In much of southern Africa, the most common pollens are the grass pollens. Examples of common grass pollens found in this region include rye grass , Bermuda grass , kikuyu grass and eragrostis . Indeed, in southern Africa there are an estimated 947 indigenous and 115 naturalized grass species. The grass flowering seasons in South Africa can be relatively long -up to 10 months due to the warm climate in the grasslands.
Allergy-inducing plants in Europe can be divided into five main areas:
Grass pollen is the most important allergen in Europe. As the cross-reactivity is extremely high amongst nearly all grasses, for the grass-pollen sensitive patient it makes no difference, which grass pollen she/he inhales. Only the pollen of cultivated rye has a higher allergen than the pollen of wild grasses. In fact, the high meadow grasses like orchard grass or rye cause the majority of symptoms.
In India there are many trees and weed plants that keep flowering. It is a tropical country and one can see flowers of many plants throughout the year. Some of the common plants/ trees that produce allergy causing pollens include: Ailanthus excelsa (tree of heaven or Mahanimb), Azadirachta indica (neem), Madhuca indica (mahua), Mimusops elengi (bakula), Morus alba (white mulberry), Eucalyptus spp, Cassia spp. and Murraya paniculata (orange jasmine, kamini).
Parthenium, Amaranthus, Argemone mexicana (prickly poppy), Prosopis julifera (kikar), ragweed, pigweed, cocklebur, sagebrush, marsh elder and tumbleweed.
Stay away from these plant species if you are in America: The main tree pollens present in North America, which are responsible for seasonal allergic symptoms, include the alder, oak, western red cedar, maple, elm , birch , ash , hickory , poplar , American sycamore, cypress , and walnut. The main grass pollens include timothy grass , Bermuda couch grass , orchard grass, sweet vernal grass , red top grass and different types of blue grasses.
Weed pollens include the dandelion, goldenrod, nettle and sage but it is the ragweed pollen that causes the most problems in North America. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen may travel as far as 400 miles and as high as 2 miles in the air.
We are familiar with the fruits that we see every day. Our familiarity with fruits depends on the places where we were born and grew up. Every step we have taken to introduce the fruits to ourselves and to our family makes it worth in terms of health. Fruits provide vital elements that are required by our body. Fruits are rich with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and other good stuffs. People who eat good amount of fruits and vegetables are known to have less chronic conditions.
There are thousands of fruits available throughout the world that is edible. Some fruits look strange, but interesting. Here is a glance of some fruits from different part of the world that are interesting and packed with abundant nutrients that are helpful to humankind.
Mangosteen – Click here to Read
Sugar plam – Click here to Read
Spanish Lime – Click here to Read
Lulo Fruit – Click here to Read
Dragon fruits – Click here to Read
Dragon fruits flurishes in abundance in South America and several Asian countries. the dragon fruit’s outer skin is cactus-like, resembling that of the scales of a mythical dragon. These fun-looking fruits contain around 60 calories each and are rich in vitamin C, B1, B2 and B3, and minerals such as iron, calcium, and phosphorus.
Dragon fruits are funny looking but are considered as super fruits.
Image credit; https://www.pikrepo.com/fypag/dragon-fruit-lot (Free for public domain, free for commercial use)
Solanum quitoense, known as naranjilla is a close relative of tomato and egg plant. The usually spineless naranjilla is believed to be indigenous and most abundant in Peru, Ecuador and southern Colombia. The naranjilla plant is attractive, with large elongated heart- or oval-shaped leaves up to 45 cm in length. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered in short purple hairs. Inside the naranjilla fruit, the green to yellow juicy sections are separated by membranous walls.
The fruit tastes like a delicious combination of pineapple and lemon and is peppered with edible seeds.
Image credit: CIAT, Lulo1 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciat/4733283187 (CC by 2.0)
An African shrub, climber plant Carissa is known for both its fruits and medicinal use. The species that is mainly produced is Carissa Macrocarpa, or Natal plum, named after a region in Northern South Africa where it grows. It is difficult to grow these plants because of milky sap exudation that comes out whenever there is a wound or cut in the plant. It is difficult to harvest and transport these fruits as they can be easily damaged.
The berries have a short shelf life because the sap congeals.
It is also good for the skin as it prevents pre-mature aging and offers other benefits as well because fruits contain powerful antioxidants.
Image:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carissa_carandas_fruits.JPG
Sakurai Midori / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
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