Spring Treats. White Mulberry (Morus alba) fruits

Morus alba (family Moraceae), known as white mulberry, is a species native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
It turns out that apart from being widely cultivated to feed the silkworms employed in the commercial production of silk, the plant has analgesic, emollient and sedative properties and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries as a remedy for surprisingly wide range of conditions: the fruit — to treat prematurely grey hair, constipation, diabetes, to "tonify" the blood; the bark — to treat cough, wheezing, edema, fever, headache, red dry and sore eyes, and to promote urination.
Extracts of the plant possess antibacterial and fungicidal properties. The root bark, for example, exhibits antibacterial activity against food poisoning micro-organisms, is antitussive, diuretic, expectorant and hypotensive. The roots are harvested in the winter and dried for later use.
The leaf extract has been studied against the Indian Vipera/Daboia russelii venom induced local and systemic effects. The leaves are antibacterial, astringent, diaphoretic (increasing perspiration), hypoglycaemic, odontalgic and ophthalmic, they are taken internally in the treatment of colds, influenza, eye infections and nosebleeds. The leaves are collected after the first frosts of autumn and can be used fresh but are generally dried.
The stems are anti-rheumatic, diuretic, hypotensive and pectoral. A tincture of the bark is used to relieve toothache. The branches are harvested in late spring or early summer and are dried for later use.
The fruit has a tonic effect on kidney energy and is used internally in the treatment of asthma, coughs, bronchitis, oedema, hypertension and diabetes.
Almost all parts of the plant are used in one way or another: recent research has shown improvements in elephantiasis when treated with leaf extract injections and in tetanus following oral doses of the sap mixed with sugar. Finally, it's not widely known that in some Central Asian countries a spirit (a kind of vodka or strong liquor) is distilled from mulberry fruits.
However, the fresh fruits are seldom available at the greengrocer's (probably due to their high perishability). So enjoy this wonder of Nature, even if just in pictures.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) fruit. (© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), aka Artichoke Thistle

The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), aka artichoke thistle, cardone, cardoni, carduni or cardi, is a thistle-like plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the western and central Mediterranean region, where it was domesticated in ancient times. The wild cardoon is a spiny herbaceous perennial plant growing 0.8 to 1.5 m (31 to 59 in) tall, its flower buds can be eaten much as the artichoke (which is still very common in southern Italy and Sicily), and the stems are usually braised in cooking liquid.
Cardoon leaf stalks, which look like large celery stalks, can be served steamed or braised, and have an artichoke-like flavour.
Cardoons are used as vegetable rennet for cheese production, and has recently  been considered a possible source of biodiesel. The oil, extracted from the seeds of the cardoon, called artichoke oil, is very much like sunflower oil.

On top of this, cardoons are also grown as ornamental plants for their showy beauty.

Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), artichoke thistle flower
(© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Flowering Banana and Banana Palm

Banana (Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana or hybrids Musa acuminata × balbisianais, depending on their genomic constitution) is a herbaceous plants of the genus Musa, family Musaceae, native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea.

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant, in other words, it's a grass that decided to think big. The plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy and are often mistaken for trees, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres (20 to 24.9 ft) tall, growing from a corm. Each pseudostem can produce a single inflorescence, also known as the banana heart that will in turn grow into a single bunch of bananas. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Many varieties of bananas are perennial.

Banana flower (Musa acuminata) close-up
(© LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Autumn Treats. Delicious Organic Pomegranate

When I cut open this organic pomegranate, it turned out to be so beautiful that I couldn't resist the temptation to take some pictures as you don't come across such a magnificent deep cerise (reddish pink)-ariled specimen every day.

Open pomegranate. (© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Autumn Treats. Pomegranates and Feijoas.

I harvested these delicious fruits while walking around in the local park.
Pomegranate (Punica granatum), is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.
Native to the area of modern day Iraq and Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to the Himalayas in Northern India. Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa and tropical Africa, Indian subcontinent and the drier parts of Southeast Asia. It was introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769.

The fruit of this beautiful tree is extremely beneficial for health — in the Indian subcontinent's ancient Ayurveda system of medicine, the pomegranate has been used as a source of traditional remedies for thousands of years.
The rind of the fruit and the bark of the pomegranate tree is used as a traditional remedy against diarrhoea, dysentery and intestinal parasites. The seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and the astringent qualities of the flower juice, rind and tree bark are considered valuable for a variety of purposes, such as stopping nose bleeds and gum bleeds, toning skin, (mixed with mustard oil) firming-up sagging breasts and treating haemorrhoids. Pomegranate juice (of specific fruit strains) is also used as eye drops as it is believed to slow the development of cataracts.

Pomegranate has been used as a contraceptive and abortifacient by means of consuming the seeds, or rind, as well as by using the rind as a vaginal suppository. This practice is recorded in ancient Indian literature, in Medieval sources, and in modern folk medicine.
A lot of natural remedies would probably do just as well as the pill without its side effects (such as cardiovascular diseases or breast cancer, to name but few), but the pharmaceutical industry would flip its collective lid since that would make it lose part of its succulent benefits.

Pomegranate aril juice provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and natural phenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids.
The edible seeds are rich in fibre and unsaturated oils and other micronutrients.
Juice of the pomegranate may be effective in reducing heart disease risk factors.
In a limited study of hypertensive patients, consumption of pomegranate juice for two weeks was shown to reduce systolic blood pressure by inhibiting serum angiotensin-converting enzyme. Juice consumption may also inhibit viral infections while pomegranate extracts have antibacterial effects against dental plaque.

Feijoa or Acca sellowiana, a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, eastern Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina and Colombia.
Not only is feijoa fruit an exquisite treat, but also its pulp is used in some natural cosmetic products as an exfoliant, what is more, the sweet scent of the fruit resembles fine perfume.

Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) fruits and pomegranates (Punica granatum)
(© 2012 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Pine Cones.

Pine cones (strobilus), namely female cones (megastrobilus, seed cone, or ovulate cone) that produce seeds, are some of Nature's most amazing storage and packaging systems. They are so thoroughly and securely packed that it takes quite an effort to get to pine nuts / kernels. Many animals survive long cold winters thanks to these nutritive seeds. This summer we've gathered a lot of pine cones, and I've already struggled the nuts out, but that's only half the task — the arduous work of cracking the kernels lies ahead.

Half open pine cone.
(© 2011 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)

Vegetables and Fruits.

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." (Albert Einstein.)

Well, this one is about food, or better say, about some of my favourite foods.
Needless to say, I'm a born vegetarian although I love fish, but my mum used to force me to eat meat (basically free range organic chicken), when I was a child,  until after years of persuasion I've managed to bring it home to her that it is unethical and unnecessary to kill living creatures for food (to me, it's not very different from cannibalism) or any other reason unless, of course, we are threatened with starvation or in self-defence.

There're plenty of animal products for those who, like me, don't want to follow strict vegetarian diet: eggs, dairy produce, and since fish is beneficial for the health, I wouldn't rule out limited consumption of fish without endangering the species, which is right the opposite to the common practice. However, today I hardly ever eat fish as it's stuffed with heavy metals and would probably do more harm than good. That's progress!

From the artistic point of view, vegetables are a veritable feast for the camera in their own right — they come in a rich palette of colours and shades.

Romanesco broccoli or Roman cauliflower, a flower of the species Brassica oleracea, and is a variant of cauliflower. What I find most amazing about this vegetable is that it's an epitome of fractality — just look at the logarithmic spirals of its buds.

Romanesco broccoli. (© 2011 LightColourShade. All rights reserved)