Chonda kaadparthy mara/Boora mara – Red silk cotton

Chonda kaadparthy mara, Boora mara (Bombax ceiba L.) one of the native trees in Kodagu is a large tree with grayish bark covered with caducous conical prickles and flaky.Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton.

Kodava

Chonda kaadparthy mara, Boora mara

English

Red silk cotton

Kannada

Boorugada mara

Botanical Name

Bombax ceiba L.

Family

BOMBACACEAE

Flowering starts

December

Fruiting ends

March

Uses

The wood is used for match box and match sticks, the floss are used for stuffing pillows. The oil extracted from seeds is luminant and also used for soap making. It has stimulant, astringent, haemostatic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, anti-dysenteric and antipyretic properties.