View allAll Photos Tagged TraditionalMedicine
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please do not post extensive group banners, advertising for groups, or any other pics in the comments column. They impair the reading pleasure of the others.
Thank you!
File Name: NZ6_6938
Bougainvillea spectabilis (Family: Nyctaginaceae), commonly referred to as Great Bougainvillea or Paper Flower, is one of the traditional medicinal plants with potential antifertility activity. The aqueous extract and decoction of this plant have been used as fertility control among the tribal people in many countries.
Macro shot of purple comfrey flowers (Symphytum officinale) with hairy stems and green leaves, captured in Szentendre, Hungary. Nikon Z fc + Helios 44M
These guys are deep fried alive, the oil later is used as ointment
(for rheumatism, so it is claimed). And, they don't become snacks, but they are brewed in hot water and the water is drank as some kind of tonic. So, when we are finally over with the corona virus don't be too happy, there are many more to come.
Believed to be the most trafficked animal in the world, the Pangolin is close to extinction thanks to them being considered a high-end delicacy in places like China and Vietnam.
Their scales are boiled off their bodies for misguided Chinese traditional medicine, believed to cure anything from asthma to cancer. This couldn't be further from the truth however, as their scales are made of keratin (the same stuff as our hair).
Statistics suggest that a Pangolin is killed roughly every 8 minutes thanks to this. A truly shocking statistic and one that makes me sick to my stomach.
I was very fortunate to come across this Ground Pangolin while in Namibia. Close to Etosha National Park, there is great work being done by people dedicated to the survival of this beautiful species. I will be posting more on this species soon and ways you and I can help support conservation efforts to protect them. They need all the help they can get.
Spring has sprung and the little heads of lavender are beginning to open up. Our love for lavender has not diminished over the centuries.
I read that in years past, people would send others lavender flowers to let the other party know about their commitment and feelings. In a wider sense, the flowers represent purity, silence, devotion, serenity, grace, and calmness.
The traditional uses of lavender range from use as a perfume to a antimicrobial agent. This powerful and potent herb has been utilized throughout antiquity and is still retained as a common household ingredient today.
© All rights reserved.
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. When dried, the fruit is known as a peppercorn. When fresh and fully mature, it is approximately 5 millimetres (0.20 in) in diameter, dark red, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed. Peppercorns, and the ground pepper derived from them, may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit) and white pepper (ripe fruit seeds).
Black pepper is native to south India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. Currently, Vietnam is the world's largest producer and exporter of pepper, producing 34% of the world's Piper nigrum crop as of 2013.
Dried ground pepper has been used since antiquity for both its flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice. It is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine, not to be confused with the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers. Black pepper is ubiquitous in the modern world as a seasoning and is often paired with salt. Source Wikipedia.
A blue Borage blossom in the golden, late afternoon light. These little fuzzy plants have a long history in traditional medicine and homeopathy. Mostly, though, they are used to "lift the heavy heart." ♥
(Read more about these amazing little plants here: www.flowersociety.org/three_borage.htm)
A a trip to Laos, I found this man tending jars of preserved snakes — part of an old tradition of medicinal tonics and folk remedies.
Southern-Ground-Hornbill_(Bucorvus leadbeateri)_w_7145
About the size of a turkey, the southern ground hornbill is the largest species of hornbill on Earth. It can fly up to 18 miles an hour and has an impressive wingspan that reaches about four feet across. The bird is recognizable by its jet-black feathers, yellow eyes, and bright red throat. The fleshy part of the bird’s throat, called a wattle, identifies its sex: The throat of a male hornbill is completely red, whereas a female sports a patch of violet blue. Male hornbills can inflate their wattles during mating season to attract females. This vocal bird also uses its wattle to make booming calls that are so loud, they’re often mistaken for a lion’s roar.
Habitat and diet
The southern ground hornbill lives throughout the southern part of Africa. The bird makes its home in grasslands and woodlands, as well as open savannas as long as there are nearby trees to roost in and build nests for its young.
The southern ground hornbill spends most of its time slowly walking around with a group in search of food. Although its diet sometimes includes fruits and seeds, this hornbill is more likely to eat insects, toads, lizards, snakes, and tortoises. It also preys on mammals, such as hares, rats, squirrels, and even small monkeys. The bird uses its long, curved bill to slice its food and to rub slimy frogs and snails on the ground before eating them.
Behavior and reproduction
Southern ground hornbills live in groups that usually range from two to nine members. Only the dominant male and female of the group breed, and most pairs remain monogamous throughout their lives. The other group members are primarily male birds that help defend the group’s territory and care for the chicks. Although female birds lay one to three eggs at a time, only one typically survives.
Threats to survival
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the southern ground hornbill as vulnerable to extinction, though its global population is difficult to quantify. Pollution, logging, and agricultural expansion often result in the destruction of nesting habitats. Flooding and severe weather due to climate change has wreaked further damage, as has widespread use of pesticides by farmers in hornbill habitat. Researchers estimate that the bird’s original range in South Africa has shrunk by two-thirds over the past century, and by a fifth in the past 15 years alone.
But habitat destruction isn’t the only danger to southern ground hornbills. Many birds are deliberately poisoned because of their reputation for breaking windows when attacking their reflection. Humans also hunt southern ground hornbills for use in rituals and traditional medicine. During times of civil unrest, birds are killed when they inadvertently step on landmines, often while approaching an insect nest for food. These threats are compounded by the fact that southern ground hornbills are among the species of birds with the lowest reproduction rates.
34 blooms burst forth this afternoon my San Pedro Sacred Cactus, 27th December 2016, a sumptuous banquet for many tens of bees!
“Muthi” is traditional Zulu medicine, so essential that in Durban there is a huge outdoor drugstore. Like a traditional pharmacy you go in with a minor ailment, the people in a muthi market can help you figure out what combination of treatments will aid in healing. In many cases, however, customers at the muthi market have already consulted an “inyanga” (a Zulu medicine man/woman) to be told exactly what’s ailing them and what specific muthi will heal them. Then, the proper medicinal concoction can be acquired from one the muthi market.
Some of the muthi are said to cure familiar ailments – headaches or trouble sleeping – while others are for things like warding off evil spirits, making yourself more appealing to the opposite sex, bringing you success or respect in your work, or becoming more clever.
In the market there are rolls of tree bark, baskets of dried leaves and plants, animal skins, and whole dead animals for sale. Muthi is made from various combinations of all of these things, depending on what it’s meant to be treating. Each application is different, too – some are meant to be steeped in water to make a tea for drinking, some are meant to be bathed in, some are meant to be burned and inhaled.
Zulus of all ages and from all walks of life routinely visit inyangas and sangomas and then, armed with a diagnosis, stop at the muthi market for their medicine. It may seem like an utterly foreign world to outsiders, but this is very much a part of everyday Zulu life.
Thunbergia laurifolia, commonly known as laurel clockvine or blue trumpet vine, is a tropical flowering plant valued for both its ornamental and medicinal properties. Native to Southeast Asia, it features clusters of vibrant blue, trumpet-shaped flowers against glossy, laurel-like leaves. Besides its aesthetic appeal, this vine is utilized in traditional medicine for its purported anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties. Easy to cultivate, Thunbergia laurifolia is a popular choice in gardens, where its twining vines create a visually striking display.
“Muthi” is traditional Zulu medicine, so essential that in Durban there is a huge outdoor drugstore. Like a traditional pharmacy you go in with a minor ailment, the people in a muthi market can help you figure out what combination of treatments will aid in healing. In many cases, however, customers at the muthi market have already consulted an “inyanga” (a Zulu medicine man/woman) to be told exactly what’s ailing them and what specific muthi will heal them. Then, the proper medicinal concoction can be acquired from one the muthi market.
Some of the muthi are said to cure familiar ailments – headaches or trouble sleeping – while others are for things like warding off evil spirits, making yourself more appealing to the opposite sex, bringing you success or respect in your work, or becoming more clever.
In the market there are rolls of tree bark, baskets of dried leaves and plants, animal skins, and whole dead animals for sale. Muthi is made from various combinations of all of these things, depending on what it’s meant to be treating. Each application is different, too – some are meant to be steeped in water to make a tea for drinking, some are meant to be bathed in, some are meant to be burned and inhaled.
Zulus of all ages and from all walks of life routinely visit inyangas and sangomas and then, armed with a diagnosis, stop at the muthi market for their medicine. It may seem like an utterly foreign world to outsiders, but this is very much a part of everyday Zulu life.
A local shop, where an old man named Appu, is selling Ayurvedic panacea medicines. He has age old wisdom about these medicinal plants and also about the history of the place.
Saw this gem of a shop down a lane in the market in Kottayam, Kerala, India. Traditional herbal medicines one assumes?! Smelt very aromatic.
Most likely not, at least not in accordance to Wikipedia and many other sources. Actually, I was taking some pictures for Macro Monday theme vegetable. Sunday morning, windy fast-moving clouds. And suddenly the photo was to dark, cloud in front of the sun, change for at least 3 stops within less than 3 seconds.
Anyway, even if not intended, I liked it made it a little brighter and here we go
Dagga is the South African terminology for cannabis. This however is not cannabis but a beautiful wild flower (Leonotis leonorus) which flowers at this time of year and is native to Southern Africa. It is known for its medicinal and mild psychoactive properties. It attracts birds, mainly sunbirds, as well as various insects such as butterflies - and as you can see many little flying insects. Its medicinal uses include fevers, headaches, dysentery, flu, chest infections, epilepsy, constipation, delayed menstruation, intestinal worms, spider bites, scorpion stings, hypertension and snakebites. One experimental animal study suggests that "the aqueous leaf extract of Leonotis leonurus possesses antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and hypoglycemic properties; thus lending pharmacological credence to folk usage of the herb in the management and/or control of painful, arthritic, and other inflammatory conditions, as well as for adult-onset, type-2 diabetes mellitus in some communities of South Africa."
Information taken from Wikipedia.
I do thank all of you for your kind wishes yesterday, I had a wonderful day. At present I am loaded with work which is lovely but time-consuming so I may not be around as much as I like. On the other hand I will try to sneak a peak whenever I can.
“Muthi” is traditional Zulu medicine, so essential that in Durban there is a huge outdoor drugstore. Like a traditional pharmacy you go in with a minor ailment, the people in a muthi market can help you figure out what combination of treatments will aid in healing. In many cases, however, customers at the muthi market have already consulted an “inyanga” (a Zulu medicine man/woman) to be told exactly what’s ailing them and what specific muthi will heal them. Then, the proper medicinal concoction can be acquired from one the muthi market.
Some of the muthi are said to cure familiar ailments – headaches or trouble sleeping – while others are for things like warding off evil spirits, making yourself more appealing to the opposite sex, bringing you success or respect in your work, or becoming more clever.
In the market there are rolls of tree bark, baskets of dried leaves and plants, animal skins, and whole dead animals for sale. Muthi is made from various combinations of all of these things, depending on what it’s meant to be treating. Each application is different, too – some are meant to be steeped in water to make a tea for drinking, some are meant to be bathed in, some are meant to be burned and inhaled.
Zulus of all ages and from all walks of life routinely visit inyangas and sangomas and then, armed with a diagnosis, stop at the muthi market for their medicine. It may seem like an utterly foreign world to outsiders, but this is very much a part of everyday Zulu life.
Frame for Macro Mondays, to get the size right, vegetables and other for Macro Mondays, one of the test shots and ideas for this theme
My cold remedy, hot water, lemon, honey, cinnamon, ginger, sage and thyme brew... Nice to the taste, soothing to the throat. In the evening, add an optional dash of rhum to help you go to sleep!
34 blooms burst forth this afternoon my San Pedro Sacred Cactus, 27th December 2016, a sumptuous banquet for many tens of bees!
34 blooms burst forth this afternoon on my San Pedro Sacred Cactus, 27th December 2016, a sumptuous banquet for many, many bees!
Holy Basil, or Tulsi as it is known in India, is a revered household plant used for curing innumerable health conditions.
Also a very important herb of the ancient medical science of Ayurveda. All its parts, including the leaves, are used for it's very potent remedial properties.
At times, rightly called 'The Queen of Herbs' !