Paruthi / Common Cotton Dried (raw)

Paruthi plant will grow to 5 feet tall. It has heart-shaped leaves that are 3-5 lobed reaching up to 6 inches across. Mexican Cotton blooms in summer when grown outside, but when grown in the greenhouse plants can bloom at any time of the year. The white to yellowish flowers are up to 3.5 inches across. They are followed by 1.5 inch long fruits. Fruits are 3-5 celled with 5-11 seeds per cell producing copious lint and fuzz. The splitting capsules are well-armed making it an uncomfortable plant to harvest by hand. Cotton plants have been grown the world over for centuries as the source of cotton fibers.

Benefits of paruthi koodu (Cotton tree)

• Red cotton boll as Antidote: Crush red cotton boll, Filter its juice. Take 20 grams of the juice 2 to 3 times a day. This works as an antidote for any poison ingested.
• For Burn Wounds: Crush cotton flowers and extract the juice. Apply this juice on burnt wounds as an ointment. It gradually heals the wounds.
• For removing Bacteria in Teeth: Deep Fry some cotton seeds in a vessel till they turn black. This can be used to massage the teeth to get rid of bacteria and give healthy teeth.
• For Mumps: Crush cotton tree leaves and extract juice from them. Apply this on mumps to cure.
• For curing Puss in the Ears: Make juice from cotton “boll” and filter it. Add some guggilam (Myrsinaceae) and honey to the juice. Put 2 to 3 drops to remove pus from the ear.