Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Serai or lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a plant species in Poaceae, a shrub that has large fibrous roots and short rhizomes, pseudo stems that are soft and break easily even though they are stiff, hollow, rooted, clustered and often used as spices and essential oils.

C. citratus has a pseudo stem, 60-200 cm tall, yellowish white as a tuber midrib, has short hair and grows straight above the ground. The stem produces shoots where the root fibers have stolons that spread horizontally below the surface of the soil.

Stems frond and dull greenish white. Single leaf ribbon-shaped, not stemmed, length 50-100 cm, width 2 cm, bright green, pointed tip, bone in the middle of the linear and the rough surface of the upper and lower surface smooth hair.

Squeezed leaves emit a fragrant aroma that is almost like the scent of orange. Flowers contain ears and have no crown. The stems are used as spices to scent food and are processed into essential oils to repel mosquitoes and other insects.

Essential oils from lemon grass are citral, citronellol, beta-pinen, kamfen, sabinen, mirsen, p-felandren, psimen, limonene, cis-osimen, terpinol, citronellal, borneol, terpinen-4-ol, alpha-terpineol, geraniol, farnesol, methyl heptenone, n-desialdehyde, dipentene, methyl heptenone, bornilasetate, geranilformate, terpinyl acetate, sitronelil acetate, geranil acetate and beta-karyophilene oxide.

Citronellal, citronellol and geraniol determine the intensity of fragrant aromas, the value and price of oil. The phytochemical content of lemongrass is tannins, flavonoids, phenols and carbohydrates. The active component has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antibacterial, deodorant, expectorant, insecticide and sedative abilities.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Panicoideae
Tribe: Andropogoneae
Genus: Cymbopogon
Species: Cymbopogon citratus

Sea almond (Terminalia catappa)

Ketapang or tropical almond or beach almond or talisay tree or umbrella tree or sea almond ( Terminalia catappa ) is a species of plant in the Combretaceae, a shady tree, fast growing, forming a multilevel canopy, often used as a shade tree in gardens and on roadsides. T. catappa grows large, up to 40 meters in height and up to 1.5 meters in trunk, shady canopy with branches that grow flat and terraced, young trees often look like pagodas while old and large trees often have aerial roots up to 3 meters. The leaves are scattered, mostly at the end of the twig, rounded egg upside down, 8-38 cm long, 5-19 cm wide, the tip is wide, the base is narrow, the upper surface is smooth, green but turns red if to fall out and short stalks. The flowers are small, collected near the tips of the twigs, 8-25 cm long and green-yellow in color. The flowers are not crowned, the petals have five taju, are plate or bell shaped, 4-8 mm long and are white or cream in color. Stamens in two circles and arra...

Asian foxtail (Uraria crinita)

Asian foxtail or cat's tail bean ( Uraria crinita ) is a species of plant in Fabaceae, a perennial, upright shrub with woody stems at least at the base, up to 2 meters high in forests, agricultural land, waterways, used as a medicinal herb, green manure and sometimes planted in the garden as an ornamental plant. U. crinita has elongated leaves, rounded base, pointed tip, a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, rough surface, dark green with white spots. Petiole short or less than 0.5 cm and brownish red. Compound flower in spike shape, purple and white triangular crown. Long flower stalk, erect, 15-20 cm long and only at the end of the flower. The crown slowly falls off and leaves behind a stalk that is shaped like coir or light yellow pads. Asian foxtail grows in dry grasslands, open forests, trash cans, roadsides, sandy areas and sometimes in deciduous forests, elevations of 0-1500 meters and does not grow in waterlogged places. The different parts are often used in t...

Brazilian vervain (Verbena brasiliensis)

Brazilian vervain ( Verbena brasiliensis ) is a species of plant in the Verbenaceae, an annual shrub with erect stems, up to 1 meter high, triangular or semi-spherical in shape with sharp corners, green, white-haired, lower branches in an opposite arrangement, branches above grows in an irregular formation. V. brasiliensis has elongated leaves, up to 20 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, sharp tip, deeply serrated or flat margins, dark green in color, a main vein in the middle and whitish in color, several minor veins laterally, rough and stiff surface. Inflorescences in panicles at the end of a long stalk up to 5 cm long. The flower petals are 3 mm long, 5 lobed and tubular in shape. The corolla is formed from fused petals and spreads open at the tip, only slightly longer than the calyx. Flowers have reproductive organs of both sexes. Superior and bicarpellary ovaries. The fruit is a schizocarp or dried fruit that splits when ripe. Wrapped in petals. Nutlets are triangular in cross-sec...

Dlium