Mesua ferrea L

English Name : Ironwood Tree, Ceylon ironwood, Cobra's saffron, Indian rose-chestnut

Family : Clusiaceae

Origin : Tropical Sri Lanka, India, southern Nepal, Indochina, and the Malay Peninsula

Description

A medium-sized to large evergreen tree with short trunk, often buttressed at the base. The bark is greyish or reddish brown; the leaves are lanceolate, coriaceous, generally covered with a waxy bloom underneath, red when young; the flowers are large, white and fragrant; the fruits are ovoid, nearly woody; the seeds are dark brown.

Parts Used : Flower, powder, stem, anthers, flower bud, leaves and seeds

Herb Effects
Astringent, antiinflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial and anthelmintic.

Active Ingredients
Volatile oil, mesuferrone-A and B, mesuaferrol, mesuanic acid, a- and ß-amyrin, betulinic acid and ß-sitosterol.

Medicinal Use
To treat diarrhoea with blood, hiccough, leucorrhoea for conception and bleeding piles (stamens and flowers), the leaves are applied to the head in the form of a poultice for severe colds, for sores, scabies, wounds, and rheumatism (seed oil), antidote for snake poison (roots), for bleeding hemorrhoids and dysentery with mucus (dried flowers), are also prescribed for excessive thirst, excessive perspiration, cough, and for indigestion (fresh flowers).

Contraindication
Abotifacient

Reference