What flower is this?

[hml367]

Does anyone in Chiang Mai use this for medicine?

[andreandre]

Possibly Ginseng..i has some and looks very similar to this.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I have that in my garden, after stealing some seeds from botanical gardens somewhere. Weird plant but forgot the name.

[hml367]

My mother-in-law broke off a stem with the flower on the end and applied the sap to some small cuts I had... similar to aloe vera application it looked like to me. The cuts seem quite dry and better than I normally would fare in only a couple hours.

[cmsally]

We've got loads of them and they are used to coagulate blood.

If you have a cut where the blood is flowing a lot you break off the stem and smear the sap on and the blood stops quite quickly.

Sorry I don't know the name. I was told there was a female and male version. The other one having more feathery leaves, I;m not sure if that's correct.

[hml367]

We've got loads of them and they are used to coagulate blood.

If you have a cut where the blood is flowing a lot you break off the stem and smear the sap on and the blood stops quite quickly.

Sorry I don't know the name. I was told there was a female and male version. The other one having more feathery leaves, I;m not sure if that's correct.

That is what happened... thank you for the information. I will keep trying to find out what it is.

[hml367]

Possibly Ginseng..i has some and looks very similar to this.

Thanks, andreandre. I will check that out.

[Tywais]

Some photo site images identify it as ginseng.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rrmronald/3054488229/

http://myraroseilisan.deviantart.com/art/Ginseng-flower-428180672

[konjianghai]

http://frynn.com/หนุมานนั่งแท่น

ว่านหนุมาน or waan hanuman

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha_podagrica

Edited September 5, 2014 by konjianghai

[andreandre]

http://frynn.com/หนุมานนั่งแท่น

ว่านหนุมาน or waan hanuman

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha_podagrica

Hope it is not this one .....'toxic' is not good medicine..

[hml367]

Thank you all for the very helpful replies... now my turn to study!!!

THANKS !

[SEO]

Jatropha podagrica

[hml367]

Thanks again to everyone! It looks like the Jatropha podagrica and ginseng... I will have a much better look next time I go to that house. I seems I could not get a good Thai name from my mother-in-law..... But my Thai language skills are very limited.

I don't remember the bulbous bottom of the plant, but it was among a lot of plants and large leaves. Also, with my memory, I could have the leaves mixed up in the picture. You can notice in the picture 2 different types of leaves. I thought it was the larger, lobed leaf.

I know it seemed to dry the bleeding in my small cut very quickly.

I'll also try to remember to ask more about its uses.

Edited September 6, 2014 by hml367

[opalred]

its the one you smoke ? but wife puts sap on cuts

[kaptainrob]

It is certainly NOT Ginseng.

Jatropha Podagrica otherwise known as Buddha Belly is a succulent varietal and may be toxic. It does have pharmaceutical properties though I have yet to find anything relating to topical use.

We have a healthy plant growing ~ 100m from my front door but like the 'snake bite' herb I hope we'll never resort to using either.

[hml367]

Thanks, KR.

I am waiting until our next trip to the in-laws so I can check on the bulbous part, if there is. Also, I will try to get a better Thai name from mom.

Checking for the bulbous bottom part may require ME to use your snakebite herb!

[andreandre]

It is certainly NOT Ginseng.

Jatropha Podagrica otherwise known as Buddha Belly is a succulent varietal and may be toxic. It does have pharmaceutical properties though I have yet to find anything relating to topical use.

We have a healthy plant growing ~ 100m from my front door but like the 'snake bite' herb I hope we'll never resort to using either.

It is certainly NOT Ginseng.

Interested in how you can be so certain that its not.

The leaves above the flower are not indicative of ginseng for sure, but could be lower down out of site.

How have you determined so strongly that you are correct just going on the pic?

I'm not saying that it certainly IS ginseng, but would like to clarify, as Bhudda Belly is indeed toxic.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

http://www.practicalgardening.blackdovenest.com/2009/10/jatropha-podagrica-or-buddha-belly.html

[andreandre]

http://www.practical...ddha-belly.html

ginseng_flower_by_myraroseilisan

Both too similar to decide by photo alone IMO

Edited September 7, 2014 by andreandre

[konjianghai]

http://www.louistheplantgeek.com/a-gardening-journal/632-jatropha-podagrica

Not ginseng for sure. But some how people mistaken for it. It's Buddha Belly. Compare real ginseng leaves to OP picture, it is not the same. Real ginseng flowers are white not red, when it turned into berries they are red color. While Buddha Belly have red flowers and the berries turned in green color. Any way, in several countries people used for medicine while it's toxic. So it seems this is how people in the Philippines named Buddha Belly for Ginseng, which is of course out for profit. Putting sap on small cut will not kill you. But never eat it or over used should be fine. The whole plant is poisenous.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2445/#b

On Jan 13, 2009, lefthandedsnake wrote:

this is from the Philippine point of view.

It grows well, and can be brought indoors, thus making a great ornament. it is very easy to cultivate, and even a toddler could raise it (I started at the age of 12).

Warning: To the Filipinos who are reading this, please be warned that this is what Filipinos commonly know as ginseng. It's poisonous. It can do more harm to you than good. Please don't consume.

http://www.cropsreview.com/common-plant-names.html

Here is a factual example of how common plant names or common names can mislead:

In the Philippines, ginseng became so popular among men as a medicinal plant, primarily for its purported aphrodisiac property. It was even featured on a national television. The root is harvested from the base of the trunk downward, washed, and inserted into a wide-mouthed bottle with wine or liquor. Some use the stem and leaves.

But this ginseng is not the same as that world famous plant which belongs to the genus Panax. It is actually Jatropha podagrica, also known by the common names Buddha belly plant, gout plant and bottle plant. Just like physic nut (Jatropha curcas), also commonly called "tubang bakod," "tuba-tuba" and "kasla", and other plants of the genus Jatropha, all parts of the Buddha belly plant are poisonous when ingested. Jatropha plants may contain hydrocyanic acid (Begg and Gaskin, 1994).

How Buddha belly plant came to be called ginseng is difficult to establish, but it is believed that it started from ornamental plant nurseries which sell the plant for profit.

Edited September 8, 2014 by konjianghai

[hml367]

I should be going to the house with the plant Thursday. I hope so, then I will get a better picture of the whole plant... kaptainrob... keep your snake bite herbs handy!!!

[hml367]

Thanks again to everyone for the help. I am going to go with Buddha's Belly.

I still have to figure out what the mother-in-law is saying... Something like, "hanuman samaaan gaai (body)".

I couldn;t get the whole plant in the picture because it was just too bright. The 1st pic is looking down from the top and then bright and dark.

Edited September 11, 2014 by hml367

[hml367]

I don;t know why I didn't come across this when I searched before. http://www.qsbg.org/database/botanic_book%20full%20option/search_detail.asp?botanic_id=2281

Kaptainrob... fortunately for me, I will not be needing your snake bite herbs..... yet !

[realthaideal]

Dok Hanuman is a traditional Thai medicine for cuts n scrapes, it has been studied for its antimicrobial activity. It's definitely Jatropha podagrica as others have indicated, and NOT ginseng. Yes, it looks similar, but many of the articles out there post to this oft-confused duo of plants. Given it's tropical nature and ginseng's love of high cool mountains and being mostly from places east of here, it is 99% likely Dok Hanuman.