70. Heliconia stricta

Aloe vera is a succulent, evergreen perennial herb that can be stemless or with a short stem up to 30cm long.It can produce a flowering stem up to 160cm tall. Freely suckering, it produces dense rosettes of 16 - 20 long pointed leaves from shortly branched creeping rhizomes.

Use:

The gel in the leaves is sometimes used as an ingredient of commercial jellies, drinks and ice cream. As a food supplement, the leaf gel is said to facilitate digestion, and to improve blood and lymphatic circulation, as well as kidney, liver and gall bladder functions. The exudate from the base of the leaves is used as a bittering agent for food and beer. Due to its soothing, moisturizing, and cooling properties, aloe vera is often used to treat burns, sunburns and insect bites. The juice of the plant is said to increase the flow of menstruation in low doses. Since the substances it contains can stimulate uterine reactions and accumulate in breast milk, it should be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

69. Scientific name: Cyperus papyrus L.

Common names:

papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, papiro

Family:

Cyperaceae

Origin: Africa

Description:

Cyperus papyrus is a vigorous, grass-like, clump-forming, perennial plant with a spreading root system, growing up to 5 metres tall. Each stem is topped by a dense cluster of thin, bright green, thread-like rays around 10 to 30 cm in length, resembling a feather duster when the plant is young. Greenish-brown flower clusters eventually appear at the ends of the rays, giving way to brown, nutlike fruits. In nature, it grows in full sun, in flooded swamps and on lake margins.

Use:

The pith of the stem was recommended for food in ancient Egypt. The rhizomes and lowermost parts of the stems - raw or cooked. They can also be chewed, sucked, and spat out, much as sugar cane is done. Papyrus had several medicinal applications in the past, though it is little, if at all, used nowadays. The main use seems to have been confined to burnt papyrus sheets, the ash of which was reputed to have the action of pulverised charcoal and was used in the treatment of certain eye diseases. The ash was also said to check malignant ulcers from spreading in the mouth or elsewhere. It was also said that, if macerated in vinegar and then burnt, the ash would heal wounds. The fibrous pith of the stems has been utilized for making paper. For making paper, the fibrous covering is stripped off the stem and the inner pith is split into wafer-like strips. These strips are then laid side by side, with others placed crosswise on top; the strips are dampened then pressed so that their glue-like sap cements them together. They are then dried into a sheet. The plant was also traditionally used to make formal bouquets funeral garlands, boats, cordage, fans, sandals, matting, corkage and boxes.