Pleurolobus gangeticus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Genus: | Pleurolobus |
Species: | P. gangeticus |
Binomial name | |
Pleurolobus gangeticus (L.) J.St.-Hil. ex H.Ohashi & K.Ohashi | |
Synonyms [1] | |
List
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'Pleurolobus gangeticus is commonly known by the name salparni. It can be found throughout most parts of India and Himalayas.[ citation needed ]
Pleurolobus gangeticus is a small shrub. It can grow up to 2–4 feet tall.[ citation needed ] The leaves are simple and alternate. They have an oblong shape and pinnate venation. They tend to grow up to 15 cm in length and 5 cm in width. [2] The flowers have bilateral symmetry and are characterized for purple and white colors, and they have 3 petals. The inflorescence is indeterminate meaning that the growing flowers are on the top while the full flowers are on the lower part. The sexual reproductive system is hermaphroditic.
Pleurolobus gangeticus is found in places with partial shade or in the open, and very rarely in deep shade. It is native to tropical Africa, Asia, and northern Australia. Its biome is typically anthropogenic habitats in the lowlands, under ever wet or seasonal conditions. This plant grows best in dry conditions with clayey loam soils that are alkaline and moderately calcareous. The plant also uses pollinator such as bees and is frequently grazed by cattle which aids with seed dispersal. The plant spreads its seed through the small hairs on the seedpods that readily cling to human skin and clothing as well as other animals’ fur and feathers. This ensures that the seed gets maximum dispersal. Due to this method the plant is considered an invasive weed in some habitats. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria; these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. One fungal parasite has been recorded on this species from India (Synchytrium desmodiicola), most seedlings come up in July after the first few showers and flowering and fruiting take place from October to February.[ citation needed ]
Medically, the plant has many benefits. A medicine made from the leaves of the plant can be used to prevent and treat stones in the gall bladder, kidneys or bladder. The leaves can also be made into a moist ointment to mend headaches. The plant is deemed to restore proper functioning of the body by increasing health and vitality, supporting the structure of organ tissue, reduce fever and cough, and support digestion. The root of the plant can be used for toothache pain in addition to cleaning wounds and ulcers with a decoction. Effective use of the medicine is from both external and internal use.[ citation needed ] The entirety of the plant is classified as an anthelmintic which means it can be used to remove parasitic worms and other internal parasites.[ citation needed ]
The Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey Locust), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey locust trees are highly adaptable to different environments, and the species has been introduced worldwide. Outside its natural range it can be an aggressive, damaging invasive species.
Robinia pseudoacacia, commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is native to a few small areas of the United States, but it has been widely planted and naturalized elsewhere in temperate North America, Europe, Southern Africa and Asia and is considered an invasive species in some areas, such as the temperate east coast of Australia where the cultivar 'Frisia'(Golden Robinia) was widely planted as a street tree before being classed as a weed. Another common name is false acacia, a literal translation of the specific name.
Aegopodium podagraria, commonly called ground elder, is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae that grows in shady places. The name "ground elder" comes from the superficial similarity of its leaves and flowers to those of elder (Sambucus), which is not closely related. Other common names include herb gerard, bishop's weed, goutweed, gout wort, snow-in-the-mountain, English masterwort and wild masterwort. It is the type species of the genus Aegopodium. It is native to Europe and Asia, but has been introduced around the world as an ornamental plant, where it occasionally poses an ecological threat as an invasive exotic plant.
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name royal poinciana, flamboyant, phoenix flower, flame of the forest, or flame tree.
Lobularia maritima is a species of low-growing flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. Its common name is sweet alyssum or sweet alison, also commonly referred to as just alyssum.
Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The fruit is edible and sometimes known as hala fruit.
Asclepias incarnata, the swamp milkweed, rose milkweed, rose milkflower, swamp silkweed, or white Indian hemp, is a herbaceous perennial plant species native to North America. It grows in damp through wet soils and also is cultivated as a garden plant for its flowers, which attract butterflies and other pollinators with nectar. Like most other milkweeds, it has latex containing toxic chemicals, a characteristic that repels insects and other herbivorous animals.
Adenostoma fasciculatum, commonly known as chamise or greasewood, is a flowering plant native to California and Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the California chaparral ecoregion. Chamise produces a specialized lignotuber underground and at the base of the stem, known as a burl, that allow it to resprout after fire has off burned its stems. It is noted for its greasy, resinous foliage, and its status as one of California's most iconic chaparral shrubs.
Vaccinium ovatum is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry, cynamoka berry and California huckleberry. Vaccinium ovatum is classified in phylum: Magnoliaphyta, order: Ericales, family: Ericaceae, genus: Vaccinium, and species: ovatum.
Cornus amomum, the silky dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to the southern Ontario and eastern United States, from Michigan and Vermont south to Alabama and Florida. Other names include red willow, silky cornel, kinnikinnick, and squawbush.
Emilia sonchifolia, also known as lilac tasselflower or cupid's shaving brush, is a tropical flowering species of tasselflower in the sunflower family. It is widespread in tropical regions around the world, apparently native to Asia and naturalized in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and various oceanic islands.
Inga edulis, known as ice-cream bean, ice-cream-bean, joaquiniquil, cuaniquilguama or guaba, is a fruit native to South America. It is in the mimosoid tribe of the legume family Fabaceae. It is widely grown, especially by Indigenous Amazonians, for shade, food, timber, medicine, and production of the alcoholic beverage cachiri. It is popular in Peru, Ecuador, Pernambuco-Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana and Colombia. The taxonomic name Inga is derived from its name with the Tupí people of South America (ingá) while the species name edulis is Latin for "edible". The common name "ice-cream bean" alludes to the sweet flavor and smooth texture of the pulp.
Milicia excelsa is a tree species from the genus Milicia of the family Moraceae. Distributed across tropical Central Africa, it is one of two species yielding timber commonly known as African teak, iroko, intule, kambala, moreira, mvule, odum and tule.
Atriplex hymenelytra, the desert holly, is silvery-whitish-gray shrub in the family Amaranthaceae, native to deserts of the southwestern United States. It is the most drought tolerant saltbush in North America. It can tolerate the hottest and driest sites in Death Valley, and remains active most of the year.
Lindera melissifolia, common name pondberry or southern spicebush, is a stoloniferous, deciduous, aromatic shrub in the laurel family. This endangered species is native to the southeastern United States, and its demise is associated with habitat loss from extensive drainage of wetlands for agriculture and forestry. Restoration efforts are currently being conducted.
Gahnia grandis is a tussock-forming perennial plant found in southeastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Platypodium elegans, the graceful platypodium, is a large leguminous tree found in the Neotropics that forms part of the forest canopy. It was first described by Julius Rudolph Theodor Vogel in 1837 and is the type species of the genus. The tree has been known to grow up to 30 metres in height and have a trunk with a diameter up to 1 m at breast height. Its trunk has large holes in it, sometimes making it possible to see through the trunk. The holes provide a habitat for giant damselflies and other insects both when alive and once the tree has died and fallen over. It has compound leaves each of which is made up of 10–20 leaflets. Three new chemical compounds have been isolated from the leaves and they form part of the diet of several monkeys and the squirrel Sciurus ingrami. In Panama it flowers from April to June, the flowers contain only four ovules, but normally only one of these reaches maturity forming a winged seed pod around 10 cm long and weighing 2 g. During the dry season around a year after the flowers are fertilised, the seeds are dispersed by the wind and the tree loses it leaves. The seeds are eaten by agoutis and by bruchid beetle larvae. The majority of seedlings are killed by damping off fungi in the first few months of growth, with seedlings that grow nearer the parent trees being more likely to die. The seedlings are relatively unable to survive in deep shade compared to other species in the same habitat. Various epiphytes are known to grow on P. elegans with the cactus Epiphyllum phyllanthus being the most abundant in Panama. Despite having holes in its trunk which should encourage debris and seeds to collect, hemiepiphytes are relatively uncommon, meaning that animals are not attracted to it to feed and then defecate. It has no known uses in traditional medicine and although it can be used for timber, the wood is of poor quality.
Desmodium illinoense, the Illinois ticktrefoil, is a flowering plant in the bean family (Fabaceae), native to the central United States and Ontario, Canada. Illinois ticktrefoil grows in sunny places, such as prairies and oak savannas of the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions.
Scutellaria mexicana, commonly known by variants on bladder sage or paperbag bush, is a shrub of the mint family Lamiaceae distinctive for its calyx lobes that develop into small bag- or bladder-like shells around the fruits.
Solanum laciniatum a soft-wooded shrub native to the east coast of Australia, notably Victoria and Tasmania. It also occurs in Western Australia and New Zealand, where some authorities consider it to be introduced. It is similar to Solanum aviculare, with which it shares the common name kangaroo apple. The common name refers to the likeness of the leaf shape to a kangaroo paw print. This plant is currently being cultivated to produce corticosteroid drugs.