Bixa orellana

Bixa orellana is a small but fairly fast-growing evergreen shrub or small tree. It grows from 2 - 8 metres tall. The bole can be 10 - 30cm in diameter. This is a plant that is very important to the lives of local people, providing as it does a very wide range of foods and materials.

Uses

Intestinal worms, Lower fever, Improves digestion, Dysentery, Vomiting during pregnancy, Throat infections, Muscular ache, Fevers, Colic.

Parts Used

Seeds.

Chemical Composition

Bixa orellana L. has been traditionally used in Central and South America to treat a number of ailments, including internal inflammation, and in other tropical countries like Malaysia as treatment for gastric ulcers and stomach discomfort.

Common names

Language	Common name
Kannada	ರಂಗುಮಾಲೆ Rangumaale
Hindi	Latkan
Malayalam	Kurannumannal
Tamil	Sappiravirai
Telugu	Japhara
Marathi	Sendri
Gujarathi	Sinduri
Punjabi
Kashmiri
Sanskrit	Sindhuri
English	Lipstick tree, Annatto

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Properties

Reference: Dravya - Substance, Rasa - Taste, Guna - Qualities, Veerya - Potency, Vipaka - Post-digesion effect, Karma - Pharmacological activity, Prabhava - Therepeutics.

Habit

Evergreen tree

Identification

Leaf

Kind	Shape	Feature

Flower

Type	Size	Color and composition	Stamen	More information
				{{{5}}}

Fruit

Type	Size	Mass	Appearance	Seeds	More information

Mode of Propagation

Seeds, Cuttings in sand.

How to plant/cultivate

Annatto requires a frost-free, warm, humid climate. It can grow at elevations from sea level up to 2,200 metres in tropical to subtropical climates where a mean annual rainfall of 2,500 - 5,000mm is distributed throughout the year.

Required Ecosystem/Climate

Bixa orellana requires a frost-free, warm, humid climate and a sunny location.

Kind of soil needed

Preferring a moist, but well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline soil in a sunny position.

Commonly seen growing in areas

Coastal thickets, Tropical forests.

Photo Gallery

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External Links

• Bixa orellana on flowersofindia.net
• Bixa orellana on plantnet-project.org