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13 Juli 2010

In Venezuela, the Father's Day is celebrated every year on the third Sunday in June.

America
Brazil
In Brazil, the annual Father's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in August.

Cuba
In Cuba, los celebrate Father's Day (Día de Padres) on 3 Sunday in June. This date is based on an initiative of the writer Dulce María Borrero, which campaigned for a national memorial day for the fathers. The first time was the Father's Day in Cuba on 19 June 1938 committed.

USA
In the U.S., Father's Day is on 3 Sunday in June. Sonora Smart Dodd in 1909 first brought the idea of a "Father's Day on" to honor her father William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran. His wife was at the birth of sixth child died, and Mr. Smart took the baby, and the other five children alone on a farm in eastern Washington state. Mrs. Dodd wanted to honor the strength and selflessness her father had met with his children. The first Father's Day was on 19 June 1910 in Spokane, Washington, observed. At the same time appeared in various American cities Father's Day celebrations. 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. And in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June Father's Day.

President Nixon in 1974 rising to the rank of the Father's Day an official holiday for the third Sunday in June.

The Father's Day in the U.S. is primarily the day on which the children meet their fathers with gifts, poems and flowers. Joint excursions are on the program and many, particularly male Americans are the forgotten Father's Day trips and activities with their fathers. In addition, there is also a day for men, similar to the as in Germany the idea of a man's cult is celebrated.

The U.S. President George W. Bush announced on 13th June 2003, a "President's Father's Day Proclamation" out.

Venezuela
In Venezuela, the Father's Day is celebrated every year on the third Sunday in June.
Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatertag

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12 Juli 2010

The celebration of the Sugar Feast

The celebration of the Sugar Feast
The first morning of the Sugar Feast men visiting the mosque for joint prayer for this special holiday. Women and children are exempt from this obligation would normally be home, because of the large crowds in the mosque, others such as Indonesia are typically does anyone go to the mosque. Before the prayer is expected that those who can afford it pay a contribution to the value of a meal (about 5-7 euros). This can be passed around the mosque, so that this requirement may be fulfilled. Then the proper utilization of funds provided.

The rest of the day, if possible in one family visit. To celebrate the Sugar Feast to sweet dishes and delicacies like Lokum eaten and gives one another and the poor presents. Many women decorate their hands with henna. Both men and women usually attract new clothes and the house is thoroughly cleaned before further this holiday.

As for symbolism, the Sugar Feast somewhat similar to carnival, but that feast before Lent occurs.
Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suikerfeest

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08 Juli 2010

Jesus Relation to the Passover

Relation to the Passover
Jesus' crucifixion took place after the Synoptics on the main feast of Passover, 15 Nisan, instead. According to John's Gospel, however, he died on 14 Nisan at the same time when the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Jerusalem Temple.

Jesus' death is thus located in early Christianity in the history of suffering, on the other hand, the exemption hope of Israel. His resurrection is the ultimate affirmation of hope and their extension to all peoples.

The Christian Eucharist is the result of the Jewish Seder, and has taken substantive elements of it. This includes the symbol of the paschal lamb, which is reminiscent of the AD to 70 AD the temple slaughtered Passover sacrifice.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostern

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29 Juni 2010

Taraxacum

Dandelion (Taraxacum) is a genus of the family Asteraceae (Asteraceae). Its best-known representative of the local Common Dandelion, the "Dandelion".

The representatives of the genus are perennial herbaceous plants, the height of (rarely up to 5) is usually 30-40 (rarely achieved during the fruiting up to 60) cm. They contain in all plant parts with a white latex. The tap roots are in short, strong stems squeezed over on the fan leaves are dense in basal rosettes. The leaves are ovate to lanceolate and slightly to strongly lobed, incised and toothed.

Many of the features are plastic and can be very different. Thus even a single plant, the leaf shape varies greatly depending on rainfall, solar radiation and the season in which the leaf is formed.

The leaf axils arise Blütenstandstiele hollow bearing at the upper end of each one individual, körbchenförmigen inflorescence (flower appearance) over densely spirally standing bracts. The floral baskets have a diameter of 80-40 mm. Two (or rarely three) whorls with a total of seven to 25 bracts enclosing initially open the bud, and then align themselves with inflorescence. The Blütenstandboden is flat, plate-shaped. An inflorescence contains only (rarely to 15) usually 20-150 florets. The color of the florets ranges depending on the kind of yellowish white to yellow-orange, sometimes greenish, often with purple exterior and gray stripes. The anthers are yellow to cream-yellow, sometimes darker. The pencil is yellow or greenish, sometimes grayish to blackish.

The four-to twelve-(15 -)-ribbed achenes are pale to olive, brown, red, light to dark gray. Your Pappus holds a wreath from 50 to over 105 white on cream-colored to yellow, feathery bristles. The furry flying gliders, the achenes are spread by the wind (kite flying).

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%B6wenzahn_(Taraxacum)
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25 Juni 2010

The Rough Sedge

The rough Sedge (Carex hirta) is a perennial plant, which belongs to the cypergrassenfamilie (Cyperaceae).


The plant is 30-50 cm high, has a blunt triangular stem and produces long rhizomes. The leaves are 4-6 mm wide and has a densely hairy leaf sheath acute angle. The blade is at the base, with the transition to the leaf sheath, long hair.


The rough sedge blooms in May and June, but sometimes also blooms later in the year. The ovaries have three stamps. There are one to three male counterparts. The urntjes are 6-7 mm long and densely hairy. The urntjes are narrowed into a long beaks. It is a kind urntje bract containing the fruit is. The stem of the ear is surrounded by a small spout-like, membranous bract, called cladoprofyllum. The nut in the urntje is triangular.


The plant is native to wet, rich soil.



Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruige_zegge

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The Stiff Sedge

The stiff sedge (Carex elata, synonyms: Carex stricta and Carex hudsonii) is a perennial in the cypergrassenfamilie (Cyperaceae). The plant is native to western and central Europe and the Caucasus. Cultivars of the stiff sedge, as the golden sedge (Carex elata 'Aurea') are planted in ornamental gardens. The stiff sedge resembles the black sedge (Carex nigra), but is denser and more pollen than black sedge.

The plant is 50-100 cm tall and forms a dense clump. The lower leaf sheaths have no blade, are frayed and tan in color. The leaf sheath is at the base of the stem a fine vezelnet. The gray-green leaves are 2-7 mm wide.

The plant blooms in April and May The lower bract is shorter than the inflorescence. The plant provides up to three male and one to four female counterparts. The male spikes are usually above the female spikes. The male spikes are 2-5 cm long and the female spikes are 1.5 to 7 cm long. The inflated urntjes are 3-5 mm long and are a kind of bracts that are the fruit down. At urntje is an ant sandwich and the fruit are long beaks. The ovary has two stamps.

The nuts are lenticular.

The stiff sedge is found along the water surface in marshes, swamps in forests, in wet meadows and fens richer food.



Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stijve_zegge


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24 Juni 2010

The Wall Fern

The wall fern (Asplenium ruta-muraria) is a sail boat from the family line (Aspleniaceae). It grows mostly on walls. Also, the wall rocks to navigate. It is a plant that prefers chalky surfaces to grow.

Leaves 3-15 cm long. The petiole is longer than the blade. The latter is divided into roughly triangular and leaflets which are round, triangular or diamond shaped. The blade is two-to threefold suspension.

The spores are long and thin and sit at the base of the leaflets. They form a whole when ripe. Between June and October are the spores mature.




Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muurvaren

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21 Juni 2010

Straps of Carnation

Straps (Corrigiola litoralis) is a plant belonging to the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). The species is on the Dutch Red List of rare plants and greatly reduced. The plant is native to western and southern Europe and northwest Africa.


The plant is 5-30 cm high and has a lot of lying or upright stems. The blue-green linear leaves are the widest at the top. The stipules are membranous.


Straps blooms from June to September with white or pink flowers, which are bijschermen.


The fruit is a capsule.


The plant is found in dry summers, moderately nutrient-rich sand and gravel soils, such as moorland and river banks.



Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riempjes

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The Rough Carnation

The rough carnation (Dianthus Armeria) is an annual plant belonging to the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). It is a plant of open places on embankment slopes and in shaded light sandy soil. The plant is native to Europe and was introduced in North America but also in ornamental gardens. She is on the Dutch Red List of rare plants and fallen sharply.


The plant is 30-45 cm high. Both stem and leaves and sepals densely hairy. The line of ribbon-shaped leaves are 1-3 mm wide and 5 cm long. The leaves are green in contrast to most other species of carnation, which have gray-green leaves.


The rough carnation flowers in the Netherlands in July and August with pink or pink-red, approximately 1.3 cm wide, sessile flowers. The petals are bright spots. The flower has ten stamens and two pistils. The fruit is a capsule. The pollination is done by butterflies.




Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruige_anjer

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20 Juni 2010

The Cats Doom Blooms

The Cats Doorn (Ononis repens subsp. Spinosa, synonym: Ononis spinosa) is a small shrub, which belongs to the Fabaceae family (Leguminosae) The subspecies is on the Dutch Red List of plants as general if it has fallen sharply. The range is Central and Eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia. The genus Ononis is derived from the Greek Onos which means donkey because donkeys love of the bush food. Other Dutch names are duivelsbedstro, spice ass, ox and sheep breaker thorn.


The plant is 20-60 cm high and has a thick taproot. The branches are sturdy thorns, which pairs sit together. The young branches with two rows of glandular hairs that each internode immediately jump. The leaves are ternate palmately composed and have few glandular hairs.


Cats Doorn blooms from June to September, with red and white, pure white or pink flowers. The flowers are 1-2 cm long and attached to upright stems or created.


The 6-10 mm long, ovoid fruit is a capsule, covered with glandular hairs, making them sticky. The fruit is as long or longer than the calyx.


Cats Doorn occurs in the floodplains, dikes and rivierdalhellingen and on the edge of salt marshes.





Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kattendoorn

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18 Juni 2010

The Real Marshmallow Plants

Real marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) is a plant of the mallow family (Malvaceae). The species is on the Dutch Red List of plants as relatively rare and moderately decreased.


The plant is 60-150 cm tall and is velvety hairy. The fruits are hairy part. Marshmallow flowers from July to September with pale pink flowers.


Marshmallow is found mainly in brackish water reed marshes, in ditches and fields verruigde. Is also along the IJsselmeer.




Source: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echte_heemst

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The Chinese Sacred Lily

Narcissus tazetta (Chinese Sacred Lily, Bunch-flowered Narcissus, Joss flower) is a perennial ornamental plant of the family Amaryllidaceae that grows from a bulb.

The Chinese sacred lily is neither sacred nor a lily. In the Romanized form of written Mandarin it is called shui xian hua (水仙花) which can be translated as water spirit flower. The botanical designation is Narcissus tazetta v. chinensis, or Ruen.

Its fragrance is quite different from that of its distant cousin, the paperwhite narcissus which has an animal scent to many people.

Special topiary carving techniques can be used to form leaves and flowers into fanciful shapes. The flower is an important element in the Chinese lunar new year celebration, and is sold at flower markets before the Chinese New Year. It is believed to be good luck to have the flower bloom on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year spring festival.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_tazetta

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17 Juni 2010

Leonotis nepetifolia

Leonotis nepetifolia, also known in Brazil as Cord's ear and in English "Klip Dagga" is a plant species of the genus Leonotis and family Lamiaceae (Mint). While most species of this genus is native to Southern Africa, L. nepetifolia is native to tropical Africa and southern India. It grows to a height of 3 meters and has flowers that are usually orange but may vary for red, white and purple. It has toothed leaves that can grow up to 10 cm.

Related species
The Leonotis nepetifolia ('Cordon's ear) is very similar to Leonotis Leonurus ("Rabo-de-lion" or in English "Wild Dagga.") Both species are often smoked because its entheogenic properties. The main difference between them is that the leaves of Leonotis nepetifolia spring from a prickly ball. It is also said that the leaves of L. nepetifolia are more powerful and much less bitter when smoked than those of L. Leonurus.

Although more than thirty other plants of the genus Leonotis, L. nepetifolia and "Leonurus L." shall have the entheogenic or psychoactive properties.


Source: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonotis_nepetifolia
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Lamium album

Lamium album (White Deadnettle) is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils.

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 50-100 cm tall, with green, four-angled stems. The leaves are 3-8 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, triangular with a rounded base, softly hairy, and with a serrated margin and a petiole up to 5 cm long; like many other members of the Lamiaceae, they appear superficially similar to those of the Stinging nettle Urtica dioica but do not sting, hence the common name "dead nettle". The flowers are white, produced in whorls ('verticillasters') on the upper part of the stem, the individual flowers 1.5-2.5 cm long.

Cultivation and uses
The young leaves are edible, and can be used in salads or cooked as a vegetable. The plant is also used in herbal medicine, for example as a dermatological remedy.

Bees are attracted to the flowers which contain nectar or pollen, hence the plant is sometimes called the Bee Nettle.

It was introduced to North America, where it is widely naturalised.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamium_album
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16 Juni 2010

Kacip fatima

Kacip fatima (Labisa pumila) is the female version of Tongkat Ali. Kacip Fatimah is a small woody and leafy plant that grows and can be found widely in the shade of forest floors. The leaves are about 20 centimetres long, and they are traditionally used as a kind of tea by women who experience a loss of libido.

Uses
Extract from these herbs are usually ground into powder substances and are made into capsules and pills. A concoction made from boiling the plant in water is given to women in labour to hasten delivery of their babies. After childbirth, it may still be consumed by mothers to regain their strength. In other medicinal preparations, it can treat gonorrhoea, dysentery and eliminate excessive gas in the body.

Traditionally, it is used in Borneo for enhancing vitality, overcome tiredness and help to tone vaginal muscles for women.

The claimed uses of Kacip Fatimah include:

* Helps establish a regular menstrual cycle when periods fail to appear for reasons like stress, illness or when the pill is discontinued
* Prevents cramping, water retention and irritability for those with painful periods.
* Balances, builds and harmonizes the female reproductive system to encourage healthy conception
* Supports healthy vaginal flora to prevent irritation and infections.
* Alleviates fatigue, smooths menopausal symptoms and promote emotional well being.
* Prolong energy during Playtime.
* Helps to solve the problems related to constipation
* Tightens vaginal skin and walls.
* Anti-dysmenorrhoea; cleansing and avoiding painful or difficult menstruation
* Anti-flatulence, drive away and prevent the formation of gas.
* Firming and toning of abdominal muscles.

As the plant contain phytoestrogen, it is not to be taken by pregnant women and periods of menstruation.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kacip_fatima
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15 Juni 2010

Greater burdock Culinary use

Greater burdock was used during the Middle Ages as a vegetable, but now it is rarely used, with the exception of Japan where it is called gobō (牛蒡 or ゴボウ), Taiwan (牛蒡), Korea where it is called ueong (우엉), Italy, Brazil and Portugal, where it is known as bardana. Plants are cultivated for their slender roots, which can grow about 1 meter long and 2 cm across.

Immature flower stalks may also be harvested in late spring, before flowers appear. The taste resembles that of artichoke, to which the burdock is related.

In the second half of the 20th century, burdock achieved international recognition for its culinary use due to the increasing popularity of the macrobiotic diet, which advocates its consumption. The root contains a fair amount of gobō dietary fiber (GDF, 6g per 100g), calcium, potassium, amino acids, and is low calorie. It contains polyphenols that causes darkened surface and muddy harshness by formation of tannin-iron complexes.

The root is very crisp and has a sweet, mild, and pungent flavor with a little muddy harshness that can be reduced by soaking julienned/shredded roots in water for five to ten minutes. The harshness shows excellent harmonization with pork in miso soup (tonjiru) and takikomi gohan (a Japanese-style pilaf).

A popular Japanese dish is kinpira gobō, julienned or shredded burdock root and carrot, braised with soy sauce, sugar, mirin and/or sake, and sesame oil. Another is burdock makizushi (rolled sushi filled with pickled burdock root; the burdock root is often artificially colored orange to resemble a carrot). In Kyoto, gobō can also be found as a snack food similar to potato chips. The root is eaten cooked and the young sprout can be eaten just like asparagus. Gobo is also used in Tempura.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_burdock
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Greater burdock

Greater burdock, Edible burdock, or Lappa Burdock is a biennial plant of the Arctium (burdock) genus in the Asteraceae family, cultivated in gardens for its root used as a vegetable.

Greater Burdock is rather tall, reaching as much as 2 metres. It has large, alternating, cordiform leaves that have a long petiole and are pubescent on the underside.
The flowers are purple and grouped in globular capitula, united in clusters. They appear in mid-summer, from July to September. The capitula are surrounded by an involucre made out of many bracts, each curving to form a hook, allowing them to be carried long distances on the fur of animals. The fruits are achenes; they are long, compressed, with short pappuses.
The fleshy tap-root can grow up to 1m long.

Use in traditional medicine
Folk herbalists consider dried burdock to be a diuretic, diaphoretic, and a blood purifying agent. Various parts are used to prevent baldness and to treat rheumatoid arthritis, skin infections, acne, boils, bites, eczema, herpes, impetigo, rashes, ringworm, sore throat, sciatica, poison ivy and poison oak, as a tonic, diuretic and mild laxative, to stimulate bile production and to induce sweating. The seeds of greater burdock are used in traditional Chinese medicine, under the name niupangzi (Chinese: 牛蒡子; pinyin: niúpángzi; some dictionaries list the Chinese as just 牛蒡 niúbàng.)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_burdock
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14 Juni 2010

Equisetum arvense

Equisetum arvense, commonly known as the Field Horsetail or Common Horsetail, is a rather bushy perennial with a rhizomatous stem formation native to the northern hemisphere. These horsetails may have sterile or fertile stems. Sterile stems start to grow after the fertile stems have wilted. The sterile stems tend to be much taller and bushier, with the jointed segments being around one inch (2.5 cm) long with a diameter of about 1/20th of an inch (1 mm). These segments contain one set of whorled, slender, erect branches each. Some stems can have as many as 20 segments and be as tall as 2-24 inches (5–60 cm). The fertile stems tend to be half as tall as the sterile stems and also tend to be more succulent.

This plant also has a very high diploid number - 216 (108 pairs of chromosomes) - which is roughly 5 times greater than the human diploid number (46).

Uses
The plant contains several substances which can be used medicinally. It is rich in the minerals silicon (10%), potassium, and calcium, which gives it diuretic properties. It is prescribed to care for (cartilage, tendons, and bones) and also polyps, epistasis, and bleeding. The buds are eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea in spring time. All other Equisetum species are toxic. In polluted conditions, it may synthesise nicotine.

It was also once used to polish pewter and wood (gaining the name pewterwort) and to strengthen fingernails. Also as an abrasive: it was used by Hurdy-Gurdy players to dress the wheels of their instruments by removing resin build up.

In herbalism it is used to treat kidney and bladder problems, gastro-enteritis, and prostate and urinary infections, and is particularly indicated for enuresis in children. Externally it is used for chilblains and wounds.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum_arvense
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Echinopsis peruviana Cultivation

Propagation from cuttings
Like many other plants, Echinopsis peruviana can be propagated from cuttings. The result is a genetic clone of the parent plant. For example, the top 15 cm end of a cactus column can be cleanly removed with a knife. The cutting can be left to heal for about two weeks in the scattered or indirect light, by laying it upon its side. Be aware that it should be kept away from excessive moisture that will encourage growth of an opportunistic infection and receive good airflow at this time. The plant will heal by forming a calloused seal to withstand bacterial and fungal attack such as mold. The unrooted cutting can be either kept upright in a propped up position for an extended period of time (2+ years) without harm . Often roots will emerge from the lowest point of the plant between 3–6 months time. Rooting hormone is not required and its use may damage the soft tissues of the plant, giving rise to bacterial or fungal rot that may kill the clone.
Cuttings may be planted after the formation of a callous and before the emergence of roots in either a small pot or directly n the ground. Cuttings should be set far enough below the surface of the soil to ensure stability until the root network is formed as well as access to moisture.

Light requirements
While a cutting is establishing its root system, it should be kept protected from extremes in both light and heat. New growth will generally signal the development of a root system and the need to start making the reintroduction into more direct light. Insufficient light will result in undesirable narrow and elongated growth from the tip while too much direct light (especially noonday direct sun) may result in a burning of the new growth at the center apex and the deforming of the plant. Proper light will mimic the mountain sides native to this and other Echinopsis species. 5 hours of direct sunlight with several hours of bright indirect light seems to strike a good balance between growth and excessive hardening or yellowing due to stress.

Soil
Depending upon the local environmental conditions soil should well draining and able to hold enough moisture for a week or more without drying out. Any soil used should never be "rich" in nitrogen. These are easily identified as being dark in color and / or high in manure content. A good basic soil mixture will consist of a basic "cactus soil mix" supplemented with 25% washed sand and 35% perlite. Pots must be well draining and do not need to be large in order to support a extensive root network. Most beginning growers experience plant loss by root rot from using a composted soil mix that is high in nitrogen from manure in a heavy wood or peat moss matrix. This will usually compact with time. Watering will cause the microflora to turn to anaerobic respiration resulting in a change in soil Ph, killing the root system and eventual root rot.

Watering
Once established these plants will be able to handle large amounts of watering compared to other cacti genera. Like other plants warm temperature and sunlight will result in rapid growth. Watering should take on a cycle between watering and keeping the soil moist (but not damp) with a short "drying out" period to keep soil microflora in check once every 10–14 days/ 5 days watering should be stopped or severely limited in the winter months when plant's go dormant.

Feeding
These cacti respond well to balanced feeding that can be augmented depending upon the growers desires. Overfeeding is not suggested as it will often result in burning the plant and microflora blooms.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echinopsis_peruviana
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11 Juni 2010

Modern commercial usage of Castor oil plant

Global castor seed production is around 1 million tons per year. Leading producing areas are India (with over 60% of the global yield), China and Brazil, and it is widely grown as a crop in Ethiopia. There are several active breeding programmes.
Other modern uses
In Brazil, castor oil (locally known as mamona oil) is now being used to produce biodiesel. In rural areas, the abundant seeds are used by children for slingshot balls, as they have the right weight, size, and hardness.

The attractive castor seeds are used in jewelry, mainly necklaces and bracelets. This practice is highly dangerous, due to the extreme toxicity of the seeds, especially if the seedcoat is drilled for stringing.

Castor oil in a processed form, called Polyglycerol polyricinoleate--or PGPR, is currently being used in chocolate bar manufacture as a less expensive substitute to cocoa butter.

Historical usage
Castor seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 4000 BC; the slow burning oil was used mostly to fuel lamps. Herodotus and other Greek travelers noted the use of castor seed oil for lighting, body ointments, and improving hair growth and texture. Cleopatra is reputed to have used it to brighten the whites of her eyes. The Ebers Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian medical treatise believed to date from 1552 BC. Translated in 1872, it describes castor oil as a laxative.

The use of castor bean oil in India has been documented since 2000 BC in lamps and in local medicine as a laxative, purgative, and cathartic in Unani, Ayurvedic and other ethnomedical systems. Traditional Ayurvedic medicine considers castor oil the king of medicinals for curing arthritic diseases.

Castor seed and its oil have also been used in China for centuries, mainly prescribed in local medicine for internal use or use in dressings.

It was used in rituals of sacrifice to please the gods in early civilizations.

Castor oil is known to have been used as an instrument of coercion by the paramilitary Blackshirts under the regime of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Dissidents and regime opponents were forced to ingest the oil in large amounts, triggering severe diarrhoea and dehydration, which could ultimately cause death. This punishment method was originally thought of by Gabriele D'Annunzio, the Italian poet and Fascist supporter, during the First World War. (See also: Castor oil: Use as a means of intimidation in Fascist Italy)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil_plant
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