produces a similar seed oil. The seeds are also eaten and likewise called 'chestnut of America'. The defatted seed (removing sterculic acid) is rich in amino acids, including lysine, and could be a nutritional supplement for the world, suggest SCHULTES & RAFFAUF (1990). The seeds have to be cooked or fried first (see above!) before being eaten. Fruits and leaves also have a medicinal use. The leaves contain about 10% tannins, also slime, carbohydrates and minerals. They have antidiarrhoeic and expectorant properties and have the effect of a bronchodilator. They are applied against diarrhoea, and cough. To prepare the tincture, 200 g leaves and fruit are put into 1liter of alcohol (60 %) for 7 days. The liquid is filtered and taken. Mainly P. insignis is planted as an ornamental along highways and in gardens and parks. The flowers are very large, showy and fragrant, they are about 30 em long; the 5 petals are red, the filaments yellow (up to 1000 were counted! (VELEZ & VELEZ 1990); the fruit is a capsule up to 30 em in diameter, and contains many brown seeds, 2 em in diameter. The plant is reproduced by seeds; it has a slow growth and a profound radical system, but has a long life and is one of the most resistant trees of the country.

South American medicinal plants : botany, remedial properties, and general use / I. Roth, H. Lindorf. Berlin ; New York : Springer, c2002. -- p. 492.