eChapters

Guava is one of the most common fruits grown widely throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Guava is hardy in nature, prolific bearing and highly remunerative even without much care (Mitra and Bose, 1990). Because of its excellent adaptability and exceptional performance in the tropics, it is regarded as the ‘apple of tropics’.

In India, guava is the fifth most important fruit crop in terms of area and production. It is cultivated over 1.51 lakh ha area with a total production of 18.0 lakh tones (Chadha, 2001). It is rich in pectin and used for jelly making. It is useful as table fruit and also for processing purpose.

It is known by different names viz., madhuri (Assamese), peyara (Bengali), phanas (Gujrati), amrood (Hindi), sebe (Kannad), soh-priya (Khasi-Meghalaya), komperam (Garo-Meghalaya), pera (Malayalam), peru (Marathi), pijuli (Oriya), amrud (Punjabi), koyya (Tamil) and jama (Telugu).

The common fig, (Ficus carica L.) is a fruit of warm temperate zone. It is one of the oldest fruits known to man and is mentioned by well known Greek writers Homer and Plato. Mention about this fruit is in the earliest chapter of Bible. Figs belong to family Moraceae, which include many tropical fruits and ornamental species. The fruit is known botanically as ‘syconium’ in which the flowers are borne on the inner walls of a hollow receptacle. It is one of the most salt and drought tolerant amongst fruit trees. Fig is a moderate sized deciduous tree in subtropics but performs as evergreen in tropics. Branches are irregular, shoots develop at base of trunk, leaves are very broad, ovate and long stalked. Fruits mostly long stalked, pear shaped with a velvety or glabrous skin, yellow, brown, purplish or black in colour. 

The circumstances concerning the diffusion of  main cultivated citrus from their places of origin in Asia are studied here, showing that the citron (Citrus medica L.) was the only one known in Ancient times in Europe, while the lemon (C. limon [L.] Osbeck), lime (C. aurantiifolia [Christm.] Swingle), pomelo (C. maxima [Burm.] Merr.) and sour orange (C. × aurantium L.) were introduced to Europe by the Muslims via the Iberian Peninsula and Sicily, and that the grapefruit (C. × aurantium L. [C. paradisi Macfad.]), mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco) and sweet orange (C. × aurantium L.) arrived to the West between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries as a result of the trade with the British and Portuguese colonies.

Tropical plum (Spondias mombin) also known as yellow mombin, hog plum, and java plum, is a deciduous fruit species widely spread in the tropics. This species is evaluated for its fruit as an unconventional source of vitamins A and C, which are used for making juices, ice creams and jellies. This plant also has medical importance.
 
It is a graceful tree of the family Anacardiaceae, a native of tropical America. It was introduced into India for edible fruit and also to serve as fencing. The fruit flesh (48% on  weight of fruit) contains: total solids 11.47%, protein 1.38%, fat 0.57%, acids (astartaric) 1.50%, reducing sugars 9.41%, sucrose nil, fibre 1.17%, and mineral matter 0.66%. The seeds are eaten when tender. The fruit is a good source of minerals and vitamin B1 and C.

Carambola (Averrhoa carambola) is a fruit of warm tropical and sub- tropical areas of the world. The fruit is oblong with three to six longitudinal ribs, resulting in a star shaped cross section when cut. Usually they have five ribs which give rise to common name of ‘five corners’ or ‘star fruit’. The tree is medium-sized, attractive and evergreen growing to about 10m. The fruit has emerged as an interesting addition to the table fruit, not only as fresh fruit, but also for its juice, decorative uses and sherbet qualities.

Bael is one of the oldest and useful trees of India. The bael fruit, (Aegle marmelos Correa) is also called Bengal quince (John and Stevenson, 1979), Indian quince, golden apple, holy fruit, stone apple, bel, belwa, sriphal and maredoo in India. Among the indigenous fruits of India, Bael occupies an important place. All the parts of bael tree have their own importance. It is a medicinally and economically important fruit crop with immense potential for extending its cultivation in semi-arid degraded land. Mention of bael cultivation in Indian literature dates back to 800 B.C.  Bael fruit is available in almost all states of India but most abundantly available in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.

The Bael fruit is one of the most nutritious fruits. It contains 61.5 g water, 1.8 g protein, 0.39 g fat, 1.7 g mineral, 31.8 g carbohydrate, 55 mg carotene, 0.13 mg thiamin, 1.19 mg riboflavin, 1.1 mg niacin and 8 mg vitamin C / 100 gm of edible portion (Gopalan et al., 1971). It contains the highest riboflavin content among fruits. Marmelosin is, most probably, the therapeutically active principle of bael fruit. It is isolated as a colorless crystaline compound (Dixit and Dutt., 1932).The astringent taste of bael fruit is due to phenolic compounds. The medicinal properties of bael have been dealt with in Charaka Samhita (Aiyar, 1956). Bael fruit has curative, pesticidal and nutritive properties. The leaves of bael are used for worship of Lord Shiva. Green bael fruits are used for preparing Murabba (preserve) generally taken for stomach ailments. Bael fruits have an immense potential for processing into products like squash, jam, toffee, candy and syrups for internal and foreign market.

Social civilization of the Neolithic settlements of primitive human communities contributes substantial initiation of cultivation and an approach towards conservation of useful plant species for sustainable food habits. Several archaeological attestations confirm that Homo sapiens at the end of the Paleolithic period had knowledge on many useful plants derived from food gathering techniques. Growth of human populations beyond the size that hardly supports hunting and gathering for food materials may perhaps be the probable reason that forced the Neolithic primitive nomadic communities for settlement and emergence of crude forms of cultivation.

The use of natural dyes lost ground together with the old traditional dye methods towards the end of 19th century soon after the synthetic dyes came to the market (Gilbert and Cooke 2001). Only artisans, craftsmen, and green–minded companies continued dyeing with natural dyes (Hartl 1997). The first recorded synthetic dye is picric acid produced in 1770’s from the interaction of indigo and nitric acid. The synthetic dye industry is considered to have started when Perkins synthesised mauveine (mauve) in 1856 in the UK (Hancock 1997). With the passage of time, it was observed that synthetic dyes used by the textile industry are a source of environmental pollution (Seker et al. 2007) and they produce allergic, carcinogenic and detrimental effects on the health of humans (Singh and Singh 2002, Mahanta and Tiwari 2005). The synthetic dyes were preferred by the industry because of their simpilicity in the use and all colors could be produced easily, but the problem was the waste deposition which is a major cause of environmental pollution. The solvents used during dying reduce the problem to some extent but the waste water purification needs extra effort and money (Shreve and Brink 1985). As against this, the natural dyes are not only harmless to the humans but also cause far less environmental pollution, and have distinctive washing and sunlight fade–resistant characteristics (Mert et al. 1992, Angelini et al. 1997, Kim and Park 2006). For this purpose, the textile industries have started rethinking about the natural dyes and are trying to find sustainable as well as non–toxic alternatives to synthetic dyes for a growing textile market.

Although the thriving dye industry in many countries throughout the world is now predominantly serviced by synthetic dyes, the knowledge of the plants used to produce natural dyes still survives among some dyers, who use plant dyes to some extent. Nonetheless this indigenous knowledge is rapidly being lost as increasingly less information is being passed on to succeeding generations. Thus several countries are taking steps to revitalize this natural dyes industry. In this article the history of natural dye plants is presented; several plants from selected countries, which are used in the dyeing process are documented, together with some general methods of dye production and fabric dyeing; pattern production and the chemical constituents of some of these plants. The potential for the sustainable utilization of this important ecofriendly renewable natural resource is discussed.

Kair (Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew, is an under-exploited, drought hardy, multipurpose, perennial, woody shrub or small tree found in hot arid regions of many regions of the world. It is a many branched, leafless and spinose plant capable of growing in different habitats. Due to its xerophytic adaptive nature, the plant grows successfully under harsh climatic conditions of arid regions. The immature fruits are used as fresh vegetables and also in the preparation of pickles. Dehydrated fruits are used in off season as vegetables either alone or in combination with other dried vegetables. Dehydrated kair is one of the important ingredients of ‘panchkuta’, a dehydrated mixture of sangri, kair, kachri, kumat and kamal kakri. However, mature unripe fruits without processing are unpalatable as these contain high concentration of glucosinolates. Ripe fruits are sweet and acrid and enjoyed by children in natives.

Commercial capers are the immature flower buds, which have been pickled in vinegar or preserved in granular salt; they are used raw or cooked as condiment in different recipes. Semi- mature fruits (caper berries) and young shoots with small leaves may also be use as a condiment in salads or as an appetizer before meal. Capers and caper plants, wild and/or cultivated, are used in almost all the area of Capparis subgenus Capparis, extending from West Africa to the Norfolk islands in the Pacific, and most of the species are of alimentary or medicinal interest (Rivera, Inocencio, Obón & Alcaraz, 2003).

Capparis is a term coined by Theophrastus (4th cent. BC) and validated by Dioscorides (1st cent. AD) (Êáððáñéò), although it seems not to have come into wide use until the spread of the Arab world.
 
Caper and its relatives in several European languages can be traced back to Classical Latin Capparis “caper”. Latin Capparis, in turn, was loaned from Greek kapparis [êáððáñéò], whose origin (as that of the plant) is unknown but probably West or Central Asia. Another theory links kapparis to the name of the island Cyprus (Kypros [Êáðñïò]), where capers grow abundantly.

Euphorbiaceae is a large family that includes 310-320 genera and 7500 species (Walters and Keil, 1996). Two centers of distribution for this family are tropical America and tropical Africa. The family has an extremely variable life span and habits are found as annual and perennial herbs, vines, succulents, shrubs and tall trees. Members of the Euphorbiaceæ are found in many habitats, from deserts to rain forests. Euphorbiaceae family has genera used as unconventional foods

In Mexico, 826 species under Euphorbiaceae family are found with 50 genera including those introduced from elsewhere and cultivated. A subfamily with a larger number of genera is Acalyphoieae (16), while Euphorbioideae has more species (306), and Crotonoideae has more specific endemism (Martinez-Gordillo et al, 2002). Some of these plants are used in traditional medicine, in oil industry, as ornamental plants, and as food additive. A few examples of its uses include edible wax from Euphorbia antisyphilitica (candelilla) that coats fruits and vegetables to retard water evaporation. Jatropha dioica is a small shrub that is used in traditional medicine and Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poisenetta) an ornamental plant.

Atuna racemosa subspecies racemosa is shown to be a species with many uses throughout its range from Malaysia to Melanesia. The principle uses described are the seed oil used as anti-inflamatory massage oil and for hair dressing, the seed pulp that is used for caulking and varnishing boats, the wood for house construction, and many parts of the plant as ingredients of local medicines. The medicinal uses of this species deserve further study since it has been shown to have both anti-bacterial and anti-inflamatory action. It is also uncertain whether its distribution over the Pacific is natural or human caused.

Atuna racemosa Rafin. is a widely distributed tree species that ranges from the Malay Peninsula through Malesia, Australasia and to the Pacific islands as far as Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. As with many useful plants, its natural distribution is uncertain because it has been transported around from island to island during the various migrations of the Pacific islanders.

Plant family    :    Apiaceae
Synonyms      
English    :     Puerto Rican  Coriander, Black Benny, Saw leaf herb, Mexican coriander, Saw tooth coriander, Spiny coriander, Fitweed
Hindi    :    Bhandhania,Bhandhanya
Sanskrit    :    Phiranga
Kannada    :    Paramgi

Origin and Distribution

The plant is native to the Caribbean islands occuring from S.Mexico to Panama, Columbia, Bolivia, Brazil and Cuba to Trinidad. It was introduced to many tropical and subtriopical countries  where it is used as a substitute for coriander.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a tropical herbaceous plant extensively cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, parts of China and Pakistan.  Country of origin is not known with certainity, it is either of Chineese or Indian origin. India ranks first in area (1.49 lakh ha.) and production (5.27 lakh tonnes.) in the world and it is grown in most of the states in the country.  Major turmeric growing states are Andhra Pradesh (56,000 ha.), Orissa (23,000 ha.), Tamilnadu (17,000 ha.), Assam (12,000 ha.), West Bengal (11,000 ha.) Maharashtra (6,000 ha.)  Karnataka (6,000 ha.) and Kerala (3,000 ha.).  Andhra Pradesh ranks first in area and production in the country. Area under this crop is increasing in North Eastern States.

Turmeric belongs to family Zingiberaceae and genus Curcuma. Genus Curcuma has 42 species, of which Curcuma longa is extensively cultivated for culinary purposes, Curcuma aromatica for flavour and recently Curcuma amada (mango ginger) for preparation of chutneys. Turmeric is mainly cultivated for under ground rhizomes, rich in curcumin. Turmeric is traditionally used for medicinal, religious, culinary purposes and also as a cosmetic and dye (Shah 1997). Recent reports in controlling human cancer has given renewed interest on the crop. In Ayurveda, turmeric is regarded as aromatic, a stimulant tonic, carminative and anti helminthic. Essential oil of turmeric is antiseptic and is used in treating gall stones and gall complaints (Pruthi 1976).

Moringa (Moringa oleifera) is one of the most popular perennial vegetables grown in South India. It is commonly grown as a unique vegetable. Its fruits, leaves and flowers are equally useful. They are cut into slices and used in the preparation of a number of food items. Moringa oleifera is the most widely cultivated species of a monogeneric family, the Moringaceae. The tree is indigenous to North West India. It is found wild in the sub Himalayan tract from the river Chenab eastward to the Sarda and in Tarai tract of Uttaranchal in India. Moringa is native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. This rapidly growing tree (also known as horseradish tree, drumstick tree, benzolive tree, kelor, marango, mlonge, moonga, mulangay, nébéday, saijhan, sajna or Ben oil tree, radish tree, West Indian ben), was utilized by ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. It is now widely cultivated and has become naturalized in many locations in tropics. It is a perennial softwood tree with timber of low quality, which for centuries was advocated for traditional medicine and industrial uses. The name drumstick is derived from the pod shape resembling slender and curved stick used for beating the drum. Fruits also resemble the siliqua of radish and hence the name “radish tree”.

Chironji or Charoli (Buchanania lanzan Spreng Family: Anacardiaceae) is an excellent tree of agro forestry and social forestry. In wasteland development and Dryland horticulture, it assumes great significance due to multifarious uses and capacity to withstand adverse climatic conditions. At present, it is growing under forest condition as an under exploited fruit and gives monitory reward to tribal community of country and seems to be a boon for them. It is a valuable species found in dry deciduous forest throughout the country excluding eastern Himalayan forests (Singh, 1982). Flesh of ripe fruit is very palatable and is largely eaten raw or roasted and oily kernels are the most important part and are used in preparation of sweet meats and puddings (Singh, 1982). Mesocarp of fruit is edible and cherished by children (Munde et al, 2003). Kernel is highly nutritious and rich in protein (18.00 %) and yields sweet oil, which can be used to substitute olive and almond oil. Kernel contains 33.50 % oil, 1.90 % of which is unsaponifiable. Saponifiable part contained 20.00 % of linoleic acid. Chironji oil is non-repellant and non-toxic and is suitable for human consumption (Banerjee and Jain, 1988). Hemawathy and Prabhakar (1988) reported that total kernel lipid extracted from chironji was 65.60 % of dry kernel and consisted of 90.40 % neutral lipids, 3.4 % glycolipids and 6.2 % phospholipids. Kernel can be used for preparation of sweets. It provides quality timber wood for various uses.

Mahua botanically known as Bassia latifolia Roxb, (Hindi name: Mahua, Family: Sapotaceae) is an economical and multipurpose tree. Its flowers, fruits and oil obtained from seeds are eaten in various ways. Corolla commonly called mahua flowers is a rich source of sugar, containing appreciable amount of vitamins and minerals. Flowers are used for preparation of distilled liquors and potable spirits. Flowers and spent flowers (after fermentation) are also used as feed for livestock. Fruits are eaten as raw or cooked. Fruit pulp can be used as a source of sugar for alcoholic fermentation, whereas dry fruit husk can be used for preparation of absolute alcohol. Seed is a good source of oil. Amount of oil obtained from seeds is higher than many oil seed crops and oil seed-bearing trees. Oil obtained from kernel is used for edible purpose and used for preparation of vegetable oil. In Mahua oil, linoleic and unsaturated fatty acids are found which are useful for cardiac patients because it reduces cholesterol content in blood serum. Mahua oil is used in manufacture of soap, lubricating grease, fatty alcohols and candles. Mahua fat is a rich source of palmitic acid used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Mahua seeds can also be used for preparation of defatted flour, which has great potential in bakery products. Saponin obtained after extraction has industrial and commercial applications. Cake obtained after extraction of oil is used as manure and has insecticidal properties. The trees provide quality timber wood for various uses. Every part of Mahua yields an economic product of great potential value; hence it is a very useful tree.

While setting up a garden or landscaping an area, the natural floristic wealth is ignored very often. But many of those flora are much adapted to prevailing soil and climatic conditions of the area. Plants with attractive flowers or foliage could be retained to maintain the natural appearance as well as to reduce cost of landscaping.Very familiar plants of our surroundings having good ornamental value are discussed in this chapter.

Goanese Ipecacuanha 
Naregamia alata commonly known as Goanese Ipecacuanha is a member of family Meliaceae. It is known as Tinparni in Hindi, Triparnika in Sanskrit, Nilanarakam in Malayalam, Nilanreagam in Tamil and Nelanaringa in Kannada. Common name was derived from its use of roots in treatment of malaria. Vernacular name, Nilanarakam originated from its morphological resemblance to members of Rutaceae. 

Lilies, both Asiatic lilies and Oriental lilies, along with their hybrids are cultivated in very small scale in India, but are classified under high value crops (based on per stem value). Lilies are also capital intensive crops, in terms of high cost of infrastructure required for protected cultivation and bulbs which are imported. This article deals with growing conditions, varieties and other cultural aspects, as well as, practical tips from field conditions, from areas where Liliums are commercially grown in India.

Lilies are grouped under “high value flowers” in commercial floriculture parlance and are generally regarded under minor crops in production terms (on quantity produced or on area under production or on per sq.meter yield per year basis).  Lily is in fact a more productive and lucrative crop, specifically so in terms of income (on per sq. meter per year basis) than any other cut flower grown for commercial purposes in the open or protected cultivation in India.