Medicinal Plants
Omavalli
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Omavalli, also known as Karpooravalli or Indian Borage, is a semi-succulent perennial herb with a bushy growth habit and aromatic, fleshy leaves. It belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae) and is commonly used for both culinary and medicinal purposes.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Tulsi
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum), is a fragrant, erect, and highly branched plant, typically growing 30-60 cm tall. It's an aromatic shrub with simple, opposite, ovate or oblong leaves that can be green or purple, up to 5 cm long, and often have slightly toothed margins. Tulsi flowers are small, purplish-red, and clustered on cylindrical spikes.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Lemon Grass
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Lemon grass is a tall, perennial sedge throwing up dense fasciclles of leaves from a short rhizome. The culm is stout, erect, upto 1.8 meter high.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Fenugreek
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual, erect herb with light green, trifoliate leaves. It typically grows to a height of 2-3 feet (60-90 cm). The plant features small, white or pale yellow flowers, followed by slender, curved pods containing small, yellow-brown seeds
Category: Medicinal Plants
Basil
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Basil (Ocimum basilicum), a popular culinary herb, is a tender, low-growing plant native to India and other tropical regions of Asia, known for its aromatic leaves and versatility in various cuisines
Category: Medicinal Plants
Pudhina
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Mint is a fragrant, aromatic herb, known for its refreshing taste and widespread use in both culinary and medicinal practices. It's a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years, and thrives in moist, well-drained soil.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Vallarai
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Vallarai Keerai, also known as Gotu Kola or Indian Pennywort (scientifically named Centella asiatica), is a perennial herb that thrives in tropical, wet, and swampy regions of South Asia. It's a small, creeping plant with round, green, cup-shaped leaves that grow close to the ground. It can be used in various dishes, especially in South Indian cuisine, and is also known for its potential health benefits, particularly for cognitive function.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Chitharatha
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Chitharathai, also known as Lesser Galangal or Alpinia calcarata, is a perennial herb with pungent, non-tuberous rhizomes. It grows in clumps of stiff stalks, reaching up to 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) tall, with abundant long leaves and red fruit. The plant is native to India and thrives in tropical climates.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Thippili
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Thippili, also known as Long Pepper or Pippali, is a slender, perennial climbing vine belonging to the Piperaceae family. It's a native spice to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The plant has heart-shaped leaves, typically 5-9 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, with a dark green color above and a pale green underside. It also produces cylindrical fruits, initially green and later turning blackish-green when mature.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Rosemary
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a fragrant, evergreen shrub known for its needle-like leaves and small, blue, white, or pink flowers. It's a woody perennial that can grow up to 6 feet tall, with leaves that are dark green on top and white or pale underneath. Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region and is now cultivated worldwide for its culinary, medicinal, and aromatic properties.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Aada Thodai
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Ada thodai, also known as Adhatoda vasica or Malabar nut, is a tall, evergreen shrub with large, lance-shaped leaves. It has dense, much-branched stems and white or purple flowers that grow in spikes. The plant is native to India and is used in traditional medicine for various ailments, particularly respiratory problems
Category: Medicinal Plants
Thoothuvalai
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Thoothuvalai, scientifically known as Solanum trilobatum, is a thorny, climbing shrub in the Solanaceae family, also known as "Purple-fruited Pea Eggplant" or "Thai Nightshade". It's a plant with many medicinal properties, used traditionally in India and Sri Lanka, and is also eaten as a vegetable.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Kandankathiri
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Kandankathiri, also known as Yellow-fruit nightshade or Solanum surattense, is a small, thorny plant with medicinal properties. It's commonly used in traditional systems of medicine for respiratory issues like cough, phlegm, and cold-related fevers. The plant's leaves, stems, flowers, roots, and seeds are all used for different purposes.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Nochi
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Nochi, also called Nirgundi or Five-Leaved Chaste Tree (Vitex negundo) is an evergreen medicinal deciduous shrub. The Nochi leaves are used as biopesticide and insecticide. The Nochi leaves are dried and kept with woolen clothes to repel insects. The smoke from the Nochi leaves is used as a mosquito repellent.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Maruthani
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- The maruthani plant, also known as henna or mehendi, is a shrub or small tree native to the Indian subcontinent, Middle East, and North Africa. It's characterized by its elliptical, smooth leaves, small fragrant white or reddish-pink flowers, and small, brown capsules containing seeds. The plant's leaves are the source of henna, a natural dye used for body art, hair dyeing, and textile dyeing.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Vetriver
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) is a perennial grass, native to India, known for its deep, fragrant roots. It is a clumping grass, reaching heights of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). The leaves are long, thin, and rigid, and the plant produces small brownish-purple flowers in long spikes. Unlike most grasses, its roots grow vertically downward, reaching depths of 3-4 meters (10-13 feet)
Category: Medicinal Plants
Turmeric
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Turmeric is a perennial herbaceous plant, typically growing to a height of around 1 meter, with large, oblong leaves and yellow-white flowers. It's a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). The plant reproduces via its rhizome, an underground stem, which is the source of the spice we know as turmeric.
Category: Medicinal Plants
Pepper
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Pepper plants, both sweet (bell peppers) and chili peppers, are herbaceous or shrub-like plants in the Solanaceae family (Nightshade family). They are grown for their fruits, which come in various shapes, sizes, and levels of spiciness
Category: Medicinal Plants
Kathaalai (Aloe Vera)
Subtitle: Herb Varieties
Description:
- Aloe vera is a succulent plant known for its fleshy, spear-shaped leaves and the clear gel found within. These leaves are arranged in a rosette, with sharp, toothed edges and sometimes white spots. The plant can grow up to 4 feet tall and has yellow, tube-like flowers that cluster on a stem.
Category: Medicinal Plants