KATSAGON

This tree is fairly common in Delhi. It is 15-20 m tall, trunk 15-25 cm in diam, large leaves 25-50 cm; leaflets 3-6 on each side of midrib, long elliptic, 8-14 X 2.5-6 cm. Large, pale yellow, trumpet shaped flowers occur in panicles. The flowers look very similar to those of Sausage tree, except for the color. The flowers mostly remain closed in the day and open up at night. The fruit is long and twisted, hanging like snakes from the branches.

Medicinal uses: The tree is extensively used in traditional medicine. As an ingredient in message oils, it is supposed to ease muscular tension.

SAUSAGE TREE

The blood-red flowers of the sausage tree bloom at night on long, ropelike stalks that hang down from the limbs of this tropical tree. The fragrant, nectar-rich blossoms are pollinated by bats, insects and sunbirds in their native habitat. The mature fruits dangle from the long stalks like giant sausages. They may be up to two feet long and weigh up to 6.8 kg. The flowers are seen hanging from the tree while they haven’t opened. After they open, they fall off quite soon. The fruit, while not palatable for humans, is popular with hippos, baboons, and giraffes. Mainly grown as a curiosity and ornamental, both for its beautiful deep red flowers and its strange fruit.

Medicinal uses: There are also a range of traditional uses for the fruit, varying from topical treatments for skin afflictions, to treatment for intestinal worms. There are some steroid chemicals found in the sausage tree that are currently added to commercially available shampoos and facial creams.

ROHEDA

Roheda is a deciduous or nearly evergreen tree of desert or dry regions. It occurs on flat and undulating areas including gentle hill slopes and sometimes also in ravines. It thrives very well on stabilized sand dunes, which experience extreme low and high temperatures. Leaves are narrow, somewhat lance-shaped, with wavy margins, 5-12 cm long. In spring time it produces beautiful showy tubular flowers in yellow, orange and red colours. Fruit is a long, thin, slightly curved capsule up to 20 cm long, with winged seeds. Roheda is mainly used as a source of timber. Its wood is strong, tough and durable. It takes a fine finish. The wood is excellent for firewood and charcoal. Cattle and goats eat leaves of the tree. Camels, goats and sheep consume flowers and pods. Roheda plays an important role in ecology. It acts as a soil-binding tree by spreading a network of lateral roots on the top surface of the soil. It acts as a windbreak and helps in stabilizing shifting sand dunes. It is considered as the home of birds and provides shelter for other desert wildlife. Shade of tree crown is shelter for the cattle, goats and sheep during summer days.

Medicinal uses: The bark obtained from the stem is used as a remedy for syphilis. It is also used in curing urinary disorders, enlargement of spleen, gonorrhoea, leucoderma and liver diseases. Seeds are used against abscess.

 COMFREY

Comfrey is a perennial herb with a black, turnip-like root and large, hairy broad leaves that bears small bell-shaped white, cream, purple or pink flowers. It is native to Europe, growing in damp, grassy places, and is widespread throughout the British Isles on river banks and ditches. Comfrey has long been recognised by both organic gardeners and herbalists for its great usefulness and versatility; of particular interest is the “Bocking 14” cultivar of Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum).

Medicinal uses: The herb contains allantoin, a cell proliferant that speeds up the natural replacement of body cells. Comfrey was used to treat a wide variety of ailments ranging from bronchial problems, broken bones, sprains, arthritis, gastric and varicose ulcers, severe burns, acne and other skin conditions. It was reputed to have bone and teeth building properties in children, and have value in treating ‘many female disorders’.