Health: Cotton tree: Panacea to uterine bleeding

COTTON  tree is a ceiba pendandra, a  historic symbol of Freetown. The “cotton tree” gained importance in

1792 when a  group of former African American slaves, who had gained their freedom by fighting for the British during the American war of Independence, settled the site of modern Freetown. These black loyalist settler, called “ nova Scotians founded Freetown on March 11th, 1782.

  According to tradition, they landed on the shoreline and walked up to a giant tree just above the bay and hold a   thanksgiving service there gathering around the tree in large group.

  Today, a huge cotton tree stands in the oldest part of freetown near the the supreme cotton building and national museum.

Family Name: BOMBA CEAE         

Botanical Name: Ceiba petandra

English name: Cotton/Silk-cotton tree.

Igbo name: Akpu-ogwu

Yoruba name: Araba

Hausa name: Rimi

DESCRIPTION: A tree to as much as 65m high by 10m or more in girth, with long cylindrical bole, buttresses to 8m high and wide spreading bole. Branches are spiny when young, and it is from the tree that the bulk of world's supply of kapok comes, and of all trees categorized and considered to be revered and sacred, Ceiba pentandra is the most important.

  Parts Used: Leaves, buds, flowers, stamens, bark, seeds, oil and gum.

Chemical Constituents: Tannins and Fatty acid.

  Actions: An astringent diuretic herb that lowers fever, relaxes spasms and controls. Medicinal Uses -

1. Bark and leaves are used for abnormal uterine bleeding, diarrhoea in children (gum), bronchial congestion.

2. Bark and leaves are use in baths for fevers and headaches.

3. Bark and leaves are also use as poultice for erysipelas, sprains and wounds.

4. Bark is use as antibacterial, febrifuge and for treating diarrhoea and toothache.

5. Leaves used as emollient and sedative.

6. Flowers cure constipation and have emollient properties.

7. A bark decoction is use for tooth-troubles, as mouth- wash, for dysentery and swollen fingers.

8. Stem and root bark are considered emetic and antisoasmodic: the decoction is use to wash sores, furuncles (boils) and leprous macules.

9. A bark decoction is taken orally to relieve stomach complaints, diarrhoea, hernia, blenorrhoea, heart-trouble and asthma, and in mouth-washes and gargles for gingivitis, aphtes and often toothache.

10. A bark infusion is taken as febrifuge.

11. Bark sap is given to sterile women to promote conception by reason of the fecundity of the seed.

12. The root-sap is a remedy for the treatment of diabetes and leprosy.

13. The leaves are also pounded to a fine state and applied as a curative dressing on sores and cancer.

14. A wet poultice of pulped leaves is use to maturate tumours and on whitlow.

15. Its use for STD (Gonorrhoea) has also been recorded.

16. The flowers are use for constipation.