DEODAR TREE ( CEDRUS DEODARA) - INFORMATION: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF DEODAR TREE

DEODAR TREE, CEDRUS DEODARA

The deodar is the national tree of Pakistan and is a member of the pine tree family in particular the cedars, making it a relative of the Biblical Cedar of Lebanon. As a member of the Pinaceae family of trees it is also related to the pine trees which bear pine nuts, including the chilgoza pine nuts. It is an evergreen coniferous tree that is native to Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and western Nepal. They can live for more than a thousand years, but up until now, they have not, as far as we know, beaten the Jurupa oakand the yew in the longevity stakes. The old trees can grow to heights of 250 feet and have girths of 14 feet. These trees are revered and can be found planted around temples.

  The name deodar comes from a Sanskrit word, davadaru which means the timber of God or divine timber. However the tree is prized for its medical properties, and not just for its fragrant wood, which is, admittedly, put to many uses.

  Walking through a forest of these trees is breathtaking as they emit the pine resin smell that scents the air. I see why it is used in aromatherapy to clear the mind. Because the wood is fragrant it is used like sandalwood for chests, and smaller items such as ornamental boxes and picture frames. Deodar wood repels insects and so chests and barrels are made to store grains such as rice in. The oil can also be diluted and sprayed on crops as a natural insecticide, and you can smear it over your arms to prevent them being bitten by mosquitoes.

  In former times in Pakistan, beggars pretending to be holy men would waft incense burners around shops for protection against evil and for good luck and inside the burners would be deodar charcoal or sandalwood. Now, however, they use any kind of charcoal and so their services are no longer welcomed. In fact they are not allowed in shops.

  Deodar oil and resins as well as the pine needles and bark of the tree have been used in traditional and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, to cure illnesses ranging from STDs, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis to less serious coughs, colds and hiccups.

Deodar trees in winter

  Modern medical research has shown that extracts from the needles have a pain killing and antiseptic effect, and that the tree has antioxidant properties. It has been found to contain new lignan compounds (lignans are found in flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and broccoli and have antioxidant and anti-cancer properties). A new flavonoid has also been discovered, and the tree has also yielded two new types or sesquiterpenoids ά – and β-himachalines along with deodarone and deodardione.

  Ayurvedic practitioners use preparations from the deodar tree to treat urinary tract problems, diabetes, obesity, to relieve pain, for skin problems, to aid digestion and to strengthen the heart muscles and to improve blood circulation. The oil is used for headaches, coughs, colds, hiccups, arthritis and a number of other ailments including gout.

  Rudyard Kipling mentions deodar trees in three of his books, and they have been mentioned frequently in Indian and Pakistani writings. Here are the quotations from Kipling.

   “One of the young men of fashion - he who was found dead at the bottom of a well on the night of the earthquake had once given him a complete suit of Hindu kit, the costume of a low caste street boy, and Kim stored it in a secret place under some baulks in Nila Ram's timber-yard, beyond the Punjab High Court, where the fragrant deodar logs lie seasoning after they have driven down the Ravi.”  (From “Kim”) Note: the Ravi is a river.

  “The pass was crowned with dense, dark forest--deodar, walnut, wild cherry, wild olive, and wild pear, but mostly deodar, which is the Himalayan cedar; and under the shadow of the deodars stood a deserted shrine to Kali--who is Durga, who is Sitala, who is sometimes worshipped against the smallpox. “ (From “The Second Jungle Book”)

  “He further increased his revenues by selling timber to the railway companies, for he would cut the great deodar trees in his own forest arid they fell thundering into the Sutlej River and were swept down to the Plains, 300 miles away, and became railway ties.”

(From “Mine Own People”)

SUGAR PALM AND TODDY SEEDS NUTRITIOUS AND HEALTHY: HOW TO MAKE COOLING TODDY PALM SEEDS AND COCONUT WATER DRINK

SUGAR PALM, ASIAN PALMYRA PALM, BORASSUS FLABELLIFER

This fan palm is notable for the fact that its sap is used to produce gur (jaggery) but what is little known outside its natural habitat, South and South-East Asia, is that its fruit when immature, has jelly-like seed kernels inside it, called toddy seeds, considered a delicacy in India, and sold in markets in early summer for a limited period only. You can find these in cans in Asian stores, but they are usually canned in sugar syrup which makes them too sweet. When fresh they are moderately sweet and are a little crunchy, so are sliced into thin strips or chopped into small pieces and then used to make cooling drinks or in desserts with fruits such as papaya, pineapple and mangoes with vanilla ice cream.

   The fruits themselves resemble coconuts, which is not surprising as the trees are in the same botanical family of Arecaceae along with the date palm. The Borassus genus has seven known members, which are native to Asia, Africa (including the island of Madagascar) and New Guinea.

  In India the sugary sap from the tree is called toddy, as is the liquid that can be sucked from the fruit through the wiry fibres. These white fibres are either coated with white or orange pulp and inside there are the toddy seeds. When the fruit is young the toddy seeds are hollow, translucent and soft. They have a jelly-like consistency and are translucent. They are extracted from the fruit by roasting then breaking open the fruit, and peeling the pale brown skin from them.

  In drinks, with coconut water, like in the recipe below they rival sattu, gond katira (Tragacanth gum) and tukh malanga (basil seeds) as coolants for the body in the heat of a South Asian summer. The fruit contains B-complex vitamins, vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid and vitamin A, plus the minerals zinc, iron, potassium, calcium and phosphorous. A recent study (2011) has concluded that this fruit if grown on a larger commercial scale could help solve the world’s malnutrition problem.

  The whole tree has positive benefits for us as another recent study has shown that some of the traditional uses of parts of this tree in medicine have some basis. It could have anti-diabetic properties; it has antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory ones. The male flowers have anti-inflammatory properties, and contain dioscin and steroid saponins and studies are underway to discover what other properties and constituents different parts of Borassus flabellifer have.

  In traditional medicine practices, the young plant is used to stop vomiting and nausea, for dysentery and gonorrhoea, while the young roots are used to get rid of internal worms and as a diuretic. A decoction of the roots is said to be god for some respiratory diseases. When mixed with black salt the decoction of bark is used as a mouth wash. Even the sap from the flower stalk is used as a tonic, diuretic, stimulant, laxative and expectorant. Also sugar from this sap is supposed to be an antidote to poisoning and used for liver problems. The fresh toddy is heated to fermentation point and bandaged onto ulcers too, while the pulp from the mature fruit is used on the skin for dermatitis. Different parts of the tree are used for spleen and liver enlargement. 

  It has uses outside of the medicinal field too, as the fronds can be used for thatching and mats. Parts of the tree are used to make jewellery, and baskets are woven with it. Fans, hats and parasols are made with it too, and of course if you require a temporary shelter, then the palm fronds can be utilized for this purpose too. In ancient India a kind of papyrus was made from the tree for the sacred writings, so it has a special place in history and religion. The tree is reputed to have 800 uses, both medical and more practical ones, as the timber is strong too and can be used in construction. The sugary sap or “toddy” can be fermented to make arrach an alcoholic beverage.

  So this tree caters to a person’s physical, spiritual and recreational needs in one way or another.

TODDY PALM SEEDS AND COCONUT WATER DRINK

Ingredients

4 young seeds cut into small pieces

2 cups fresh coconut water

½ cup crushed ice

sugar to taste if necessary

4 mint leaves, shredded  

mint sprigs to garnish

Method

Blend all the ingredients together and garnish with the sprigs of mint.

This has Taste and is a cooling Treat.

BEECH TREE - SQUIRREL'S FAVOURITE TREE: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF BEECH TREE

COMMON OR EUROPEAN BEECH TREE, FAGUS SYLVATICA

The beech tree is a common sight in southern England and parts of South Wales. The name comes from the Old English Boc through to the Anglo-Saxon Boece and has left its mark on place names. There is the famous Burnham Beeches, near Slough, just outside London and Buckholt in Hampshire, and Buckhurst in Essex, both meaning ‘beech wood’ as well as Bockhampton in Berkshire which means ‘settlement where beech trees grow.’ The beech tree is a member of the Fagaceae family along with the oak trees, and sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa). “Fagos” is the Greek word which means to eat, and the trees are so-called because they bear edible nuts. In the case of the beech, these are known as beech masts, probably referring to the triangular shape of the two nuts that are contained in a prickly outer casing. The word sylvatica comes from the Latin for wood, sylvis. It is a distant relative of the witch hazel as they are part of the wider family of Hamamelidadae.

Copper beech

  The other beech tree that can be found in the British Isles is the Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica var. purpurea) which is a spectacular tree with purple-copper leaves. These can be dried and preserved with glycerine to make attractive decorations.

  The nuts from the tree are bitter tasting, but I used to enjoy looking for them when I went for walks up the mountain with my grandfather, who would open the cases for me. We would often see squirrels in the tree, and badgers and small rodents would feed on then nuts when they fell. Apparently they are toxic and you shouldn’t eat too many of them.

  In times of scarcity the nuts can be ground to powder and used with flour to make bread etc. They can also be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute. It is said that the oil extracted from the nuts can be used to stimulate hair growth too.

  The tender young shoots and leaves may also be eaten raw in a mixed salad, so the tree provides ‘famine food’ for humans and in autumn, food for animals and birds. In that season its leaves are golden and are a wonderful sight with the sun streaming through them.

  The branches can produce a creosote or tar through a dry distillation process, which is a stimulant, antiseptic and expectorant, which can be used also for skin diseases.  It is said that the pure creosote brings fast relief from toothache, but it tastes vile.

 The leaves may be boiled and made into a hot poultice for headaches, while the buds of the beech tree are said to help the kidneys function well as well as having diuretic properties.

  It has been found that there are lignans in the bark of the tree, which have powerful antioxidant properties. These are found in flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and broccoli among other vegetables. It also contains suberin which is a fatty, waxy substance which gases and water cannot permeate, found in cork.

Beech in autumn

  Pollen from the catkins (flowers) of this tree has been found in fossils from the Pleistocene period, so like the yew it is a prehistoric tree. It has male and female flowers on the same tree, like the hazel.

   This tree can grow to heights of 40 metres and is a shade tree, it lets little light through to the forest floor, and beech woods are very dark places. Beeches grow along with oaks and hazel trees in ancient woodlands in Britain. They can live for at least 300 years, but are babies in comparison to the ancient yews and Jurupa oak in California.

RAMBUTAN - EXOTIC FRUIT: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF RAMBUTAN: EXOTIC FRUIT SALAD RECIPE

RAMBUTAN, NEPHELIUM LAPPACEAE

Rambutans look and taste like large juicy lychees, although they come in a hairy or spiny outer case, which is how they got their name; from a Malay word, rambut which means hair. The tree is a member of the Sapindaceae of which reetha, or the soapnut tree (Sapindus mukorossi) is a member. Synonyms for the rambutan tree are Euphoria nephelium DC and Dimocarpus crinita Lour.

  It is a large evergreen tree that can reach heights of between 15 – 25 metres (50 to 80 feet).It bears fruits every alternate year and has long leaves (10-30 cm) which consist of 3-11 leaflets. It is a native of South East Asia where it is now cultivated, but the fruits are rarely exported. It is also cultivated in Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Cuba as well as in Australia. 

    They like humidity and a well-distributed rainfall, which is why, I suppose they have the name Nephelium. In Greek mythology, Nefeli or Nephele was a nymph married to Athamantia, lord of Boetia, which was the central part of the Greek mainland, and she had two children, Frixus and Ellie. Alternatively she was shaped from clouds by Zeus into the form of his wife, the goddess Hera. She had complained to Zeus that King Ixion had attempted to rape her, and to test the truth of her story Zeus made the cloud woman, Nephele, and sent her to the king, who raped her. She conceived and gave birth to the Centauri, the tribe of centaurs, during a rain storm on Mount Pelion. Either way, Nephele has the association with rain and clouds.

  The rambutan was introduced into the Philippines in 1912 from Indonesia and again introduced in the 1930s and then more plants were exported from Malaysia. They were introduced into the US too, but are not grown there.

  Normally people eat the fruit raw, but they can be stewed and made into jams too. They are also used in traditional medicine, for a number of ailments. A decoction can be made from the bark of the tree and used to get rid of thrush or candida. Internal worms can be removed with a decoction made from the roots it is said. The leaves are made into a poultice and applied to the forehead, to relieve headaches, and a decoction of the dried skin, which contains tannins, is used for dysentery and diarrhoea. The seeds are said to be toxic and so should not be eaten raw, although they are OK roasted and are used in the treatment of diabetes. The leaves can be dried and made into a paste with a little water and this can be used on the scalp and hair to condition it. The dried skin is also used for fevers and is sold in markets in Malaysia.

  The fruit may help in a weight loss diet and may also help to lower blood pressure. Eating the fruit is also supposed to help you have softer skin and to improve its health.

  The young shoots from the tree can be used to produce a green dye on silk which has already been dyed yellow with turmeric (haldi), while the fruit produces a black dye for silk. The seed oil, which looks like cacao butter, can be used to make candles and soap.

  Rambutans are high in vitamin C and eating ten of them will give you twice as much of his as is recommended for your daily diet. It also contains niacin B1 and traces of the vitamin A. It also contains the minerals, iron, phosphorous and calcium.

EXOTIC FRUIT SALAD

Ingredients

10 rambutans, skin and stone removed

2 kiwi fruit, peeled

1 small ripe pineapple,

250 gr strawberries, hulled

1 bunch black grapes,

orange liqueur

Method

Slice the pineapple at 2 inches from the top and use a sharp knife to remove the flesh. Keep the shell to put the fruit in. Chop the pineapple into bite sized chunks.

Slice the kiwi fruit.

Put the fruit (not the grapes) into a bowl and pour orange liqueur over them- don’t overdo it!

Leave the bowl, covered in the fridge tossing the fruit in the liqueur every so often to make sure it is coated.

Put the fruit in the pineapple shell and serve.

This has Taste and is a Treat.