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Hedychium coronarium - Butterfly ginger lily
Hedychium coronarium is the National Flower of Cuba, where it is known as mariposa (literally "butterfly") due to its shape. Women used to adorn themselves with these fragrant flowers in Spanish colonial times; because of the intricate structure of the inflorescence, women hid and carried secret messages important to the independence cause under it.[1] The plant has become wild in the cool rainy mountains in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio Province in the west, Escambray Mountains in the center of the island, and in Sierra Maestra in the very west of it.
USES
- An essential oil from the roots is carminative and has anthelmintic indications
- A decoction of the basal part of the stem is gargled in the treatment of tonsillitis, or, alternatively, a part of the stem may be chewed.The chewed stem is applied to infected nostrils
- An infusion of the leaves is used to treat abdominal complaints. Combined with the leaves of Lantana camara, it is used as a febrifuge.
- The boiled leaves are applied to stiff and sore joints.
