Ayurvedic plants

The flowers of the "Golden Shower" tree, up close! This is the national flower of Thailand and is used in its Royal Flora Ratchaphruek flower festival, named after the tree. In Ayurvedic medicine, Golden Shower tree is known as aragvadha ("disease killer"). Its fruit pulp is used as mild laxative, against fevers, arthritis, vatavyadhi (nervous system diseases), all kinds of rakta-pitta (bleeding, such as hematemesis or hemorrhages), as well as cardiac conditions and stomach problems such as acid reflux. The root is considered a very strong purgative, and self-medication or any use without medical supervision is strongly advised against in Ayurvedic texts.








In India, many forms of alternative medicines are available for those who do not want conventional medicine or who cannot be helped by conventional medicine. Ayurveda and Kabiraji (herbal medicine) are two important forms of alternative medicine that is widely available in India.
Ayurvedic form of medicine is believed to be existent in India for thousands of years. It employs various techniques and things to provide healing or relief to the ailing patients. One of the things that ayurveda uses is medications of plant origin. Many herbs and spices used in Indian cooking, such as onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, fennel, ajowan (ajwain), anise, amchur, bay leaf, hing (asafoetida) etc., are known to have medicinal properties. Ayurvedic medicine uses all of these either in diet or as medicine. Besides, the many medicinal plants that are found in India (and elsewhere) are routinely used by the practitioners of Ayurveda. In India over 7,000 medicinal plant species are known to exist. Some of these medicinal plants have been featured on Indian postage stamps. The first set of stamps showing medicinal plants came out in 1997. The set had four stamps showing four different medicinal plants - Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), Haridra (Curcuma longa), Sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentina), and Ghritkumari (Aloe barbadensis).