LEH BERRY: AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF VITAMIN C

Plant Morphology

(Photograph courtesy: Wikipedia at) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hippophae_rhamnoides-01_%28xndr%29.JPG)

Botanical Name: Hippophae rhamnoides  subsp. turkestanica                    (Synonym: Hippophae turkestanica)

Family: Elaeagnaceae (Oleaster family)

Common Names:

English: Leh berry, Sea buckthorn, Sallow thorn, Sand thorn

India: Chharma, Tirkug (Lahul-Spiti, H.P), Suak (Pangi, H.P.), Sirna, Tasru, Tsarna, Tsermang (Ladakh)

Distribution: Pakistan to Europe, Northwest Himalaya in the higher Tibetan plateau at 2100-3600 m.

Habitats: Riversides in the subalpine to lower alpine zones.

Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. turkestanica plant in early June at Nako Lake in Kinnaur (H.P.)

Morphology: Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. turkestanica is a thorny and deciduous shrub growing to 6 m by 2.5 m at a medium growth rate. The crown is irregular with rigid and silvery twigs and leaves. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped, alternate, 2-6 cm long, and covered on both sides with silvery-white scales. The undersides of the leaves have brown dots. The plants are unisexual (dioecious) with either male or female flowers. The flowers are present in clusters, inconspicuous, yellow and appear before leaves. Each fruit is a 1-seeded, reddish-orange berry that measures 5-12 mm in size. Sea buckthorn plants can fix nitrogen.

Flowering: June

Fruiting: September-October

Ripe fruits of Leh berry

(Photograph courtesy: Wikimedia Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seabuckthorn_berries,_Nubra_valley,_Ladakh.jpg)

Uses:

Fruits:  The reddish-orange berries are soft, juicy, rich in oils and edible. They are nutritious, very acidic and unpleasant to eat raw. The juice of berries can be mixed with sweeter substances such as sugars and apple or grape juices. The juice is very rich in vitamin C. Its juice is available in the Indian market under the trade names ‘Leh Berry’ and ‘Ladakh Berry’. It has a market of over Rs. 6 crores in India and over Rs 17,000 crores in China. The fruits can also be processed into preserves, jam and squash.

 

Ethnobotanical uses:  The berries are eaten in Lahul & Spiti (Himachal Pradesh, India). The fruit infusion is relished by children. It is considered a tonic, aphrodisiac and medicine for tuberculosis.

Medicinal uses: The twigs and leaves have astringent and vermifuge properties. Medicinal oil obtained from fruits is used in the treatment of cardiac disorders, healing of burns and eczema.  Fresh juice is used in the treatment of colds, fever and exhaustion. Berries are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Ample amounts of vitamins A, C, E and flavonoids have been reported from them. 

Cultivation: The plants can be propagated through seeds, suckers and stem cuttings. They are very hardy and can tolerate a temperature of about -25°C but require sunny slopy sides for their proper growth. The seeds are sown in spring in sunny locations. Cold stratification for three months considerably improves the germination percentage.  The male seedlings can be easily differentiated from the females in the spring as males have very prominent axillary buds. The plants produce suckers, which can be used as a planting material as well. The stem cuttings of half-ripe wood can also be used for propagation at the end of autumn or early in the spring.

HIMALAYAN STRAWBERRY TREE: Cornus capitata

Inflorescences of the Himalayan strawberry tree

Synonyms: Benthamia capitata, B. fragifera, B. capitata var. khasiana, Cornus capitata subsp. capitata,   C. capitata var. khasiana, Cynoxylon capitatum, C. glabriusculum, Dendrobenthamia capitata, D. emeiensis

Family: Cornaceae (Dogwood family)

Common Names:

English: Himalayan strawberry tree, Bentham's Cornel, Evergreen dogwood, Headed-flowered dogwood, Mountain moon, Himalayan flowering dogwood

European: Cornouiller du Bentham (French), Smultronkornell (Swedish)

Nepali: Gulna

India: Tharmal (Hindi), Tharbal (Hindi), Bhamora (Uttrakhand), Thamia (Sirmour, H.P.), Guldhara (Mandi, Kullu in H.P.), Dieng-sohjaphon (Assam)

Distribution: E. Asia - China in the Himalayas.

Habitats: Moist, evergreen and mixed forests at elevations of 1000 - 3200 metres.

Himalayan strawberry tree with many cymes on a branch

Morphology: Cornus capitata is an evergreen, small to medium sized tree, growing to 12 m in height. The mature trees are generally wider than tall. The bark of old branches is grayish brown to blackish gray in colour. The young branches are grayish green, pubescent and with white appressed trichomes. The leaves are light green, narrowly elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 5-12 × 2–3.5 cm in size, leathery, scabrous, with 3-4 veins and densely pubescent with thick white appressed trichomes on the lower side. The flower buds are globose and subtended by four (rarely six) rounded, dark creamy or yellowish petal-like bracts. The globose cymes are approximately1.5 cm in diameter having 30-50 minute (3-4mm) flowers. The calyx is campanulate and hairy. The petals are 2-4 mm long and greenish in colour. The style is cylindrical, 1.5 mm, densely pubescent with white trichomes. The aggregate fruit is an etaerio of drupes, reddish, succulent, globose head and 2.5-5 cm across in diameter. Each drupe is a one seeded stone, roughly six-sided and with a stubby remnant of central-style.

A mature Himalayan strawberry tree

Flowering: May-July

Fruiting: September–November

An inflorescence (Cyme)

A fruiting branch (Photograph courtesy: Dr. Vishwapati Bhatt)

Uses:

Fruit:  The ripe fruits are reddish, fleshy and edible. They are sweet and taste like an over-ripe banana. Some trees produce quite pleasant tasting fruits. They can be used raw or cooked. The fruit can also be used in preserves. The spiky, edible and red fruits give the plant its name ‘Strawberry Tree’.

Known hazards:  Not known

 

 

 Ripe fruits (Photograph courtesy: Dr. Vishwapati Bhatt)

My friend Dr. Vishwapati Bhatt relishing bhamora fruit at Benitaal in Uttrakhand

Medicinal Uses: The bark is a source of tannin which is used as an astringent.

Other Uses: The young twigs are used as fodder. The wood is used mainly as fuel and for making tools.

Cultivation: Cornus capitata mostly grows wild in the Himalayas. Nathaniel Wallichhas has introduced some plants to England in 1825 after his expedition to Nepal. It prefers heavy clay soils. The new plants can be raised from seeds separated from the fruit flesh, which contains germination inhibitors. The germination percentage is generally very poor (11.4-24.7%) in this plant. The cold stratification of seeds for 3 - 4 months improves the germination percentage.  Water soaking and sulphuric acid soaking treatments have also been recommended. Plants can also be propagated through young cuttings.

Ridhi: A Medicinal Orchid

English name: Intermediate Habenaria

Hindi name: Vridhi

Ayurvedic names: Riddhi, Laksmi, Mangala, Rathanga, Risisrista, Saravajanpriya, Siddhi, Sukha, Vasu and Yuga 

Botanical name: Habenaria intermedia 

Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid Family)

Distribution: In North West Himalayas on the grassy slopes between 2000-3000 m above mean sea level.

Medicinal uses: It is an important member of rasayana herbs in Ayurveda and constituent of Ashtavarga (a group of eight rejuvenating medicinal herbs) and Indian traditional tonic Chyvanprasha (polyherbal rejuvenator).  The tubers of the plant are sweet and emollient (having a softening or soothing effect especially to the skin). They are used as brain tonic, aphrodisiac, depurative (remove impurities from the body), anthelmintic (capable of expelling or destroying parasitic worms), rejuvenating and general tonic. The tubers are also useful in asthma, leprosy and skin diseases. It has strong antioxidant and nitric oxide scavenging activity, which can be assigned to scopoletin and gallic acid or their synergistic properties and may be helpful in preventing premature ageing. The tender leaves and tubers are edible and cooked as vegetables.

The IUCN has categorized it as an endangered species. The plants are rapidly disappearing due to indiscriminate digging for their medicinal tubers.