Medicinal Uses
The Cannonball Tree possesses antibiotic, antifungal, antiseptic and analgesic qualities. The trees are used to cure colds and stomach aches. Juice made from the leaves is used to cure skin diseases, and shamans of South America have even used tree parts for treating malaria. The inside of the fruit can disinfect wounds and young leaves ease toothache. The fruit emits an unpleasant odor and can be used as an insect repelent just by rubbing it to the skin or clothes.
Read more about this topic: Couroupita Guianensis
Famous quotes containing the word medicinal:
“Our Indian said that he was a doctor, and could tell me some medicinal use for every plant I could show him ... proving himself as good as his word. According to his account, he had acquired such knowledge in his youth from a wise old Indian with whom he associated, and he lamented that the present generation of Indians “had lost a great deal.””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“by Spoon Rivergathering many a shell,
And many a flower and medicinal weed—
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At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all,
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—Edgar Lee Masters (1869–1950)