Hello Steem Plants lovers. Let's welcome week 41 of this marvelous contest, STEEM PLANTS CONTEST, hosted by @strawberrry. Read up all about it here and come join in the fun.
This plant, a vine, which was planted about 3 years ago in my wife's garden takes its sweet time to bloom. But when it does, the flowers are so beautiful that one would definitely not mind the wait. I just saw this yesterday and really gave me a start. It seemed to appear out of nowhere, just like that.
The last time I saw this flowering was a year ago. And before that, it took nearly 10 months to flower. Yes, you have to wait almost a year for it to bloom. This is the Garlic Vine.
Mansoa alliacea, or garlic vine, is a species of tropical liana in the family Bignoniaceae. It is native to Northern South America, and has spread to Central America and Brazil. Among the mestizos of the Amazon rainforest it is known as ajo sacha, a Spanish-Quechua name that means "forest garlic" or "wild garlic". Wikipedia
It is a relative of the trumpet flower. In fact its bouquet is made up of so many trumpet flowers growing side by side. The major difference, though, is the garlic vine has the distinct odor of garlic. I could not believe this at first until the person who gave us this plant took a leaf, crushed it and asked me to smell it. It really smelled like garlic!
Garlic Vine, based on my readings about it in the internet, not only has medicinal uses but seasoning uses as well similar to that of basil or rosemary. The young leaves can be chopped up and sprinkled over salad or pasta. The more matured leaves and other plant parts like the bark and flower can be used as ingredient for herbal formulas in capsule form to treat various ailments such as arthritis, rheumatism, colds, flu and fever. The plant contains several sulphur compounds like alliin and allyl sulphides similar to those in garlic, that give it analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatic and anti-pyretic properties and used for the treatment of the various ailments mentioned earlier.
Beauty with benefits. A real wonder how nature works in providing our needs, not just on the physical but on the emotional and spiritual levels. Let me end this post with this quote about nature.
"Nature is the art of God." - Dante Alighieri
I am inviting @jacinta.sevilla, @kneelyrac and @susana72 to join in this contest.
That's all folks. Keep safe everyone and good luck to all the participants.
(All photos are mine.)