PURPLE HEART

Common names: Purple Heart, Purple Queen, Purple-heart tradescantia, Purpurea

Botanic name: Tradescantia pallida

Family:Commelinaceae

GOD'S CROWN/MAHKOTA DEWA

I would like to introduce a herbal plant called God's Crown or Mahkota Dewa (Macrocarpa phaleria) to you today. I saw it being sold at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and pondered whether to buy it. Why? It is because the fruit needs to be processed first before it can be eaten if not there is a possibility of poisoning which might prove to be fatal. However, there is a certain technique to make it safe for traditional medicinal consumption. It is believed that the flesh of the Mahkota Dewa fruit contains the anti-oxidant compounds that fight cancer. This is not recommended for pregnant women.
Mahkota Dewa is often used as a therapeutic healing alternative for an assortment of diseases. Healing time varies depending on the patient's body weight and severity of the ailment. Mahkota Dewa is believed to cure cancer, tumour and other diseases and health ailments such as high blood pressure, impotency, insomnia, influenza, rheumatism, allergies, heart disease, bladder complaints, uric acid and liver problems. However one should consult a herbalist before taking this traditional medicine.

Nama Tempatan/Common names: Mahkota dewa, Buah dewa, Simalatama, Mahkota Raja, God's Crown
Nama Saintifik/Scientific name: Phaleria Macrocarpa
Famili/Family: Thymelacea

Kegunaan:
Mahkota Dewa is gunakan dalam ubat traditional untuk merawat kanser, tumor dan penyakit-penyakit seperti tekanan darah tinggi, mati pucuk (impotency), insomnia, selsema, rheumatism, resdung, penyakti jantung, masalah pundi kencing, asid uric and penyakit hati. Seseorang perlu berjumpa dengan pakar herba untuk mendapat nasihat sebelum makan ubat ini kerana buahnya beracun jika tidk diproses. Perempuan mengandung tidak boleh makan herba ini.

Rujukan:

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9647 http://www.theechomagazine.com/
http://www.melur.com/

POKOK BUNGA KESIDANG

Nama tempatan: Pokok Kesidang, Pokok Tikar Seladang, Bunga Kerak Nasi, Bunga Tikam Seladang

Nama Botani: Vallaris glabra'

Genus: Vallaris

Kegunaan:

1. Bau bunga yang harum ini menyebabkan ia digunakan seagai ramuan untuk membuat bunga rampai setelah dicampur dengan baha-bahan lain seperti daun pandan dan bunga-bunga wangi yang lain.
2. Masyarakat melayu tradisional juga menjadikan bunga kesidang sebagai hiasan rambut anak-anak gadis dan wanita.
3. Ia juga dijadikan hiasan alat-alat istiadat seperti tepak sirih. Bunga kesidang melambangkan tanda hormat bagi masyarakat melayu. Ia juga melambangkan kesopanan dan sikap lemah lemut orang melayu.

Rujukan:

http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokok_Tikar_Seladang

CHRYSANTHEMUM (BUNGA KEKWA)

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and one of the must-do things for my family is to go and buy a few pots of chrysanthemums to decorate our house. This is one of the auspicious flowers for the Chinese.

Here is some information about the chrysanthemum:

Genus: Chrysanthemum

Family: Asteraceae
Uses
Yellow or white chrysanthemum flowers are boiled to make a sweet drink in some parts of Asia. The resulting beverage is known simply as "chrysanthemum tea" (菊花茶, pinyin: júhuā chá, in Chinese). Chrysanthemum tea has many medicinal uses, including an aid in recovery from influenza.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysanthemum

PEDILANTHUS BRACTEATUS (LITTLE BIRD PLANT)

I bought a 'little sparrow' plant from the market yesterday morning as I find it pretty and interesting. The plant has flowers that take the shape of a 'little sparrow'. If you look closely, the flower does look like a 'little bird' perched among the bracts. The scientific name for the plant is Pedilanthus Bracteatus and its common name is Tall Slipper Flower. Here in Malaysia it is more popularly known as Xiao Niao Hua or Little Bird Flower.

Of course, I was aware that it is considered an auspicious plant and would bring lots of luck to the person who buys it. The plant that I am pictured with costs RM48.00. However, I only bought a small one with just two stems and one tiny bird growing on it for my mum. That costs RM12.00. I was told that the bigger plants can cost as much as RM90.00. Now with the Chinese New Year just around the corner, this plant appears to be selling like hotcakes because everyone is thinking of getting wealth luck for the coming year.

Source: http://www.shuangxingfu.blogspot.com/

POKOK MATA ITIK (ARDISIA CRISPA)

Inilah Pokok Mata Itik atau nama saintifiknya Ardisia Crispa yang salah seorang pelawat laman ini cadangkan sebagai gambar pokok Mata Pelanduk. Nampaknya ada persamaan tetapi kalau dilihat dengan lebih teliti pokok ini tidak sama. Akan tetapi, pokok Mata Itik dan Pokok Mata Pelanduk adalah dalasm spesies Ardisia.

MATA PELANDOK (ARDISIA ELLIPTICA)

Thanks to a visitor by the name of Dr. Abdul Ghani Hussain, I managed to correctly identify the plant in the picture that was sent to me by a UiTM student who is doing research on it. The name of the plant is commonly known as Mata Pelandok.

Common names/Nama tempatan: Mata Pelandok, Lempenai, Shoebutton Ardisia, Inkberry

Scientific name/Nama saintifik: Ardisia elliptica or Ardisia littoralis.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardisia_elliptica

KEREMAK MERAH (HUNG TEEN WU)

The Hung Teen Wu ( 红田乌) or Keremak Merah can easily be purchased from the wet markets in Ipoh and Sitiawan for RM2.00 a bunch. I think that this plant is also available in many of the wet markets in Malaysia. We sell this herbal drink every Wednesday as a resource centre activity.

Uses:

• has anti ulser properties
• For blood cleansing and detoxification.
• the young leaves and stems can be fried with chilli, sambal belacan, dried shrimps, anchovies.
• Keremak Merah (Alternanthera sessilis) can help reduce cholesterol in the body and also regulate blood flow.

Malay version

Hung Teen Wu atau Keremak Merah dijual di pasar-pasar di Ipoh dan Sitiawan dengan harga RM2.00 seikat. Saya rasa herba ini juga boleh dibeli dari pasar-pasar lain di Malaysia. Minuman ini dijual pada setiap hari Rabu di sekolah saya sebagai satu aktiviti pusat sumber.

Kegunaan:

• Mempunyai sifat anti-ulser.
• Boleh dimakan sebagai sayur. Daun dan ranting muda digoreng dengan cili dan sambal belacan, udang kering, ikan bilis.
• Keremak merah boleh mengurangkan kolesterol dalam badan dan juga melancarkan aliran darah.

Common names/Nama tempatan: Keremak Merah, Daun Kurma Merah, Hung Teen Wu

Other names/Nama lain: Sessile joyweed, Daun tolod, Creeping chafweed, Khaki weed

How to prepare Keremak merah for consumption:

1. To serve 4 people, you need a bunch of “Hung Teen Wu”.
2. You can boil these with 10 large honey dates (mutt joe) or brown sugar (about 6 tablesppons) in a large pot which is half-filled with water.
3. This drink is to be simmered for at least 2 hours over a small fire, and then poured into bottles or jugs.
4. You can keep in the fridge when cooled.

Cara-cara menyediak minuman Keremak Merah:

1. Untuk hidangan 4 orang, kamu perlu seikat Keremak Merah.
2. Didih dengan 10 biji kurma madu atau 6 sudu besar gula merah dalam periuk besar yang separuh penuh.
3. Minuman ini direneh selama 2 jam dengan api yang perlahan. Kemudian tuang ke dalam botol atau jag.
4. Anda boleh simpan dalam peti ais bila sudah sejuk.

KUMQUAT TREE

As the Chinese Lunar New Year is just two weeks' away, I went with my mum and aunt to choose a Kumquat tree to decorate our house for the festival. For your information, the Chinese consider this plant as auspicious because it sounds like gold in Chinese.

Here is information about the kumquat.

Common names: Kumquat, cumquats

Family: Rutaceae

Genus: Fortunella

Species:
Fortunella crassifolia
Fortunella hindsii
Fortunella japonica
Fortunella margarita
Fortunella obovata
Fortunella polyandra

Description:
The kumquats or cumquats are a family of small fruit-bearing trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, in the genus Fortunella which is often included in the genus Citrus. The edible fruit closely resembles that of the orange (Citrus sinensis), but is smaller and is often oval.

Medicinal use:
A few salted kumquats with a few teaspoons of brine/juice may be mixed with hot water to make a remedy for sore throats.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumquat