Beverage yielding plants

Beverage yielding plants:

Whatever we drink (except water) is beverage. We get beverage from various plants. A few beverage-yielding plants are introduced briefly:

1. Daab (Green Coconut) (Cocos nucifera):Daab or coconut plant is tall,branchless and evergreen tree. The leaves are compound and arranged only at the top of the stem. Flowers are borne in inflorescence. Male and female are borne separately.

Part used: Water of green coconut. This water is the liquid endosperm of theseed.

Uses: The water is taken to quench thirst and make the body cold. The water ofgreen coconut is a good nutritional drink.

2. Tea (Camellia sinensis):Tea plant is a small tree. In garden the plant ispruned again and again to make it shrubby and bushy plant. Leaves are simple and alternate. Flowers are large and white or pinkish in colour.

Parts used : Young leaves (apical bud with two young leaves).

Uses: Tea is taken as a drink to be free from exhaustion by stimulating nervoussystem. The young leaves of the garden through especial Procesnig : commercial tea is made and then sold in the market. Liquor is made by mix the tea leaves in boiled water and taken as a drink with sugar or sugar and milk.

3. Coffee (coffea arabica) : It is a small tree or shrubby plant. Leaves are simpleand opposite. Flowers are white and with sweet smell.

Part used : Seeds.

Uses: It is taken as a drink to get rid oftiredness.Seeds are processed specialmethod to make it usable. The powdered coffee is made for drink from the processed seeds.

4. Lemon (Cytrussp.): It is a small

tree  or  bushy  plant.  Stem  is  usually with   thorns.   Leaves   are   simple, alternate and  with   oil  glands.  The endocurpof  the       fruit  has  juicygranules.Part used : Juice of the fruit.Uses : Sweet drink mixed with lemon juice is used extensively to quench thirst and make the body cool. It is made from sugar, water and lemon juice. It is a common drink in Indian sub-continent.

5. Sugarcane : (Saccharum officinarum):In cultivated condition it is an annual herb. Stem is without any branch, solid and with nodes and internodes. Leavrs are elongated, alternate and divided into leaf sheath and lamina. The leaf sheath encircles the stem.

Part used : Stem extract.

Uses : Sugarcane juice is used to quench thirst and make the body cool. It ismore palatable if zinger extract is mixed with it. The use of this drink is gradually increasing in Dhaka city. Jaundice patients profusely use it. Molasses is made from sugarcane juice.

6. Khejur- Date palm (Phoenix sylvestris):It is a branchless tree. Leaves areunipinnately compound and are arranged in a cluster at the top of the stem.

The apex of the leaflets is spiny.

Part used : Exuded. sap of the stem. In winter a portion of stem beneath thecluster leaves is scarped and a pot/container is hold there by especial means. The sap is collected in the pot throughout the whole night. In the next morning the juice filled pot is brought down from the tree.

Uses : In winter morning date palm juice is a delicious drink. The juice is alsoused against intestinal worms and thus it is taken in an empty stomach. Delicious molasses is also made from this juice.

7. Fruit juice : Juice of fruits like mango, pineapple, watermelon andKamranga (Averrhoa carambola), are used as beverage. Again juices of grapes, apples, pears, bananas etc. are also used as beverage but in Bangladesh most of these fruits are not cultivated at all.

Except tea and coffee other drinks mentioned here are all known as soft drinks.