CASHEW
Anacardium occidentale, cashew (caju in Portuguese) is a small tree probably native to the arid and sandy northeast of South America but which is now present in the majority of…
YLANG YLANG
Unlike species of the Annona genus (see soursop and cinnamon apple) which are native to South America, ylang-ylang or cananga tree, CANANGA ODORATA, ANNONACEAE, is a tree from the forests…
BITTER LEAF VERNONIA
The ASTERACEAE, are an immense family of flowering plants which contains several hundred botanical genera including the genus Vernonia = Gymnanthenum which also includes hundreds of species in Asia ,…
THYME
THYMES, LABIATEAE=LAMIACEAE, are small bushy plants, erect (common thyme) or more spreading and creeping (wild thyme), typical of the Mediterranean region where they grow naturally. Common Thyme, THYMUS VULGARIS, is…
NUTMEG
This small botanical family, MYRISTICACEAE, comprises few genera and 380 species of trees in tropical forests, especially in the Indo-Malay region, Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. They are trees…
SHEA BUTTER TREE
The shea butter tree or simply shea tree, VITELLARIA PARADOXA = BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SAPOTACEAE), is a tree of the African savannah (between 1000 and 1500 mm of annual rainfall) present…
JUJUBE RED DATE
The ZIZYPHUS botanical genus,(RHAMNACEAE) whose complex spelling of Latin origin is sometimes simplified into ZIZIPHUS (which can create confusion) exists in most continents. there are about forty species of trees…
POMEGRANATE
The POMEGRANATE tree, PUNICA GRANATUM, LYTHRACEAE , (PUNICACEAE) is often just a bushy shrub, it is native to the Mediterranean basin or the Middle East. It was already cultivated in…
PSIDIUM GUAJAVA
Unlike other members of the MYRTACEAE family, eucalyptus or cloves , guava is not very aromatic. This small tree, PSIDIUM GUAJAVA, of 3 to 10 m, with very hard wood,…
OKRA GOMBO PACIFIC CABBAGE
Plants of the genus ABELMOSCHUS are very close to HIBISCUS, MALVACEAE, they are native to Africa and Asia-Pacific. Some were still recently classified in the genus Hibiscus. The Abelmoschus are…