This is the inside of an urucu pod I picked today at my neighbor's farm across the road from the Bosque. As you can see, it's full of seeds, each covered with a bright red paste (pulp). This particular fruit isn't totally mature, thus the pulp isn't as thick as it would normally be when harvested. The color is also a bit faded, compared to mature seeds. I forgot to mention that the scientific name, Bixa orellana, is in tribute to Francisco Orellana, the first European to come down the Amazon River in 1541-1542. Bixa means "bright red" in Latin. Some people refer to urucu as the "lipstick plant" because the pulp can be applied to the human body, much like lipstick. The indigenous groups of the Amazon have used urucu for thousands of years for body paint and as a dye for cloth and other artifacts. If you do a quick search on the internet, you'll see that the plant is also medicinal. It's amazing how it's used for so many different aliments.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Urucu II
This is the inside of an urucu pod I picked today at my neighbor's farm across the road from the Bosque. As you can see, it's full of seeds, each covered with a bright red paste (pulp). This particular fruit isn't totally mature, thus the pulp isn't as thick as it would normally be when harvested. The color is also a bit faded, compared to mature seeds. I forgot to mention that the scientific name, Bixa orellana, is in tribute to Francisco Orellana, the first European to come down the Amazon River in 1541-1542. Bixa means "bright red" in Latin. Some people refer to urucu as the "lipstick plant" because the pulp can be applied to the human body, much like lipstick. The indigenous groups of the Amazon have used urucu for thousands of years for body paint and as a dye for cloth and other artifacts. If you do a quick search on the internet, you'll see that the plant is also medicinal. It's amazing how it's used for so many different aliments.
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1 comment:
That's really interesting, thanks for sharing! Amazing what plants has to offer. Shame they're cutting the trees eliminating life little by little.
I just got tagged to write 7 weird things about me, then tag 7 other bloggers to do the same. I have nominated you, so I tag you.
If you are interested, write 7 "weird" things about you on your blog, then tag up to 7 other bloggers. This way we all get to know each other and each others blogs.
Keep up your blog, I'll be visiting.
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