The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 114 genera and about 3,750 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.
Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 200 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae), native to Asia, Africa, Australia and various oceanic islands. A few species are edible as "famine foods" after careful preparation to remove irritating chemicals. The genus includes the Titan arum of Indonesia, which has the largest inflorescence of any plant in the genus, and is also known as the 'corpse flower' for the pungent odour it produces during its flowering period, which can take up to seven years of growth before it occurs.
Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. It is a wild relative of onion and garlic, all belonging to the same genus, Allium. There are two recognized subspecies: A. ursinum subsp. ursinum and A. ursinum subsp. ucrainicum.
Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant or split-leaf philodendron is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant.
Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae.
Anthurium is a genus of about 1,000 species of flowering plants, the largest genus of the arum family, Araceae. General common names include anthurium, tailflower, flamingo flower, pigtail plant, and laceleaf.
Arum maculatum, commonly known as cuckoopint, jack-in-the-pulpit and other names, is a woodland flowering plant species in the family Araceae. It is native across most of Europe, as well as Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.
Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine.
Arum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely related to the true lilies Lilium. Plants in closely related Zantedeschia are also called "arum lilies".
Arum italicum is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the family Araceae, also known as Italian arum and Italian lords-and-ladies. It is native to the British Isles and much of the Mediterranean region, the Caucasus, Canary Islands, Madeira and northern Africa. It is also naturalized in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Argentina, North Island New Zealand and scattered locations in North America.
Afzelia africana, the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a Myrmecophyte tree species in the family Fabaceae.
Traditional Brazilian medicine includes many native South American elements, and imported African ones. It is predominantly used in areas where indigenous groups and African descendants reside, like in the northeast coast, nearly all interior regions including Amazon regions, savannahs, rainforest, foothills, and Pantanal. According to Romulo R. N. Alves, "although Brazil's health system is public...use of traditional remedies and rituals provide an economical way of healing for much of the populace, but that also does not mean that wealthy Brazilians don't seek it out as well. Traditional medicine is a deep part of Brazilian heritage."
Salvia hierosolymitana is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is a herbaceous perennial commonly called Jerusalem salvia or Jerusalem sage that is native to the eastern Mediterranean, with populations in Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. It typically grows in open fields, rocky soils, and among low-growing native shrubs. It was first described in 1853 by botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier, with the epithet "hierosolymitana" referring to "royal, sacred Jerusalem".
Aechmea magdalenae is a flowering plant in the Bromeliaceae family. It is also known as ixtle. This species is native to Central America, southern Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador. The specific epithet magdalenae comes from the place it was discovered, the Rio Magdalenae Valley in Colombia. The long green leaves feature fierce spines and may reach about 2.5 meters tall. In nature, it is found in moist and swampy woods. The flowers are red and give way to edible fruits.
Tofieldia is a small genus of flowering plants described as a genus in 1778. It is widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America.
Axayacatl and its plural, āxaxayacatl are the two common names of pre-Hispanic origin used in Mexico to refer to species of aquatic insects in the family Corixidae, the eggs of which, ahuauhtli, deposited abundantly on rushes and flags in lakes and ponds, are collected and sold as a sort of Mexican caviar, as part of Aztec cuisine.
Alocasia cucullata is a species of flowering plant in the arum family known by the common names Chinese taro, Chinese ape, Buddha's hand, and hooded dwarf elephant ear. It is kept as an ornamental plant.
Allium trifurcatum is a plant species native to the Sichuan and Yunnan regions in southern China. It grows at elevations of 3000–4000 m. The Tibetan people of Shangri-La and nearby areas eat its scapes.
Linum strictum, commonly known as rigid flax, upright flax, and upright yellow flax, is a species of flax with a rigid stem, from whence it derives its taxonomic name, growing to a height of 10–45 cm. The plant is endemic to the Mediterranean region, as well as native to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Crimea, Albania, Portugal, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Transcaucasus, Saudi Arabia (Asir), Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, and northwest India. It features highly in classical Hebrew and Greek literature, owing principally to its cultivation for its plant fiber, linen, but also for its edible seeds and culinary foliage.
Wild edible plants in the regions of Israel and Palestine have been used to sustain life in periods of scarcity and famine, or else simply used as a supplementary food source for additional nourishment and pleasure. The diverse flora of Israel and Palestine offers a wide range of plants suitable for human consumption, many of which have a long history of usage in the daily cuisines of its native peoples.
