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Bitter Gourd: Bitter Gourd Herb or Karela is seasonal vegetable and very bitter in taste it is a rich source of phosphorous. The needs of phosphorous in human body are fulfilled by regular use of bitter gourd is invigorating and keeps. It purifies blood, activates spleen and liver and is highly beneficial in diabetes. The bitter gourd is a common vegetable cultivated exten sively all over India. It is 10 to 20 cm. long, tapering at the ends and covered with blunt tubercles. The seeds are white in raw fruits and become red when they are ripe. There are two varieties of this vegetable. The large kind is long, oblong and pale green in color. The other kind is small, little oval and dark green. Both the types are bitter in taste. They turn reddish-orange when ripe. Bitter Gourd has excellent medicinal virtues. It is antidotal, antipyretic tonic, appetizing, stomachic, antibilious and laxative. The bitter Gourd is also used in native medicines of Asia and Africa.Kochia: Kochia (Kochia scoparia (L.) Roth), also known as fireweed, burning bush or summer cypress, was introduced to the United States around 1900 as an ornamental from Eurasia. Gardeners like this annual plant for its bright red foliage in autumn. Farmers in dry areas, including the Southwest, have grown kochia as a drought-resistant forage crop on lands where other crops are difficult to grow -- hence the nickname "poor man's alfalfa." Because of kochia's low water requirements and resistance to diseases and insects, interest in it as a forage crop has increased in the last decade. Researchers at South Dakota State College have selected seeds from wild plants and produced satisfactory yields of leafy foliage. Kochia, with its high protein content, requires relatively large amounts of nitrogen (100 to 250 lb/acre). If too much nitrogen is applied at once, however, toxic levels of nitrate may accumulate in the plants. Oxalate toxicity, which causes rough hair, humpback, jaundice, photosensitization and a stiff gait in livestock, is another potential problem for cattle that graze only on kochia for periods of 90 to 120 days. Kochia grows wild throughout most of the northern half of the United States, except for parts of the Pacific Northwest. The plant has become a serious drought-resistant weed in the Plains states. Because of the wide genetic variability in wild kochia, it is possible that the problems associated with the plant as a forage crop can be overcome with plant breeding.