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Costus Afer
''Costus afer'', English ginger lily or common ginger lily, is a species of plant native to Tropical Africa. ''Costus afer'' is widely cultivated. It has many traditional uses, including but not limited to treating a range of medical ailments. ''Costus afer'' is high in diosgenin Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of ''Dioscorea'' wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. The sugar-free (aglycone) product of such hydrolys .... ''Costus afer'' has a wide native distribution spanning North East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Tropical Africa. ''Costus afer'' is sometimes confused with other African species of ''Costus'', such as '' Costus dubius'' and '' Costus lucanusianus''. It is also similar looking to '' Costus louisii''. References Flora of Africa afer Plants used in traditional African medicine Garden plants {{improve categori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. The most recent rigorous estimate for the total number of species of eukaryotes is between 8 and 8.7 million. However, only about 14% of these had been described by 2011. All species (except viruses) are given a two-part name, a "binomial". The first part of a binomial is the genus to which the species belongs. The second part is called the specific name or the specific epithet (in botanical nomenclature, also sometimes i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diosgenin
Diosgenin, a phytosteroid sapogenin, is the product of hydrolysis by acids, strong bases, or enzymes of saponins, extracted from the tubers of ''Dioscorea'' wild yam species, such as the Kokoro. The sugar-free (aglycone) product of such hydrolysis, diosgenin is used for the commercial synthesis of cortisone, pregnenolone, progesterone, and other steroid products. Sources It is present in detectable amounts in '' Costus speciosus'', '' Smilax menispermoidea'', ''Helicteres isora'', species of ''Paris'', ''Aletris'', ''Trigonella'', and ''Trillium'', and in extractable amounts from many species of ''Dioscorea'' – '' D. althaeoides'', '' D. colletti'', '' D. composita'', '' D. floribunda'', '' D. futschauensis'', '' D. gracillima'', '' D. hispida'', '' D. hypoglauca'', '' D. mexicana'', '' D. nipponica'', '' D. panthaica'', '' D. parviflora'', '' D. septemloba'', and '' D. zingiberensis''. Industrial uses Diosgenin is a precursor for several hormones, starting with the Marker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costus Dubius
''Costus dubius'' is a species of plant native to Tropical Africa. Description ''Costus dubius'' has underground rhizomes which produce leafy stems and inflorescences on separate stalks. The round inflorescences have green bracts; each bract produces a single white flower with a yellow-centered labellum. ''Costus dubius'' produces many seeds. ''Costus dubius'' is sometimes confused with several other African species of ''Costus'', such as ''Costus afer ''Costus afer'', English ginger lily or common ginger lily, is a species of plant native to Tropical Africa. ''Costus afer'' is widely cultivated. It has many traditional uses, including but not limited to treating a range of medical ailments. ...'' and '' Costus dinklagei''. ''Costus dubius'' is the only African species of ''Costus'' capable of self-pollination. Range ''Costus dubius'' has a wide native range and can be found throughout tropical Africa. ''Costus dubius'' has been introduced to several places in which it ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costus Lucanusianus
''Costus lucanusianus'' is a species of plant native to Africa. It is widely distributed across North East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Tropical Africa. ''Costus lucanusianus'' is commonly cultivated. ''Costus lucanusianus'' has many different traditional medicinal uses. Rhizomes of ''Costus lucanusianus'' are higher in percent diosgenin than those of ''Cheilocostus speciosus''. ''Costus lucanusianus'' is sometimes confused with ''Costus afer ''Costus afer'', English ginger lily or common ginger lily, is a species of plant native to Tropical Africa. ''Costus afer'' is widely cultivated. It has many traditional uses, including but not limited to treating a range of medical ailments. ...''. ''Costus lucanusianus'' and '' Costus aureus'' are very similar vegetatively, though they differ in flower color. References Flora of Africa lucanusianus Garden plants Plants used in traditional African medicine {{Zingiberales-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costus Louisii
''Costus louisii'' is a critically endangered species of plant endemic to Gabon. A.M. Louis collected the first and only specimen of ''Costus louisii'' obtained from the wild. ''Costus louisii'' has only been found in a small area, and its habitat appears threatened by human actions. ''Costus louisii'' resembles ''Costus afer ''Costus afer'', English ginger lily or common ginger lily, is a species of plant native to Tropical Africa. ''Costus afer'' is widely cultivated. It has many traditional uses, including but not limited to treating a range of medical ailments. ...'' in appearance. References louisii Endemic flora of Gabon {{Zingiberales-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flora Of Africa
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. Etymology The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century. The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). Prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately.Thurmann, J. (1849). ''Essai de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Costus
''Costus'' is a group of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Costaceae, described by Linnaeus as a genus in 1753. It was formerly known as ''Hellenia'' after the Finnish botanist Carl Niclas von Hellens. It is widespread through tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas. ''Costus'' is often characterized and distinguished from relatives such as ''Zingiber'' (true ginger) by its spiraling stems. The genus as a whole is thus often called spiral gingers, but this can also refer to '' C. barbatus'' specifically. '' Costus spectabilis'' is the floral emblem of Nigeria; its flowers are represented (erroneously in red instead of yellow color) on its coat of arms. It is important not to confuse ''Costus speciosus'', ''C. spectabilis'' etc. with the herb known by the common name " costus". Some species are of importance to herbivores, such as caterpillars of the restricted demon (''Notocrypta curvifascia'') which feed on '' Costus speciosus'' (crê ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plants Used In Traditional African Medicine
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude the fungi and some algae, as well as the prokaryotes (the archaea and bacteria). By one definition, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin name for "green plants") which is sister of the Glaucophyta, and consists of the green algae and Embryophyta (land plants). The latter includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns and their allies, hornworts, liverworts, and mosses. Most plants are multicellular organisms. Green plants obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts that are derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic or mycotrophic and have lost the ability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
