BELUNTAS

BELUNTAS

Beluntas merupakan tanaman perdu tegak, berkayu, bercabang banyak, dengan tinggi bisa mencapai dua meter. Daun tunggal, bulat bentuk telur, ujung runcing, berbulu halus, daun muda berwarna hijau kekuningan dan setelah tua berwarna hijau pucat serta panjang daun 3,8-6,4 cm. Tumbuh liar di tanah dengan kelembaban tinggi; di beberapa tempat di wilayah Jawa Barat tanaman ini digunakan sebagai tanaman pagar dan pembatas antar guludan di perkebunan. Beberapa daerah di Indonesia menyebut nama beluntas dengan nama yang berbeda seperti baluntas (Madura), Luntas (Jawa Tengah), dan Lamutasa (Makasar). Secara tradisional daun beluntas digunakan sebagai obat untuk menghilangkan bau badan, obat turun panas, obat batuk, dan obat diare. Daun beluntas yang telah direbus sangat baik untuk mengobati sakit kulit. Disamping itu daun beluntas juga sering dikonsumsi oleh masyarakat sebagai lalapan. Adanya informasi secara tradisional dari masyarakat yang telah lama memanfaatkan daun beluntas sebagai salah satu tanaman obat mendorong para peneliti untuk mengadakan berbagai penelitian guna membuktikan khasiatnya secara ilmiah. Pada tulisan ini akan dicoba pemaparan dua penelitian pemanfatan daun beluntas dalam bentuk ekstrak sebagai komponen antibakteri dan minyak atsiri sebagai zat antioksidan

TEMPUYUNG

TEMPUYUNG

Tempuyung (Sonchus arvensis L) termasuk tanaman terna menahun yang biasanya tumbuh di tempat-tempat yang ternaungi. Daunnya hijau licin dengan sedikit ungu, tepinya berombak, dan bergigi tidak beraturan. Di dekat pangkal batang, daun bergigi itu terpusar membentuk roset dan yang terletak di sebelah atas memeluk batang berselang seling. Daun berombak memeluk batang inilah yang berkhasiat menghancurkan batu ginjal. Di dalam daun tersebut terkandung kalium berkadar cukup tinggi. Kehadiran kalium dari daun tempuyung inilah yang membuat batu ginjal berupa kalsium karbonat tercerai berai, karena kalium akan menyingkirkan kalsium untuk bergabung dengan senyawa karbonat, oksalat, atau urat yang merupakan pembentuk batu ginjal. Endapan batu ginjal itu akhirnya larut dan hanyut keluar bersama urine. Untuk menggunakannya sebagai obat diperlukan lima lembar daun tempuyung segar. Setelah dicuci bersih, daun diasapkan sebentar. Daun tersebut dimakan sekali habis sebagai lalap bersama nasi. Dalam sehari kita bisa memakan lalap itu sebanyak tiga kali

Keji beling atau orang jawa menyebutnya dengan nama “sambang geteh”,

 

 Keji beling atau orang jawa menyebutnya dengan nama “sambang geteh”, sementara di tanah pasundan dikenal dengan sebutan “remek daging”, “reundeu beureum”, dan orang ternate menyebutnya dengan nama “lire”. Tumbuhan ini memiliki banyak mineral seperti kalium, kalsium, dan natrium serta unsure mineral lainnya. Disamping itu juga terdapat asam silikat, tannin, dan glikosida. Kegunaannya sebagai obat disentri, diare (mencret) dan obat batu ginjal serta dapat juga sebagai penurun kolesterol. Daun tanaman ini selain direbus untuk diminum airnya, juga dapat dimakan sebagai lalapan setiap hari dan dilakukan secara teratur. Daun keji beling juga kerap digunakan untuk mengatasi tubuh yang gatal kena ulat atau semut hitam, caranya dengan cara mengoleskan langsung daun keji beling pada bagian yang gatal tersebut. Untuk mengatasi diare (mencret), disentri, seluruh bagian dari tanaman ini direbus, selama lebih kurang setengah jam, kudian airnya diminum. Sama juga prosesnya untuk mengobati batu ginjal. Daun keji beling juga dapat mengatasi kencing manis dengan cara dimakan sebagai lalapan secara teratur setiap hari. Demikian pula untuk mengobai penyakit lever (sakit kuning), ambien (wasir) dan maag dengan cara dimakan secara teratur.

Kedukduk, Senggani

111

The Magenta Plant

Posted on February 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

Peristrophe roxburghiana is one plant that most older generation Singaporeans would be familiar with. It is a flowering plant that belongs to the Acanthaceae family and is native to southeastern Asia, southern China, and South East Asia. It thrives in the humid lowlands and grows as a lush, herbaceous perennial shrub, up to a height of 0.6 m tall, with lanceoate- to ovoid-acute-shaped leaves.

Unlike many of its more showy ornamental relatives, the true flowers of Peristrophe roxburghiana are not magnificient and they emerge from a small, terminal flower spike. Each flower consists of only two petals which are coloured pink which may appear magenta to reddish-violet to others. There are reports that state there are plants with white flowers.

Despite of the lack of beauty in its blooms, Peristrophe roxburghiana is a plant that is valued as a source of natural food dye. An extract of its leaves imparts a magenta colouring which is used to colour various food desserts in Vietnamese cuisine. The Chinese here knows it via the name ‘红丝线’ (hong si xian) which translates into ‘red silk threads’, with reference to the magenta/reddish dye that is found in its leaves which can be extracted by boiling leaves in water. The leaves of Peristrophe roxburghiana have a sweet taste with cooling properties and are also used medicinally to treat cough, dysentery, diarrhoea and bronchitis. Pregnant women should refrain from consuming this plant.

Peristrophe roxburghiana has a place in any tropical medicinal herb garden. Grow it in a sunny to semi-shaded and well-drained spot with moist, fertile soil. Prune this plant to shape periodically to keep growth in check and ensure a neat and tidy appearance. It propagates easily from stem-cuttings and sections of internodal stem-cuttings and tip-cuttings root easily without any rooting hormone powder. It is relatively pest- and disease-free.

Pretty but poisonous Solanum pseudocapsicum!

Posted on February 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

Solanum pseudocapsicum (most commonly known as Jerusalem Cherry) has been a Lunar New Year festive plant  in Singapore. It is a good example of a non-traditional plant that has been turned into a festive plant for the Spring Festival. This plant could have acquired an auspicious meaning via its attractive fruits that come in a range of colours shown over the period of fruit maturation and ripening where they first appear green like jade, then gold and finally, red like a ruby. All parts of this plant is poisonous. Of particular note are its fruits which look like cherry tomatoes (they contain solanocapsine and other alkaloids), so keep fruiting plants and fallen fruit out of reach by young children and pets.

Solanum pseudocapsicum is documented to be a widespread and extremely variable species and this plant can grow as a small erect shrub. In Singapore, we get plants in the nursery that are in the range of 30 to 50 cm tall when they are sold as container plants for display. If left to grow, it is documented that a plant can grow up to 1 m tall, if grown in the ground. Some cultivars can also adopt a prostrating growth habit. Cultivated plants have rather smooth leaves  and produce have large flowers and fruit.

Some years back, only the variety with all green leaves is available for sale in Singapore and this year, we get to see a new cultivar with variegated leaves. Solanum pseudocapsicum is native to the drier areas of Central and South America, from Mexico to southern Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, from sea level to 2600 m. Widely cultivated throughout the world, often escaped in tropical and subtropical areas.
With these growing conditions in mind, if one is  to grow Solanum pseudocapsicum in Singapore, we have to ensure plants are grown in moisture-retentive and well-draining soil. Water well and let the soil become moderately dry between waterings. If you noticed leaves falling, it may be a sign that the plant is given too much water and the plant is experiencing wet feet. Fruit drop could be due to insufficient light. It is a sun-lover and hence it is best positioned in a sunny location.

To encourage bushiness, prune the plant regularly or by pinching the growing points. Do also remember to feed your Solanum pseudocapsicum with liquid fertilizer during the active growing stage. Like chillis and tomatoes, you can help to promote fruit set by tapping its flowers to distribute pollen but also make sure the plant is receiving sufficient sunshine and not grown in too windy a place which can be too dry. Similarly, note that Solanum pseudocapsicum is prone to attacks by whiteflies, mealy bugs, aphids and spider mites attack and frequent checks are required to ensure good health of your plant.

Photo Tanaman

 













Ginseng Jawa / Som Jawa

(Talinum paniculatum (jacq.) Gaertn.) 





 


Patah Tulang (Eupharbia tirucalli L.)

(Taiwan beauty = Cuphea hyssopifolia h.b.k) 

Landep