Polpala(Aerva lanat)

 

















Scientific name-Aerva lanat
 English name-Kapok bush

Medicinal herb, diuretic taken as a tisane. Annual herb, 60-75 cm tall, often woody at base ; stems green, erect or prostrate, with numerous, slender, cylindrical, more or less cottony, hairy branches leaves simple, alternate, 1.2-2.5 cm long, 0.9-2.5 cm broad, oval or spathulate-oval.


Used in treatment for:Swellings, COUGH, Headaches, Urinary infections, Bladder stones

Parts used in treatment:Whole plant

Madatiya, Madhatiya,(Adenanthera pavonina, Adenanthera microsperma Teijsm (Red beadtree)

 



















Botanical name-Adenanthera pavonina 
Family name:-Fabaceae 
Names in different languages: 
    English :Red beadtree 
    Sinhala :Madatiya 
    Tamil :tilam, manjadi 
     Sanskirt :Kusandana 
Status:Native 
Edible parts:None 
Discription
 Large Tree. The deep red seeds are similar to "Olinda" seeds. The "madetiya" seed was used in traditional medicine as a weight measure known as manchaadi or madeta, as the seeds are rather regular in size, and do not dry up due to the thick shell. In England Barley seeds were used as a weight, with 480 grains being one ounce. According to H. W. Codrington (Ceylon coins and currency, 1924) a "madeta" or manchaadi was roughly 3.3-3.4 English grains, while a Kalanda was 20 "madeta" or "manchadis".The Oil, leaves, bark, seed etc. are used in traditional herbal treatments. This tree is also sometimes known as "Red Sandlewood tree", However, red sandlewood is Pterocarpus santalinus (see write up under the letter 
Grows in China, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, Ayurvedic usage: Treatment for: Diarrhoea, General paralysis, Inflammation, Boils, Gout, Bowel hemorrhages, Cholera, Chronic rheumatism, Boils, 
Parts used to make medicine-Leaves ,Barks,Roots,Seeds 
Propagation -Seeds

Wara, Vara (Calotropis procer (crown flower)

       

Botnical name: Calotropis procer
Family name: ASCLEPIADACEAE
Names in different languages:
    English: Rubber bush
    Sinhala name:Wara
    Tamil names :
Distribution: Sri Lanka, India and China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand
Status:Native
Edible parts:-None
Ayurvedicusage:
Treatment for: , Cutaneous parasitic infection, Nasopharyngeal diseases, Pulmonary ailments, Mucosal diseases, Skin diseases, Pains, Lactation disorders, Kidney diseases.
Parts used to make Medcine:-Leaves, ,Latex,,Flowers.
Propergation:-Seeds

Komarica, Komarika(Aloe vera - littiralis)

A perennial herb with a very short, thick, cylindrical, simple, woody stem sending out at the base numerous stolons; roots fibrous and fleshy; leaves not very- numerous, sessile, densely crowded on the short stem with wide, dilated bases, spreading below.

The most commonly used preparation from this herb is the aloe gel, a thick viscid liquid found in the interior of the leaves. The leaves are used in the treatment of burns etc

Olinda(Abutilon indicum (indian mallow)

A slender perennial twiner, glabrous with long internodes, stems slender, cylindrical, branched with smooth wrinkled brown bark; leaves alternate with stipules.
"the leaves are by far the sweetest part of the plant, and from them a tolerable extract may be made, but in most parts of India, where true liquorice is obtainable in any quantity as an article of commerce, it would be much more expensive to collect them than to use liquorice. The roots of Taverniera nummularia, and Alysicarpus longifolius, are sweet like liquorice, and are called liquorice in India.