Gum arabic

Gum arabic, also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Senegalia senegal and Vachellia seyal. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees throughout the Sahel from Senegal to Somalia, although it has been historically cultivated in Arabia and West Asia. Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides. It was historically the source of the sugars arabinose and ribose, both of which were first discovered and isolated from it, and are named after it.

INDIAN ALMOND TREE

Also known as the Sea Almond or Tropical Almond, this Almond tree is among one of the most common trees throughout India, Malaysia and many other parts of SE Asia, growing wild as well as cultivated for its striking features as well as its tasty nut. This tree has a characteristic pagoda shape because it sends out a single stem from the top centre. When the single stem reaches a good height, it sends out several horizontal branches. It can get very large reaching 30m in ideal conditions.

Banyan
A Banyan (also Banian) is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte (a plant growing on another plant) when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree (or on structures like buildings and bridges). "Banyan" often refers specifically to the Indian banyan or Ficus benghalensis, is the national tree of the Republic of India,[1] though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a characteristic life cycle, and systematically to refer to the subgenus Urostigma.[2] Like other fig species (including the common edible fig Ficus carica), banyans bear multiple fruit in structures called syncarps. The Ficus syncarp supplies shelter and food for fig wasps and in turn, the trees are dependent on the fig wasps for pollination.

Jujube
Ziziphus jujuba (from Greek , zizyfon[2]), commonly called jujube[3] (sometimes jujuba), red date, Chinese date,[3] Korean date, or Indian date is a species of Ziziphus in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), used primarily as a shade tree that also bears fruit. It is a small deciduous tree or shrub reaching a height of 512 metres (1639 ft), usually with thorny branches. The leaves are shiny-green, ovate-acute, 27 centimetres (0.792.8 in) wide and 13 centimetres (0.391.2 in) broad, with three conspicuous veins at the base, and a finely toothed margin. The flowers are small, 5 millimetres (0.20 in) wide, with five inconspicuous yellowish-green petals. The fruit is an edible oval drupe 1.53 centimetres (0.591.2 in) deep; when immature it is smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple, maturing brown to purplish-black and eventually wrinkled, looking like a small date. There is a single hard stone similar to an olive stone

Portia tree
The portia tree (Thespesia populnea)[1] Family Malvaceae [2], is a small tree or shrub 5-10 (-20) m high that is pantropical in littoral environments, although probably native only to the Old World. In Hawaii and elsewhere in the Pacific it is possibly indigenous, although may have been spread by early Polynesians for its useful wood and fiber. Common names vary according to the country and include "Indian tulip tree", "Pacific rosewood", "seaside mahoe" (in Florida), surina (the "elegant tree"), suriya (Sinhala), bebaru or baru baru (Malay), milo or miro (in many Polynesian languages), makoi (Rapanui), gangaraavi (Telugu), poovarasu (Tamil), and plaksa (Sanskrit).

Cannon Ball Tree

When the `Cannon Ball Tree` is in its full maturity and bears flowers or fruits, it is such a beautiful tree that demands instant attention. However, at the immature period, the tree is very ordinary and common. The scientific name of the tree is `Couroupita Guianensis` and it derived from the `Lecythidacae` family. In Bengali and Tamil, it is known as `Nagalingam` and in Hindi, it is called `Shivalingam. This tree is native of the `Guianas` of South America. A twist of long woody branches hangs from the base of the trunk upward and they are quite distinct from the leaf-bearing branches and also from the wood of the tree. These branches are usually up to 90 cm in length and bear the long fatty flowers and circular green buds.

Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, the Indian Subcontinent, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera (see Casuarinaceae).[1][2] They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall. The foliage consists of slender, much-branched green to grey-green twigs bearing minute scale-leaves in whorls of 520. The flowers are produced in small catkin-like inflorescences; the flowers are simple spikes. Most species are dioecious, but a few are monoecious. The fruit is a woody, oval structure superficially resembling a conifer cone made up of numerous carpels each containing a single seed with a small wing.[1][3] The generic name is derived from the Malay word for the cassowary, kasuari, alluding to the similarities between the bird's feathers and the plant's foliage,[4] though the tree is called rhu in current standard Malay.

Coconut palm
The Coconut palm is a type of palm tree. It is a part of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is a large palm, growing to 30 m tall. It has leaves that are 46 m long. The term coconut refers to the fruit of the coconut palm. The coconut tree is a monocot. A coconut is a large nut. Coconuts grow in tropical countries. The flesh of a coconut is white and can be eaten raw or used in cooking. It is used in many of the foods we eat for flavour. It is native to tropical areas. There are many coconut palms in the coastal belt of India and Bangladesh. People of this area use coconut milk in cooking. Women use coconut oil as hair oil for hair. The coconut's shell is relatively hard, but can be broken. Because its shell is hard, it can be used as an ingredient to make craftworks.

Copperpod
Copperpod is sometime also called yellow flame tree, because of the resemblance of its fern-like leaves to that of Gulmohar. The copper-pod is a native of Sri Lanka, the Andamans, the Malay peninsula and North Australia. It is a very handsome tree with its spreading crown of many branches consisting of feathery mimosa like leaves and abundance of bright yellow blooms. When the copper-red seedpods cover the tree in profusion it is a wonderful sight. Thus the tree is much cultivated as an ornamental and is often planted alternately with Gul Mohur. It is easily propagated by seeds and the timber is used for cabinet work.

Peepal Tree
Other names : Bo tree, Bodhi tree, Sacred tree, Beepul tree, Pipers, Pimpal, Jari, Arani,Ashvattha, Ragi, Bodhidruma, Shuchidruma, Pipalla, Ashvattha and the Buddha tree are the other names used for the Banyan tree. Description : Peepal is a large, fast growing deciduous tree. It has a heart shaped leaves. It is a medium size tree and has a large crown with the wonderful wide spreading branches. It shed its leaves in the month of March and April. The fruits of the Peepal are hidden with the figs. The figs are ripen in the month of May. The figs which contain the flowers grow in pairs just below the leaves and look like the berries. Its bark is light gray and peels in patches. Its fruit is purple in colour. It is one of the longest living trees.

Neem Tree
Other names : It is popularly known as the miracle tree. It is known as Nimba in India. The Sanskrit name of Neem is Arishtha meaning the reliever of the sickness. Margosa tree Description : It is a tall evergreen tree with the small bright green leaves. It is up to 100 feet tall. It blossoms in spring with the small white flowers. It has a straight trunk. Its bark is hard rough and scaly, fissured even in small trees. The colour of the bark is brown grayish. The leaves are alternate and consists of several leaflets with serrated edges. Its flowers are small and white in colour. The loive like edible fruit is oval, round and thin skinned.

Garden Asparagus
Other names : Shatwar, sootmooli, halyan, Satavari, Asparagus root, Wild Aspargus are the other names used for the Garden Asparagus. Satavari means who posses hundred husbands. Description : Garden Asparagus grows to a height of 3 feet. It is an herbaceous perennial and is well known for its edible young shoots. It has fleshy roots and fern-like feathery foliage. Its roots grows 3 feet down in the soil. Young shoots are green succulent and tender. It has smooth and green stems which are 4-6 feet tall. It has green slender branches which appear more like the leaves than the branches. It produces male and female flowers on the separate plants. Flowers are greenish, bell shaped, which grows in the group of 1 to 3. Round bright red berries are produced on the female plants and each berries contains several black seeds

Aloe Vera
Other names : Cape aloe, Aloe curacao, Barbadoes aloe, Venezuela aloe, Indian alces, Ghirita, Lu hui, Star Cactus are the other names used for the Aloe Vera. It is also called miracle plant, Burn plant, medicine plant and first-aid-plant.

Description : Aloe Vera grows to a height of 12 to 16 inches. It has a fibrous root system. It does not have stems. It has thick freshly leaves with sharp points, which are up to 18 inches long and 2 inches wide at the base. Its leaves are even long and triangular in shape. The tissue in the center of the Aloe leaf contains a gel which yields the aloe gel. Its leaves are rich in water that is why it can survive for years. These leaves have spiky margins and are blotched creams. It is the member of the Lilly family. The roots of the pant are thick and fibrous. The fruit is the triangular capsule containing numerous seeds.

Tulsi Plant
Other names : It is known as Holy Basil in English and Tulasi in Sanskrit. Other names used for the Tulsi are Manjari, Krishna Tulsi, Trittavu, Tulshi and Thulsi. Description : Tulsi is a heavy branched having hair all over. It attains the height of about 75 90 cm. It has round oval shaped leaves which are up to 5 cm long. The leaves are 2- 4 cm in length. Its seeds are flat. Its flowers are purple creamish in colour. The Tulsi with the green leaves is called the Shri Tulsi and one with the reddish leaves is called the Krishna Tulsi. Its seeds are yellow to reddish in colour. Leaves of Tulsi contains very essential oil.

Amla
Other names : Indian gooseberry, Bhumi amla, Bhumyamalki, Amlaki, adiphala, dhatri, amalaka, amali, amalakamu, usirikai, Anola, Amlika, nellikai, malacca tree, nillika, nellikya, emblic are the other names used for the Amla. Description : Amla is the medium size deciduous plant. It grows to the height of 8 -18 meter. It has a crooked trunk and spreading branches. Its flower is yellow greenish in colour. The fruit is spherical pale yellow with six vertical furrows. The mature fruits are hard and do not fall for the gentle touch. The average weight of the fruit is 60 -70 g. It has a gray bark and reddish wood. Its leaves are feathery, linear oblong in shape and smell like lemon. Its wood is hard in texture. It wraps and splits when exposed in the Sun or in the excessive heat.