Plants are incredibly useful to humans in countless ways. They provide food, medicine, shelter, and fuel, among other things. All of the fruits, vegetables, and grains that we consume come from plants. We also use plant products as spices and herbs to enhance the flavor of our food. Plants also contain a variety of compounds that have medicinal properties, making them an important source of drugs for treating various ailments.
While the usefulness of many plants is known to all, here is a list of plant products not commonly known but forms an essential part of general knowledge.
| Plant products | |
|---|---|
| The plant from which opium (rich source of morphine) is obtained | Poppy (Papaver Somniferum) |
| The plant from which Marijuana is obtained | Cannabis Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis |
| The plant from which the drug cocaine is obtained | Coca plant |
| The plant from which anti-malarial drug quinine is obtained | Cinchona |
| The plant from which anti-hypertensive drug reserpine is obtained | Rauwolfia serpentina or Sarpaghanda |
| The plant from which chicory commonly used as a substitute for coffee, is obtained | Cichorium intybus |
| The tree from which turpentine is obtained | Pine tree |
| The tree that yields an aromatic medicinal oil also known as Niligiri tel | Eucalyptus |
| The plant from which a blue dye for use in textile industry is obtained | Indigo |
| The plant from which bio-diesel is produced | Jatropha |
| The flower whose petals are used for making gulkand a commonly used ingredient in the Indian paan | Rose |
Plants provide useful items from different parts. Any of the part of the plant namely, roots, stem, leaves, seeds, flowers etc yield useful products for human consumption.
Here is a list of common items obtained from different parts of plants.
| Plant Parts | |
|---|---|
| The part of the plant that is clove | Flower bud |
| The part of the plant that is used as a condiment from cinnamon tree | Bark |
| The part of the plant, Myristica fragrans, from which nutmeg is obtained | Seed |
| The part of the plant, Myristica fragrans, from which mace is obtained | Seed coat (aril) |
| The part of the plant that is star anise, a common spice | dried fruit |
| The part of the plant that is potato/ginger | Stem |
| The part of the plant that is eaten in coconut | Seed |
| The part of the plant from which coffee is obtained | Seed |
| The part of the plant that yields sugar in sugarcane | Stem |
| The part of the plant that yields saffron spice | Stigma |
| The part of the plant from which jute fibre is obtained | Bark |
| The part of the plant from which cotton fibre is obtained | Fruit (hairs surrounding the seed) |
| The part of the plant from which rubber is obtained | Latex |