular in Mexico. Mexican tea recipes have grown in popularity beyond Mexico as well.
Dominican tea culture combines many customs adapted from various colonial and immigrant cultures that have mingled in Dominica. "Bush teas", made from local herbal plants and often taken for medicinal purposes, are a traditional part of Dominica's culture.
Musa × paradisiaca is a species as well as a cultivar, originating as the hybrid between Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, cultivated and domesticated by human very early. Most cultivated bananas and plantains are polyploid cultivars either of this hybrid or of M. acuminata alone. Linnaeus originally used the name M. paradisiaca only for plantains or cooking bananas, but the modern usage includes hybrid cultivars used both for cooking and as dessert bananas. Linnaeus's name for dessert bananas, Musa sapientum, is thus a synonym of Musa × paradisiaca.
Dysdercus cingulatus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton-staining fungi as they do so.
The medical ethnobotany of India is the study of Indian medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Plants have been used in the Indian subcontinent for treatment of disease and health maintenance for thousands of years, and remain important staples of health and folk medicine for millions. Indians today utilize plants for both primary medical care and as supplementary treatment alongside modern medical science. It is estimated that 70% of rural Indians use traditional plant based remedies for primary healthcare needs. This reliance of plants for medicine is consistent with trends widely observed in the developing world, where between 65% and 80% of people use medicinal plant remedies.
