Description

Semal Phool — the dried flowers of Bombax ceiba, the red silk cotton tree — is a distinct product entry from the Semal Musli (root) item in the catalog. Bombax ceiba, a large spiny deciduous tree of the family Malvaceae, is native to the tropical and subtropical forests of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The tree produces magnificent crimson, five-petalled flowers on bare branches in winter and early spring — a spectacular floral display characteristic of the dry deciduous forest landscape. The flowers, known as Shalmali Pushpa in classical Ayurveda, are documented in the Charaka Samhita in women’s monthly-wellness and blood-purifying formulations. The astringent tannin content of the dried petals and their traditional application in wound-healing preparations are also referenced in ethnobotanical surveys of central India.