Nagalinga Flower - CannonBall Tree -

#NagalingaFlower #CannonallTree #Lecythidaceae #plantsplanet #nature #plantsaretreasure #forests #evergreenlands

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Lecythidaceae
Genus: Couroupita
Species: C. guianensis
Binomial Name: Couroupita guianensis


Couroupita guianensis, known by a variety of common names including cannonball tree, is a deciduous tree. It is native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, and it is cultivated in many other tropical areas throughout the world because of its beautiful, fragrant flowers and large, interesting fruits. Fruits are brownish grey. There are potential medicinal uses for many parts of Couroupita guianensis, and the tree has cultural and religious significance in India. In Sri Lanka, the cannonball tree has been widely misidentified as Sal, after its introduction to the island by the British in 1881, and has been included as a common item in Buddhist temples as a result.
The “cannonball tree,” so-called for the appearance of its large, round, woody fruits, is a member of the Brazil nut family (Lecythidaceae) native to Central and South America. This species has a mostly “peri-Amazonian” distribution, occurring in lowland forests on the periphery of the Amazon basin in South America, but it also occurs in small subpopulations northward into Panama and Costa Rica. Cannonball trees also thrive under cultivation in tropical and subtropical environments around the world and are popular in botanical gardens and as ornamental trees.
The flowers of the cannonball tree are colored yellow to pink and are pollinated by bees. The flowers and fruits grow directly from the trunk of the tree as well as from large branches. The “cannonball” fruits typically break open when they fall from the tree, revealing a blue-green pulp containing tiny seeds. Wildlife such as peccaries eat this pulp and swallow the seeds, thereby facilitating seed dispersal. Locally the pulp is also used as feed for domestic pigs and chickens. In some Amazonian communities the leaves, flowers, bark, or fruits of the cannonball tree are put to a variety of medicinal uses, including to treat hypertension, tumors, colds, stomachaches, toothaches, and skin conditions.