CORN PLANT

Yeh! Yeh! The Corn plants in my garden are flowering. In Cantonese, the corn plant is referred to as Tit Shu.

Why am I so happy? This is because the Chinese have a saying 鐵樹. 鐵樹開花，富貴榮華 which translates to mean "when the corn plant begins to flower, it is a sign of wealth luck coming ones way". Therefore, the corn plant 鐵樹 or Dracaena Massangeana is considered an auspicious plant.

COLEUS

I took the pictures of this coleus plants which were flowering when I went for a meeting in a school in Ipoh on Monday. This is a very popular ornamental plant grown at homes and also in public places. There are a few different hybrids of the Coleus. I think the Malay name for it is Ati-ati.

Common name: Coleus

Genus: Solenostemon

Family: Lamiaceae

LUI CHAR

I had initially thought that Lui Cha Rice was Thunder Tea Rice but one of my visitors corrected me. It seems that Lui in Hakka means the sound of grinding of something. The Lui Char is a healthy vegetarian dish which is eaten with tea made from a few types of herbs and vegetables. One of the important ingredients to make the tea happen to be the Sam Kar Pei or Acanthopanax. Those who can read Chinese can also read an article about it here.

Here is info about the Lui Cha Fan.
The Ho Poh (a sub Hakka clan) have a unique tradition in this Lui Cha Fan. The sound created is said to signify the noise made when one is preparing the dish which involves a lot of grinding of tea leaves and chopping vegetables and nuts to small bits that accompany this dish.
Lui Char is an original recipe deemed healthy by many diners with several finely-diced ingredients such as tofu, green beans, ground nuts, pickled radish and other vegetables mixed into cooked brown rice and served with tea made from tea leaves, basil and mint steeped in hot water. The ingredients are all organic and totally healthy.
To eat your lui cha fan, you pour the condiments into your rice and add the hot tea.
Source:
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8145167482822511563
http://lifestylewiki.com/Thunder_Tea_Rice

ACANTHOPANAX

I actually got this plant as a gift from the guy whom I always buy plants from at the Thursday market in Sitiawan. He said that since I was such a regular customer, he would give the plant to me. In Cantonese, we call it 'Sam Kar Pei'. The guy said that it was used a lot in Chinese medicine. True enough, when I checked the Chinese website on herbs, this particular plant has a lot of medicinal uses.

Scientific name: Acanthopanax trifoliatus L. Merr.

Chinese name: 三加皮

Medicinal uses(主治用法):
1. Colds, fever, bone pain (感冒发烧骨痛)
2. Rheumatic arthralgia, lumbago (风湿关节痛，腰腿痛)
3. Gastric pain, enteritis (胃痛，肠炎)
4. Jaundice, cholecystitis, gall stone (黄疸，胆囊炎，胆石症)
5. Leucorrhea, urinary tract stone (白带，尿路结石)

Source: http://www.cherukhor.org/herb08.html

PINK RAIN LILY

Common name/Nama tempatan: Pink Rain Lily

Scientific name/Nama saintifik: Zephyranthes rosea

Family/Famili: Amaryllidaceae

Chinese name/Nama Cina: 玫瑰葱莲

Reference/rujukan: http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Plants-Z.html

ROSE OF SHARON: FLOWER OF IMMORTALITY

There are many genus of hibiscus flowers. The Malaysian national flower is hibicus rosa sinensis. Besides, my home country, South Korea has also chosen a type of hibiscus to be her national flower, the hibiscus syriacus or more commonly known as Rose of Sharon.

The flower appears in national emblems, and Korea is compared poetically to the flower in the South Korean national anthem. The flower's name in Korean is mugunghwa (Hangul: 무궁화; Hanja: 無窮花). The flower's symbolic significance stems from the Korean word mugung, meaning "immortality".

I wonder if I can buy this genus of hibiscus here in Malaysia?

Here is some information about this plant.

Common name: Rose of Sharon, Shrub Althea and Rose of Althea

Scientific name: Hibiscus syriacus

Family: Malvaceae

Genus: Hibiscus

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_syriacus

http://maludan.3dtoast.com/roseofsharon.php

BLUE WINGS (Torenia fournieri)

This flower grows easily in my mother's garden. She and I used to call it violets but now I know better. Here is some information about the Torenia fournieri.

Common names: Blue wings, Blue Wigs, Wishbone flower,

Scientific name: Torenia fournieri

Family: Scrophulariaceae

Genus: Torenia

HIBISCUS

Common names: HIbiscus, Chinese Hibiscus, Rose of China, Bunga Raya

Scientific name: Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

Family: Malvaceae

Chinese name: 朱槿 , 扶桑 , 大红花

MEDICINAL USES

The hibiscus is one plant with a lot of uses.

THE ROOTS

• The roots (especially of the white hibiscus flowers) when pounded and added to boiling water is said to be able to treat sexually transmitted diseases, has diuretic properties and is an antidote for poisons.
• Drinking of the water of the boiled hibiscus roots is a traditional cure for coughs, swelling of the parotid glands, urinary infection, white discharge, cervical infection, irregular periods and conjunctivitis.

THE FLOWERS

• When pounded finely, the flowers is pasted on to the skin to treat boils, cancer, mumps and other types of skin diseases in traditional medicine.
• The flower is boiled and then the water is drunk to treat asthma, cough, swelling of the parotid glands, bronchitis, colds, phlegm and to stimulate the monthly period.
• The flowers are boiled in oil along with other spices to make a medicated hair oil to prevent greying & hair loss.
• Dieters or people with kidney problems often take it without adding sugar for its beneficial properties and as a natural diuretic.

THE LEAVES

• The leaves are ground into a paste and then applied to the skin to treat boils, cancer, mumps, swellings, fever, rashes, cuts, skin diseases and headaches.
• In Southern India, the red flower and leaves, extracts of which can be applied on hair to tackle hair-fall, dandruff on the scalp and also for colouring the hair.

THE BARK

The water that is obtained from boiling the bark is used to stimulate the monthly period.

THE BRANCHES

Used for cleaning the teeth.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus

Tanaman Hiasan: Khasiat Makanan & Ubatan oleh Ong Hean Chooi

SMALLER SLEEPING HIBISCUS FLOWERS

I did a post on the Sleeping hibiscus some time back after I took photographs of the plant in the compound of a house near my neighbourhood in Sitiawan. Last week, I noticed that another neighbour had planted the sleeping hibisucs (Malvaviscus arboreus cav.) outside their house but the flowers were smaller and upright. Nevertheless I searched the Internet and realised that the botanical name is the same for the big and small sleeping hibiscus.

WHITE BAUHINIA/POKOK PERAK

Common names/Nama Tempatan: White Bauhinia, Bunga Perak, Tapak Kuda

Scientific name/Nama saintifik: Bauhinia Acuminata L.

Family/Famili: Leguminosae

Medicinal uses:

The root is crushed, soaked into water (room temperature) and drunk to relieve coughs.

The flower is used to treat headaches and high blood pressure.

Khasiat perubatan:

Akar dihancurkan, direndam ke dalam air pada suhu bilik dan diminum untuk merawat batuk.

Bunga pokok ini digunakan untuk merawat sakit kepala dan tekanan darah tinggi.

Reference/Rujukan:

Tanaman Hiasan: Khasiat Makanan & Ubatan oleh Ong Hean Chooi

A BIT DIFFERENT BUT ALL ARE ZEBRINAS

I went and hunted for the zebrinas in the market this morning. I also asked the owner of the shop who planted them for confirmation of their names. He said that all the types that I showed him were Shui Gui Tsao and sometimes the colours of the leaves turn out different because of the amount of sunlight they received. However, he told me that all were from the same species, Zebrina pendula. According to him, the herb is used for treating bladder problems.

Me taking a closer look at the zebrina planted by the owner of a shop in Kampung Simee.
The smaller leaf zebrina. The purple colour on the other side is lighter than the other two types of zebrina.

The Zebrina pendula which has very prominent stripes like that of a zebra. You can see the flower for the plant.

The green type of Shui Gui Tsao which is also Zebrina pendula which the owner of the shop also grows at the back of his shop.

The zebrina I found growing by the side of a shop in Kampung Simee. There are other herbs as well.

The leaf for the top one is green on the surface and purplish white lines on the bottom. The one at the lower left has smaller leaves but is similar to the one at the top. The one on the right has green white lines on the surface and is purplish on the other side.

I paid RM2.00 for the zebrina at the market. I got RM1.00 of the big leafed ones and another RM2.00 for the ones with smaller leaves.

GINSENG JAWA (TALINUM TRIANGULARE)

Common name: Akar Ginseng jawa, Waterleaf

Scientific name: Talinum triangulare

Family: Portulacaceae

Medicinal uses:

The root of the Talinum triangulare is used as a tonic for general weakness and is used as a substitute for ginseng, for treatment of inflammation and swelling. It is also eaten as ulam.

Picture source: http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0S0200fuB9L9hMBZ1mjzbkF/SIG=13letglal/EXP=1260456351/**http%3A//www.cuniculture.info/Docs/Elevage/Figur-Tropic/chapitre3/plantes-22-TalinumTriangulare.htm

ZEBRINA PENDULA SCHNIZL吊竹草

I am again doing a post about the Zebrina Pendula Schnizl or Zebrina. The vegetable sellers at the market refer to it as Shui Gui Cao 水龟草. However the actual Chinese botanical name is 吊竹草. I guess that was why I was having a lot of trouble finding its name. I actually have to thank NZ Wong for his help in helping to identify the plant.

Apparently it is called Zebrina because of the zebra stripes on the leaves. However I am making a guess that the Chinese refer to it as Shui Gui Cao since the leaves resemble the shape of the water turtle and also there are also stripes on the turtles back. For your information, the surface of the leaves can be either green (see second picture) or purplish with white stripes (see first picture). It is also called 紫背鴨跖草、斑葉鴨跖草 in Chinese.

LOOKING FOR NAMES OF CHINESE HERBS

I have been searching for the Scientific names or English names of the two herbs above for some time but have been unsuccessful so far. Is there anyone out there who has any idea?
In Cantonese this is called Chuin Yun and is supposed to be good for treating eye problems. I have been trying to look for its scientific name for some time but have been unsuccessful.

One young lady visitor of this blog wants to do research on this plant for her university project and asked me for help. The Chinese name is Shui Gui Chou 水龟草. I would appreciate it if anyone out there could supply me with the scientific name for it. It would help my young visitor to do her research.

JEWELS-OF-OPAR

Flowers and fruits of the Talinum paniculatum The Jewels-of-Opar similar to what my reader has.
This is the Jewels-of-Opar of Talinum Paniculatum that my reader, Edward Khoo, has.

I had confused this plant with the ginseng jawa plant. Both plants belong to the Talinum genus of herbaceous plants. The plant above is Talinum paniculatum or Jewels-of-Opar whereas the one I have in the Herb Garden is Talinum triangulare or Waterleaf.

Common names/Nama tempatan: Jewels-of-Opar, Flameflower, Fame Flower

Scientific name/Nama Saintifik:Talinum paniculatum Gaertn

Family/Famili:Portulacaceae

Medical use:

The roots of this plant has saponin, steriod and essential oil. It is used as a tonic.

FORGET-ME-NOT

Common name: Cape Leadwort, Forget-me-not

Scientific name: Plumbago auriculata

Family: Plumbaginaceae

Chinese name: 蓝雪花 , 蓝花丹

References:

http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Plants-P.html