Mango Tree

Gumamela

Other names: hibiscus, shoe flower, China Rose



Description

Gumamela plant has glossy green,  oval shaped leaves.  The flowers are large with five or four petals. There are different colors of gumamela flowers such as yellow,  white,  pink, peach,  orange and and the most common color is red. The plant can grow up to 6 ft and 4-5ft wide. Gumamela is believed to have about 300 speciesabout which  are found worldwide.  Gumamela is easy to grow in tropical countries like the Philippines.  Although  gumamela flower is odorless,  it's still the most favorite cultivated  flower in the because it's springs can be found anywhere and very easy to grow.  
Gumamela as Medicinal Plant
In the  the Philippines and some parts of Southeast Asia boiled gumamela  is used as herbal tea. Gumamela is used as medicinal aid such as: expectorant, diureticnatural antibiotic and anti-inflammatory.

There are two ways of preparing gumamela herbal tea.  The first procedure is drying the leaves and boiling with right amount of water.  The other procedure and the common one is boiling the fresh leaves, flower or roots and make it as a herbal tea. There is also an ancient belief that gumamela flower extract has the power to cure "pigsa" or the infected wounds.

Common Illnesses treated by gumamela herbal tea:

• dysentery
• diarrhea
• cough
• constipation
• high blood pressure
• head ache 
• mumps
• bronchitis 

• Other Uses of Gumamela 

 I still remember my childhood days,  we used to play bubbles.  We used to mix gumamela flower extract with detergent soap to make bubbles.  The sticky extract of gumamela flower makes the formula more bubbly so it's so much fun to play. I also remember using gumamela leaves as a costume design.  I must say that I grew up with this plant.  We had a lot of its species in our backyard.  My mom used to cut the plants to flat tops and we used to dry our white laundry over that.  We used to do it after washing it with soap and before we rinse the clothes, in the Philippines,  we call it "kula" we do this to maintain clear white color of the fabric.

Atis (sugar apple)

"Known internationally as sweetsop, sugar apple or custard apple, the Atis is one fruit you can easily grow even if you have only a square meter of soil. The atis tree grow just about anywhere a seed falls. And it grows fast so that you can get to harvest fruits in a little over a year from seedling stage. A tree bears fruits about three times a year: in the summer, during rainy season and towards Christmas. The best batch of fruits, those with thicker and sweeter flesh, comes out in the summer."http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Default_files/Philippine_Culture/pagkaing%20pilipino/philippine_fruits.htm

Philippine's Banana

It is internationally known as banana but in the Philippines. we call it "saging". Saging or banana they say is originated in Sout East Asia and grown in tropic and humid zone like Philippines. Banana is one of the most common fruit in the Philippines, you can find it anywhere in the market of supermarkets. Despite of being healthy and delicious, banana is not expensive that's why it well loved by Filipinos.

There are many types of banana. I have tasted some of these like: saba which is my favorite among banana species and can be eaten raw or cooked, bongolan, turdan, lakatan, lagkitan which is also known as "saging na bakla" because it looks and tastes like saba and turdan in one.

Turdan is a kind of banana fruit and it's the most common type of banana . I just don't know how many species of banana we have but there are types of banana that I have tasted and some of these are: saba which is my favorite among banana species and can be eaten raw or cooked, bongolan, lakatan, lagkitan which is also known as "saging na bakla" because it looks and tastes like saba and turdan in one.

Health benefits of banana:

"Bananas are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. They also provide us with a source of energy because they have Vitamin B6. Banana is rich in Potassium that's why it is believed to be a cure for bone weakness and improves brain function and keeps alertness. Banana has the ability to normalize bowel functions. It aids in treating constipation and diarrhea. In some scientific studies, banana fruit when eaten can transform bad bacteria in the intestine to become beneficial bacilli. Regular eating of banana can help reduce the risk of heart attack bbecause it is high in potassium that balances body fluid. Other health benefits of banana are: iron that treats anemia, magnessium, serotonin hormone that helps lessen depression and improves bad moods.

If they say that "an apple a day, keeps the doctors away", my Pinoy version is "a banana a day, keeps the doctors away!" Well, sorry to borrow that line from where it belongs but I believe that banana is like apple that's very essential to our body and it's not too expensive to become a maintenance food. So if you want to keep your self healthy, Start you day with banana! I also want to add that banana can be your companion in  weight, you can replace your breakfast with banana especially "saba" and you have complete nutrition but less fat. 

Aratrilis tree

"It is a small tree 7-12 meters tall with tiered and slightly drooping branches. It has serrated leaves 2.5-15 cm long and 1-6.5 cm wide. The flowers are small ,white and slightly malodorous. It gives rise to 1-1.5 cm light red fruit. The fruit is edible, sweet and juicy, and contains a large number of tiny (0.5 mm) yellow seeds.

It is a pioneer species that thrives in poor soil, able to tolerate acidic and alkaline conditions and drought. Its seeds are dispersed by birds and fruit bats. It is cultivated for its edible fruit, and has become naturalised in some other parts of the tropics, including southeastern Asia. As a pioneer plant, it could help condition the soil and make it habitable to other plants. However, it might also be considered as an invasive species since it might out-compete indigenous plants."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntingia

Vandera Española

Vandera Española

The beautiful Vandera Española  flower has a variety of colors such as yellow,orange,pink and red. This plant is easy to grow in a dry soil but can also survive in wet soil. 

Anahaw

"The Filipino word "Anahaw" (ana-how) are nice-looking, tropical palm known for its round fan-shaped leaves. Its leaf has some uses like: to fan yourself during hot days. The Tagalogs of Quezon Province even use it to wrap their brown and delicious tikoy. Anahaw leaves are also a widespread symbol in the Philippines that is often used in awards and medals to represent high achievement, strength, and loyalty. The Anahaw leaf features a large, round outline and is glossy green in color. It spreads out grandly from the center of the shaft and opens to a full crest divided shallowly at the ends and is known to be one of the most beautiful plant in the Philippines."
http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_national_symbols.html

Lapo-lapo tree

Lapo-lapo- (Gyrocarpus americanus)

A lapo-lapo tree grows for about30 ft. tall. It can be found in botanic gardens in Los Banos Laguna.

Mickey Mouse

mickey mouse plant

"The most celebrated flower in Vietnam, Ochna integerrima blooms profusely on the occasion of 'Tet', the Vietnamese New Year. A must for exotic plant collection, this is a rather slow growing, medium size shrub that can be trained into miniature tree. In winter the plant is covered with pretty bright yellow flowers, believed to bring good luck and prosperity. They are followed by cute shiny black berries on bright red sepals that resemble the face of Mickey Mouse. The plant is easy to grow and relatively cold hardy (to light freeze).

O. integerrima differs by having wider leaves with bristle-bearing margins rather than sharp teeth of narrow-leaved O. serrulata.Hybrid variety Ochna Alba (Vietnamese name 'Bach Mai' meaning literally 'White Ochna') is very rare and does not produce seeds."http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/ochna_integerrima.htm

Abaca

Abaca

 Also called manila hemp, abaca is extracted from the leaf sheath around the trunk of the abaca plant (Musa textilis), a close relative of the banana, native to the Philippines and widely distributed in the humid tropics. Harvesting abaca is labourious. Each stalk must be cut into strips which are scraped to remove the pulp. The fibres are then washed and dried.
source:http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/fibres/abaca.html

 fibres are then washed and dried.

Sugar Palm

Kaong or sugar palm

Sugar palm is popularly known as kaong (Arenga pinnata). Although considered as a minor forest species, it provides two important food products: the sweet kaong gel and vinegar. These products have great potentials for export. Kaong gel is a very popular ingredient for salad and can be eaten alone as dessert, while kaong vinegar is processed from the sweet sap. It is becoming popular especially in Indang, Cavite where the palms abundantly grow. Kaong vinegar is classified as one of the best because the processing method used by a local manufacturer is similar to that for a brand of worldwide popularity. At present, raw material supplies rely on the available natural stand. To ensure a steady supply, there is a need to establish kaong plantations.
source:http://www.mixph.com/2008/07/growing-kaong-
sugar-palm.html

Date Palm

The Date palm (scientific name Phoenix dactylifera), also known as the Medjool palm is a tall, beautiful and majestic tree that is known for its edible sweet fruits, the dates. The tree belongs to the Arecaceae family and the genus Phoenix. The Date palm produces true real dates. It is the second most known and most useful palm tree in the world after the Coconut palm tree.

The Phoenix Dactylifera is one of the world’s oldest trees. It has been grown for thousands of years in hot, dry, desert regions throughout the world. It is an important multi­purpose tree in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa. The Date palm tree is a holy symbol. It was historically mentioned in the Bible, the Koran and other religious books. Many cultures are based on this tree. It has been called “the tree of life”.  The real Date palm can provide all life necessities: food, medicine, shelter, fuel, building materials and  materials for weaving and basket making. It is a symbol of fertility and hospitality in many countries.

sorce: http://datepalmtree.net

Amugis tree

amugis tree

Specimen :  Semi-domesticated tree

Location :  Los Banos, Laguna

Local name  :  Amugis

Botanical name : Koordersiodendron pinnatum

Family :  Anacardiaceae

Height :  About 30 meters

Trunk :  Bole straight and cylindrical, branching starts at about 18 meters; Bark grey or brown with shallow fissures

Traits :  Buttress-forming; Emergent tree; Evergreen; Large tree

Recommendations :  Agroforestry; Backyard planting; Boundary marker; Fruit collector’s; Riparian management; Roadside tree; Specimen tree; Timber belt; Urban greening; Wildcrafting; Windbreak

Other uses :  The fruit is edible; Wood used for furniture, flooring and interior constructions

Origin :  Indigenous to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea

source:http://www.indi-journal.info/archives/1809

Santol tree

 "The santol is a fast-growing, straight-trunked, pale-barked tree 50 to 150 ft (15-45 m) tall, branched close to the ground and buttressed when old. Young branchlets are densely brown-hairy. The evergreen, or very briefly deciduous, spirally-arranged leaves are compound, with 3 leaflets, elliptic to oblong-ovate, 4 to 10 in (20-25 cm) long, blunt at the base and pointed at the apex. The greenish, yellowish, or pinkish-yellow, 5-petalled flowers, about 3/8 in (1 cm) long are borne on the young branchlets in loose, stalked panicles 6 to 12 in (15-30 cm) in length. The fruit (technically a capsule) is globose or oblate, with wrinkles extending a short distance from the base; 1 1/2 to 3 in (4-7.5 cm) wide; yellowish to golden, sometimes blushed with pink. The downy rind may be thin or thick and contains a thin, milky juice. It is edible, as is the white, translucent, juicy pulp (aril), sweet, subacid or sour, surrounding the 3 to 5 brown, inedible seeds which are up to 3/4 in (2 cm) long, tightly clinging or sometimes free from the pulp.

Origin and Distribution

The santol is believed native to former Indochina (especially Cambodia and southern Laos) and Malaya, and to have been long ago introduced into India, the Andaman Islands, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Moluccas, Mauritius, and the Philippines where it has become naturalized. It is commonly cultivated throughout these regions and the fruits are abundant in the local markets."http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/santol.html

Saraca tree

saraca

"Saraca Indica commonly known as Ashoka tree or Sorrowless Tree is one of the most exotic flowering trees of the Indian subcontinent. It grows natively in warm humid climates of Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Malaysia and belongs to the Fabaceae family."

source: http://www.thelovelyplants.com/saraca-indica-the-ashoka-tree/

Santol- (sandorecum koetjape)

Niog-niogan tree

"Niog-niogan

niog-niogan

Erect, glabrous, unbranched shrub growing to a height of 5 meters. Leaves are crowded at the end of the stems,spreading and short-petioled, oblanceolate with a cordate base and an acute apex. Blade is coriaceous and dark-green, coarsely toothed growing to more than 25 cm long. Fruit is ovoid, angular, up to 4 cm long, on short peduncles and crowded at the axils of the leaves. The leaves and fruits leave a pattern of scars on the trunk."http://www.stuartxchange.org/Niyog-niyogan.html

Kalachuchi

Scientific Names: Plumeria acuminata Air, Plumeria alba Blanco, Plumeria acutifolia Poir
Common Names: Flor de Mayo (Mexico), Temple flower (Engl.),Kalatsutsi (Tag.), Mian zhi zi (Chin.)


This beautiful red flower is called kalachuchi. Plumeria Acuminata is the scientific name of kalachuchi. In some countries, kalachuchi symbolizes death but in Nicaragua and Laos, kalachuchi is their national flower. 

Kalachuchi is a small tree that grows 4-8 meters high with oval shaped leaves that grow 20-40 centimeters long. The trunk is usually colored off white on the outer layer, and when you scratch it will reveal the dark green color. 

In some scientific studies, the bark of kalachuchi contains bitter glucoside plumierid which is used as a purgative.In some parts of the glove, the calcium salt-containing latex when mixed in coconut oil is used to cure tooth-ache and as itchiness remedy.

Kalachuchi flower is a source of perfume called "Frangipani". Here in the Philippines, Kalachuchi is grown as ornamental plant.  But elders have a superstitious belief that the kalachuchi tree when planted causes damage in good relationships. No matter what they say about kalachuchi, this flower has a glamorous attraction to everyone's eyes.  There are different colors of kalachuchi flowers such as: pink, red and white. 

Kalachuchi is easy to grow in ordinary soil. It doesn't require watering although sometimes when heat strikes in the Philippines, you have to water it at least once a week.

Musical notes plant

musical notes plant

Small, bushy and leafy plant that bears many flowers. It can easily grow in a dry soil.

The flowers are like musical notes that's why it's named after it.

  

Mangkono tree

mangkono

The mangkono tree is biggest among the types of trees. It has been found to draw metal minerals out of the soil making its body the hardest among its species thus resulting to calling it  the ironwood and is greatly hard to chop down.This tree lives and grow in tropical atmospheres like the Philippines. The mangkono tree is currently getting to be in peril of ceasing to exist as saplings are chopped down before the tree totallt reach its maturity.

The trunk of a mangkono tree can grow to the diameter of 20 to 36 inches while the leaves of the tree can bloom up to 30 to 40 feet tall. The leaves of the mangkono tree have a leathery texture which are commonly heart shaped and sometimes appear as oval in shape. The tree features rounded flowers which is light reddish in color and at the end of the branches are fruits that split open to reveal the seed which is similar to a half moon image.

Okra uses and health benefits

Okra

Scientific name: Abelmoschus esculentus

Common names:   Okra in tagalog

                            Gumbo or lady fingers in English

                            Okura in Japanese

                            Huang su Kui in Chinese

                            Gombo in Spanish

Okra is a kind of vegetable which is prevalent in the Philippines. In a few regions, they call it "lady finger or gumbo"okra is one of the fundamental ingredients in some Filipino recipes, like, sinigang (stew), kare-kare, pinakbet and bulanglang. 

Okra has a texture like saliva, for some, its so disgusting to eat, however most Filipinos imagine that it is delightful and to a great degree, nutritious. 

For some couple who have been married for quite a long time yet don't have babies, okra is constantly prescribed by elders and at times even health specialists as well. The thick and sticky composition of okra is accepted to be the best help for men with low sperm count. As per some individuals who have tried that okra is a regular solution for low sperm count, they have been advised to consume 7 okras a day and in the wake of doing the careful technique, they in the long run made their wives pregnant. 

I can't guarantee what exploratory studies could legitimize this story nonetheless,  there's nothing wrong in attempting aside from the fact that okra can give our body so much well being profits. Regardless, I don't constrain any person who has the same sperm issue to do this strategy. Consultng a health professional is dependably the best and viable act to cure any ailments. 

Amazing Health Benefits of Okra: 

Great wellspring of iron -for each 100 grams. of okra is comparable to 0.06 mg of iron that neutralizes the stream of nurturing oxygen to human blood cells. It in like manner helps prevent iron deficiency anemia, cough, anemia chronic disease and anemia during pregnancy.

Vitamin C - each 100 grams of okra, it contains 23 mg of Vitamin C which is the most well known of all supplements. It helps maintain healthy teeth, soft skin and hair and strengthens the immune system.

Calcium- 100 grams of okra has to 82 mg of Calcium. Calcium is known to be the best supplements which our body needs to maintain healthy bones to prevent osteoporosis. 

Thiamine  - okra additionally has thiamine which helps our body deliver enough vitality to persist through different every day exercises. 

Riboflavin - okra has a high substance of riboflavin, a water solvent  vitamin which likewise helps in delivering vitality for the body. 

Okra as regular cure: 

Cure to ulcer and other stomach problems - late experimental disclosures recommend that okra soup could be an immaculate common solution for stomach ulcer, it is moreover related to simplicity work torment for moms amid labor. In a logical exploration led by the group of Swiss and German analysts found that the properties of okra can battle and keep the microscopic organisms called "Helicobacter Pylori" a compelling bacteria that sticks  to the linings and walls of our stomach that can result in stomach ulcer and if not treated well will prompt stomach cancer. 

Anti H-Pylori adhesion - as specified above, this sort of microscopic organisms can be evacuated inside the stomach by consuming okra. The sticky and thick surface of okra serves as the grease to evacuate these bacteria grip in the stomach divider. 

Antioxidant - In 2010 and 2011 the "Nourishment Journal" and the "African Journal of Biotechnology" distributed the consequence of their investigative studies that okra has a higher focus cell antioxidant. An influential inward chemical to evacuate various types of poisons we put inside our body from the food and liquid we consume, contamination, smoking drinking and living unhealthy way of life. 

Reversible male regenerative impacts - as expressed above, okra is considered as a characteristic solution for men confronting issue with their fertility by treating the automatic release of semen. It is similarly said to help in delivering more sperm count. 

Healthful recuperating in diabetes and hypoglycemic - there are additionally reports demonstrated that okra can help in treating diabetes. The carbohydrates that okra has helps in diminishing the rate of sugar up-rate into the blood. 

Okra is in fact one of the few herbs that has the stunning health profits. Then again, an alternate research of experts led a study entitled "Assessment of The Deleterious Effects of Aqueous Fruit Extract of Abelmoschus Esculentus (Okro Fruit) on Some Male Reproductive Parameters in Sprague Dawley Rats" distributed in "Diary of Phytology 2009". The study proposes that the methanol concentrate of okra brilliant diminished the mean weight of testes; this is supported by the histological studies which showed testicular rot. There was gigantic abatement in the weight of the prostate organ. Disregarding the way that the result is not indisputable anyway, it may impact male infertility.