The Most Interesting Tree on Earth?

Native to the rainforests of the Guianas, but now planted widely in the tropical to semi-tropical areas of the world is the bizarre Cannonball Tree (Couroupita guianensis).

This tree reaches to about 50-75 feet tall and produces beautiful pink to red flowers which bloom for a day and then are followed by fruits that look like cannonballs—hanging from a tangle of drooping, naked stems borne directly from the trunk of the tree.

When the wind blows, the fruits bang against each other and make a sound like heavy artillery fire.

To make it even more bizarre, each fruit has a red pulp (filled with hundreds of seeds) that smells foul and turns bluish-green when exposed to air.

Just to seal deal, when the fruits mature, they fall from the tree and splat on the ground explosively…What a spectacle!

Obviously, these trees make great conversation pieces!

So, they are planted as ornamentals, but only in areas where there won’t be direct foot traffic traveling underneath.

They have a number of other uses, however. The flowers are showy and scented, and even though the fruit is edible & fed to livestock, it is not usually eaten by humans because of its bad smell.

The hard shells of the fruits are sometimes used as containers, and the flowers used for making perfume and cosmetics.

The Cannonball Tree has cultural and religious importance in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia; for example, it is grown at Shiva temples in India due to the belief that the flowers look like the head of the King cobra (nāga), and due to the beautiful scent.

The Cannonball Tree also has several traditional medicinal uses, including for pain, inflammation, skin conditions, heart health and the common cold.  The traditional uses depend on the parts of the plant, with almost all parts being used medicinally.

Through scientific investigation, the plant has been found to have antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antiseptic, antidepressant, anticancer, antihelmintic, anti-MRSA, antimalaria and immune modulating activity.

Moreover, it contains interesting phytochemistry, including novel structures with bioactive moieties.

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**This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.

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