Sunday, 28 June 2015

Coleus aromaticus

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Coleus aromaticus - The Aromatic Indian Borage


The Aromatic Indian Borage is an evergreen shrub with upright shoots growing up to two or three feet tall. This plant has beautiful sculptured leaves. It is cultivated as a common garden plant throughout India. The leaves are strongly scented and are thick, fleshy and are toothed along the margins. The plant occasionally bears terminal spikes of small, blue,  bi-lipped flowers.

Coleus aromaticus

Its Botanical name is:- 'Coleus aromaticus'. It belongs to the family 'Labiate' to which common "Thulasi" (Ocimen sancturm) also belongs.

Other Regional Names:

Tamil:                          Karpuravalli

Malayalam:                  Panikkurukka

Kannada:                     Doddapatre

Hindi:                          Patharchur

Coleus aromaticus makes a very good garden plant for the households due to its evergreen foliage and scent. It is a must have medicinal garden plant. One plant maintained in a pot gives a lush green color to the entire garden itself..

In tamil it is called "Karpuravalli" or "Omavalli". In English, it is called ' Country Borage' or 'Indian Borage".

It can be easily propagated from stem cuttings with apical bud.

The plant requires medium water and medium sun light, but it can do well in shaddy places too. periodic trimming to maintain its shape. It is a hardy plant that needs only twice a week watering. Excessive watering may cause root rot.

Medicinal value:


The plant has wonderful medicinal value and is a must have herb for any medicinal garden.It is said that the venerable Tamil sage ' Aghasthiyar" first discovered the qualities of this herb. He recommended the herb for loosening, even rock - like "Kapha" (phlegm) in the chest.

As a home remedy, the leaves are used for clearing cold and cough. For cold and cough two leaves juice is taken and mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of honey and consumed.

Chewing up a leaf before food, aids in digestion.

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Use in AyurvedaLeaves are used in indigestion, cold, phlegm in the chest, for adults and children. Its use to relieve mucus, cold and associated fever is ancient

The herb improves appetite
It is good for treating kidney problems especially kidney stones.
Good for curing Asthma.
The juice of the leaves is applied on the affected part of the skin in cases of Insect bites, Allergic skin thickening itching and skin irritation
It is used in cooking in South America, Java, Indonesia and Philipines
The leaves, added with coconut, Dhal, Red chillies, Dhania leaves and curry leaves, make tasty chutney
To reduce 'Kapha' (mucus, phlegm) in the body, prepare a decoction by boiling the leaves in water. Add cardamom, cloves and a teaspoon of honey and take this twice a day for 3 days.

Saturday, 13 June 2015

Operculicarya decaryi

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Elephant Tree or Jabily Tree


Operculicarya Decaryi is a small tree native to South West Madagascar. This small tree belongs to the Family of Anacardiaceae. The most popular member of this family being the Cashew nut tree. This tree belongs to a peculiar kind of plants known as Caudiciform. Caudiciforms are plants that have a fat swollen stem. They are also known as pachycauls. Almost all Caudiciforms are succulents. They develop bulbous roots in which the food is stored for later use when needed. Most of these Caudiciforms have roots that are under the ground. O. decaryi is a small tree with thick stem and almost straight branches.

These types of plants are mostly seen in Southern Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian countries and hence they have become the principal exporters of these plant kinds. As the popularity increases for these plants, more home grown and produced plants have emerged.


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Operculicarya decaryi is commonly known as Elephant Tree or Jabily Tree. This is a perfect plant for bonsai. The plant is so beautiful and healthy that it is a great collector’s specimen. Operculicarya Decaryi grows quite fast and without any issues in the ground. It requires well drained soil, some water and plenty of sun. It grows very well from October to June and sheds all its leaves between July and September. The leaves are deep, shiny green except in the winter when they are deep red tp brown in colour. It can sometimes produce amazing twisted branches or roots. When grown on pots it requires continuous pruning as it grows quiet fast. It is one of the hardiest caudiciforms which can be grown well. It is easy to care and can be maintained in a 8" pot forever. The stem grows to a thick caudex of about 1 meter in diameter and reaches a height of about 9 meters in natural habitat. The flowers are deep red to brown in colour. The tree can be easily produced from seeds and cuttings.

O. pachypus is another species of the same genius which is a dwarf variety which is one meter high and 50 cms in diameter. This species has strong zig-zagged smooth branches and bears yellow green flowers.It is a sort of an expensive little tree, as it is mostly sold as a bonsai in a small, shallow pot.

Saturday, 6 June 2015

Crassula ovata

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The Jade Plant


Jade Plant is the most interesting plant that keeps me engaged. I love jade than any other house plant, as it grows very well in Chennai and it can be well grown in pot itself for many years. It gives a pretty bonsai look and is very easy to care. When you are busy, it understands and, withstands low or nil watering. It never blooms, but internet claims that it blooms.

Jade Plant - Crassula ovata


The members of the family Crassulaeceae are similarly large shrubs which are succulents. These are widely grown as common house plants. The other different names by which it is called are Chinese Jade, Jade Tree, Old Money Plant, Dollar Plant, Dollar Tree, etc,. All are the different varieties of Crassula ovata. Jade plants are popular because they are incredibly easy to grow. With proper care and time they make a fine specimen of bonsai trees also. In Chennai only one variety grows well. The other ones with large leaves and tube like leaves go off easily and are hardly seen.

The Jade plant is ideally suited for Bonsai, as it is compact and requires very little maintenance. With the tips to Bonsai a Jade Plant, you can make Jade Bomsai.

A Jade plant needs direct sunlight to grow well and a sunny position if placed on a window sill. At the same time, good air circulation and regular watering will help to avoid sun scorch on hot summer days. Watering is not required on excessive cold weather. A Jade plant should never be moved suddenly from a shady position to full sun. It needs to be slowly acclimatized as damage to the leaves is likely. If there is no enough sun then it will not be fleshy as it is a succulent. The leaves will drop and get replaced in due course so that the damage is never permanent.
Jade plants grow well outside in direct sunlight as patio plants or in open terrace and their leaves will color up nicely in the sun. Jade plants will survive hot or cold conditions and needs watering only if the soil is dry. Google says cold night temperatures promotes flowering but it never blooms in Chennai. It is always ideal to water thoroughly only when the plant dries out.
Sometimes a few leaves drop off, especially when the weather is too hot or cold or there is no water or more water. The common problem is overwatering and the next one is the mealy bug. If you find mealy bug just remove the affected leaves and it will become alright soon. Misting or spraying water over the leaves is not necessary as it may rot the leaves and the leaves may drop. It loves to be always dry as excessive humidity may lead to mildew or other fungal problems. However, occasionally putting water over the plant helps to wash off dust collected on the leaves and freshen the foliage. In direct sunlight the leaves reduce in size too and gives a wonderful look. This character helps the bonsai trainers.

A Jade plant requires rich nutrition and a quick drying soil. River sand with compost will help grow well. It will produce nicely colored wonderful leaves if the soil is changed once in 6 months or so.

To maintain a plant at the same size, treat it in a similar way to a bonsai tree specimen. Prune the roots while re-potting into the same pot and prune the stem shoots to maintain a pleasing shape and size. This helps to develop a thick trunk. New leaves will grow from the pruned branches and branch out.

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Propagation


There are no seeds for this plant as it never flowers in India. So it has to be grown only from cuttings. Though Google claims that a single leaf will root, it is not so.

If you get a cutting of 2 – 3 inches, you can remove the lower two or three sets of leaves and put in a quick draining soil in direct sun and water sparingly it will root very well and turn out to be a new plant. It will grow well for nearly 80 - 100 years.