Botanical Name

Couroupita guianensis  

Family

Lecythidaceae

English name

Cannon Ball Tree 

Hindi name

Naga linga

Kannada name

Naagalinga pushpa

Habit

Tree

Habitat

Along the sides of rivers and in swampy areas 

Plant Description

Mediumsized tree, appearing more massive due to dense tangle of long dangling branchlets that emerge and cover lower trunk. Bark greyish-brown, fissured. Leaves smooth to slightly velvety arranged spirally at the end of branches.  Flowers; produced in racemes directly on the trunk or branches. Complex nectar less structures, each consisting of 6 large and fleshy-waxy petals that are red to orange on the inside and yellow on the outside, a disk of numerous short and yellow ring-stamens arranged around reduced styles and stamens, and a pink-white anemone-like structure of hood-stamens. Fruit; appears like a big ball

Distribution

South East Asia

Religious significance

Fragrance during worship (Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Budhhism religions).

Part Used

Leaves, bark, pulp

Medicinal uses

Used to treat skin diseases, infected wounds, cold, fever, toothache, stomach ache.

Ecological significance

Highly-fragrant, primarily pollinated by carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) and bats