Medicinal

Cockspur Coral Tree flower is the national flower of both Argentina and Uruguay.

From my floral stamp collection are two stamps from Argentina illustrating Ceibo.

Cockspur Coral Tree (Erythrina crista-galli) is a member of the Papillonaceae family and is native to central South America. The epithet crista-galli means “crested comb”, referring to the resemblance of the inflorescence to the comb of a rooster. This combined with erythros, meaning red, gives rise to one of the common names, the Cockspur Coral Tree. It is also known as Cry Baby Tree and Ceibo in South America.

The tree has several medicinal values. The bark and roots contain an alkaloid with powerful narcotic and purgative effects. In Argentina, it is used as anti-inflammatory and for treatment of wounds. In Brazil, several Erythrina species are used by indigenous tribes as insecticides, fish poison and as sleeping aid.

In the new condominium of a friend in Singapore where I stayed recently, the landscaping is minimal. There are no other plants except several Cockspur Coral Trees that are planted around the property.

The newly transplanted Cockspur Coral Tree is adapting very well.

The tree has a nice deep green leaves that constrast well with the flowers. The leaves have three leaflets, smooth, alternate, up to 6 cm long. Leaflets are dark green, elliptic, acute with entire margins. Ite can grow to a height of 5-8 meters.

The flowers are papilionate, petals 5 cm long, separate stamens about 1 cm long while the fruits are woody, elongated, cylindrical, up to 3 cm long.

Tags: Argentina national flower, Ceibo Flowers, Ceibo in Argentina stamps, Cockspur Coral Tree, Cry Baby Tree, Erythrina crista-galli, Medicinal Tree

Malungay leaves fresh from the market.

Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) is cheaply available in the local market or even the groceries. It is becoming popular as a good substitute for “dahon sili” or chili leaves when cooking the local dish “tinolang manok.” Aside from using malunggay in cooking, it can be made into tea. I usually drink Chinese tea the whole day but I have turned to malunggay tea lately. It is not only cheaper but also more healthy. I share here the step by step process of making tea from malunggay leaves. Try making your own malunggay tea as it is very easy to do.

Strip the branches of leaves and put the leaves in a drying container. I use a mesh tray (actually a stationary tray) to dry it as the open mesh helps in drying the underside of the leaves. Solid trays accumulate moisture under the leaves which slows the drying.

You can dry the leaves under the sun or in an oven. Here I used my small oven turned to the lowest heat to dry the leaves. Set the timer of the oven at 5 minutes intervals so the leaves do not burn. After every 5 minutes, turn the leaves around for better drying.

After drying, use a blender to pulverize the leaves. Use flash mode in blender so it will not be so fine but coarse in texture. Store in air-tight container before use.

Using a coffee maker, put 2 to 3 tablespoon of malunggay leaves in coffee filter. Pour water in coffee maker enough for about 10 to 12 cup measurment. The result is a richly colored tea that can be consumed throughout the day.

To vary the flavor, I sometimes add lemon grass in tea bag on top of the malunggay leaves. The lemon grass tea bags are made by Carica. A box of 30 lemon grass tea bags costs P160.

Malunggay tea contains nutrients to support our body. It has many anti-oxidants and anti-inflamatory components that promotes proper and healthy circulatory system, healthy digestion and cellular structures. It enhances the skin’s health and apperance, strengthens immune system, increases energy and good metabolism. It also promotes cholesterol natural serum, normal function of liver and kidney and nourishes the eyes and brain.

Tags: "dahong sili", "tinolang manok", Carica lemon grass tea, Malungay Tea, Moringa Oleifera