Caesalpinia pulcherrima

In the genus Caesalpinia the most popularly planted species is Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Common names for this species include Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados, and flamboyan-de-jardin. It is a shrub growing to 3 m tall, native to tropical America. The leaves are bipinnate, 20-40 cm long, bearing 3-10 pairs of pinnae, each with 6-10 pairs of leaflets 15-25 mm long and 10-15 mm broad. The flowers are borne in racemes up to 20 cm long, each flower with five yellow, orange or red petals. The fruit is a pod 6-12 cm long.

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It is a striking ornamental plant, widely grown in tropical gardens. It is also the country flower of the Caribbean island Barbados, and is depicted on the Queen's personal Barbadian flag.

In India it is found in the tropical rain forests. With a beautiful inflorescence in yellow, red and orange, it is called "Ratnagundhi" colloquially.

Medicinal Uses

Medicine men in the Amazon Rainforest have long known some of the medicinal uses for Caesalpinia pulcherrima, which is known as ayoowiri. The juice from the leaves is said to cure fever, the juice from the flower cures sores, and the seeds cure bad cough, breathing difficulty, and chest pain. Four grams from the root is also said to induce abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.^[1]

References

1. ^ S. Allen Counter (July 24, 2006). Amazon mystery: A medicine man understood the secrets of this plant long before we did. How?. The Boston Globe.