About Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng.
Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng., commonly known as the powder-puff tree, is a tree species belonging to the family Lecythidaceae. It grows in coastal swamp forests and on estuary edges across the Indian Ocean region, ranging from the east coast of Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, through Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, Laos, southern China, northern Australia, coastal Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands and Malesia, to many Polynesian islands. The 1889 publication *The Useful Native Plants of Australia* records that Indigenous people of the Mitchell River District called this plant "Yakooro". It also notes: "The root of this tree has a bitter taste, and is used by Hindu practitioners on account of its aperient and cooling qualities. The seeds and bark are also used in native medicine; the latter is of a reddish colour, and is said to possess properties allied to the Cinchonas. The pulverised fruit is used as snuff, and, combined with other remedies, is applied externally in diseases of the skin. (Treasury of Botany)." The powder-puff tree is a protected tree in South Africa.
