Gumamela Leaves

Gumamela is a shrub that grows from one meter up to 4 meters high.

Gumamela is
also known as: Hibiscus
, China Rose and Shoeflower. In the Philippines, gumamela is cultivated as an
ornamental plant.
The gumamela flower comes in many colors: red, yellow, orange, white,
purple, pink and
other color combinations.

Gumamela leaves, usually blended with Rose Hip has long been used in the
Middle East and Okinawa as herbal tea. Today, the use of gumamela tea is
gaining worldwide popularity - including Asia. Gumamela (Hibiscus) is
associated with longevity

Guava Leaves

Description/Taste
The oblong leaves of the guava tree are smooth and leathery with faint white
veins. Dried and crushed leaves will have a faint aroma similar to that of the
guava fruit.

Seasons/Availability
Guava leaves are available year-round.
Current Facts
The guava tree is an evergreen and member of the Myrtaceae family.
Nutritional Value
Guava leave are currently being studied for their ability to help lower
cholesterol and treat symptoms of diarrhea as well as for their ability to help
prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.
Applications
Guava leaves are used predominantly to make medicinal teas and
supplements.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
In parts of Japan and East Asia the guava leaf is commonly used to make a
medicinal tea used in the treatment of diabetes.
Geography/History
The Guava tree is believed to be native to Mexico, Central America and the
Caribbean. From there the guava tree spread to tropical and sub-tropical
regions of the Americas, Australia and Asia. The leaves of the tree have long
been used in folk medicine to treat a number of aliments such as coughs,
dysentery, skin diseases, epilepsy and cholera.

San francisco
Packera franciscana (syn. Senecio franciscanus) is a rare species of flowering
plant in the aster family known by the common name San Francisco Peaks
groundsel, or San Francisco Peaks ragwort. It is endemic to Arizona in the
United States, where it is known only from the San Francisco Peaks in
Coconino County.[1][2] It is threatened by recreational activities in its
habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.
Packera franciscana grows on two of Arizona's San Francisco Peaks,
Humphreys Peak and Agassiz Peak, and the saddle between them.[2] These
are the two tallest mountain peaks in Arizona.[5][6] It grows in alpine tundra
habitat in the volcanic talus of the mountain slopes, an area with little
vegetation located above the tree line.[1][2][3] This is the only alpine zone in

Arizona.[1][4] The elevation is between 3200 and 3800 meters, with most of
the plants occurring between 3525 and 3605 meters.[7]
The plant is apparently adapted to a fellfield habitat made up of unstable
talus, as evidenced by its long rhizome and adventitious roots which may not
be anchored to any stable surface. As rocks tumble, the root may break, and
pieces of the root can generate new plants through cloning.[7] Despite its
being limited to a small area, the plant is common locally.

Ampalaya Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) also known as Bitter

Melon is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely
grown in the Amazon, Carribean, South east Asia such as Philippines for its
edible fruit. Ampalaya or bitter melon also known as bitter gourd as the
name implies has a bitter taste due to the presence of momordicin, and is
believed to be among the most bitter of all vegetables.
Ampalaya Bitter Melon is a climbing vine that grows up to 5m, with tendrils
up to 20cm. long. Amplaya leaves are heart-shaped, 5-10 cm across, cut into
5-7 lobes. Each Ampalaya Bitter Melon plant bears separate yellow male and
female flowers. Ampalaya bears fleshy green fruit, oblong shaped with
pointed ends, ribbed and wrinkled, bursting when mature to release seeds.
Ampalaya seeds are flat with ruminated margins.

Bougainvillea (/bunvli/ or /bonvli/) is a genus of thorny

ornamental vines, bushes, and trees with flower-like spring leaves near its
flowers. Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus.
They are native plants of South America from Brazil west to Peru and south
to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Bougainvillea are also known as
buganvilla (Spain), bugambilia (Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Philippines), pokok
bunga kertas (Indonesia), "'bougenville"' (Pakistan), Napolen (Honduras),
veranera (Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama),
trinitaria (Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic & Venezuela),
Santa Rita (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) or papelillo
(northern Peru).
The vine species grow anywhere from 1 to 12 m (3 to 40 ft.) tall, scrambling
over other plants with their spiky thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black,
waxy substance. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or
deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovateacuminate, 413 cm long and 26 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is
small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by
three or six bracts with the bright colours associated with the plant, including
pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is
sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and
papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene.
Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants, but they may suffer from worms,
snails and aphids. The larvae of some Lepidoptera species also use them as
food plants, for example the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia).