Growing up in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, my parents would always give us different types of herbs to drink. Whatever the ailments, there’s a remedy for them; it could be a cold, a fever, falling down, or even washing our hair.
Sometimes I would wish she wasn’t so cheap because buying the pharmaceutical product would have been better. At least that’s what I thought. It’s a true saying that when you’re young, you’re stupid, and it’s the truth that God protects babies and fools.
Now that I’m an adult and with all the research and experiments I’ve done on my own, I’ve also noticed that the many bushes I used while growing up are now added to the many shelf products.
Cecropia peltata is a fast-growing tree in the genus Cercropia, and it’s the first species to be described as such. Common names include trumpet tree and snakewood.
It is listed as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species. Cecropia peltata ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to northern South America, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica, and has been introduced in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Living here in the diaspora, it’s still my go-to medicine, especially for colds.
Cecropia peltatal is normally 15 meters (49 feet) tall, but occasionally grows up to 25 meters (82 feet) tall. The leaves are large—10–60 centimeters (4–24 in) in length and width, but more commonly about 20 × 20 centimeters (8 in)—and palmately divided into 7–11 (but generally 8–10) lobed.
The upper surfaces of the leaves are scaled, while the lower surfaces are covered with minute hairs interspersed with longer ones. The petioles are generally 20–50 centimeters (8–20 in) long, while the branches are green and covered with short, stiff hairs.
The dried leaves of trumpet leaves are used as an infusion primarily for the treatment of diabetes and as an anti-inflammatory agent. In Mexico, the leaves, stem, bark, and root are widely used for the empirical treatment of type 2 diabetes, which makes me wonder if this plant is in our insulin.
In El Salvador, this leaf is being used as a sedative. In Costa Rica, this plant is popularly used for the treatment of arterial hypertension and as a diuretic agent.
Cecropia obtusifolia is also traditionally used in Latin America to treat heart failure, cough, asthma, bronchitis, fever, hepatic and kidney disorders, wounds, The leaves of Cecropia peltata are traditionally used as an infusion to treat cardiovascular, metabolic, and respiratory disorders because of their wound-healing and diuretic properties. In Trinidad, the leaves are used for urinary problems.
This makes you wonder where our folks got these pieces of information from.
My name is Denise Craigg. I’m not a doctor of any level, and I’m not trying to advise you on anything. Let’s research, educate, and learn together.
