Mesua ferrea linn - Nagapushpa

Nāgakesara

Mesua ferrea (Sri Lankan ironwood, Indian rose chestnut, or cobra's saffron) is a species in the family Calophyllaceae. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its timber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful shape, grayish-green foliage with a beautiful pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and large, fragrant white flowers. It is native to wet, tropical parts of Sri Lanka, India, southern Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, the Philippines, Malaysia and Sumatra, where it grows in evergreen forests, especially in river valleys. In the eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats in India it grows up to altitudes of 1,500 m (4,900 ft), while in Sri Lanka up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).

Medicinal uses

1. Bastirogahara – useful in urinary tract disorders
2. Vishahara – Anti toxic
3. Vatasrahara – useful in gout
4. Kandughna – useful in relieving pruritis (excessive itching)
5. Shophahara – relieves swelling, edema, anti inflammatory
6. Ama Pachana – Digestive, relieves Ama Dosha
7. Jvarahara – useful in fever
8. Trushnahara – Relieves thirst
9. Chardihara – relieves vomiting
10. Hrullasa – relieves nausea
11. Daurgandhyahara – relieves bad breath, excess sweating
12. Kushtahara – useful in skin diseases
13. Visarpahara – useful in herpes
14. Sheersharujahara – useful in headache

• The Seed oil applied externally to relieve pain and inflammation.