Sea randa
StarGuettarda speciosa
Synonyms: Gardenia speciosa, Jasminum hirsutum, Matthiola speciosa, Cadamba jasminiflora, Nyctanthes hirsuta, Guettarda speciosa var. glabrata, Mogorium hirsutum, Guettarda tahitensis, Guettarda hirsuta, Guettarda speciosa var. tahitensis
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
Guettarda speciosa is widely used in Pacific, Asian and African coastal folk medicine. Tribal healers in the Solomon Islands and Tonga applied poultices of crushed leaves to wounds and inflammations, and Indigenous peoples of northern Australia heated the large leaves and applied them to relieve headaches and aching limbs; the bark is used for chronic dysentery and on wounds and abscesses, and decoctions of flower, bark or root are recorded for cough, cold, sore throat, fever, boils and pelvic pain (Useful Tropical Plants; Tewtrakul et al., 2019). Modern study confirms anti-inflammatory and cyclooxygenase-inhibitory activity.
Gallery
Botanical Description
Guettarda speciosa, the beach gardenia or sea randa, is a small evergreen tree or large shrub of the family Rubiaceae, widespread on tropical coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans from East Africa and Madagascar through tropical Asia and Malesia to northern Australia and the Pacific islands, where it grows on sandy beaches, dunes and the landward fringe of mangroves. It typically reaches 3–10 m, with a spreading crown and large, broadly obovate, leathery leaves clustered toward the branch tips, prominently veined and softly hairy beneath. The flowers are highly fragrant, white, and tubular with usually seven to nine spreading lobes, opening at night in clustered, forked cymes. The fruit is a rounded, somewhat fibrous drupe adapted to dispersal by seawater. Salt- and wind-tolerant, the tree is an important component of strand and coastal-strand vegetation throughout the Old World tropics and is also planted for shade and shore stabilisation.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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