Nagamalli Tree

This tree is planted as an ornamental for its showy, scented flowers, and as a botanical specimen for its interesting fruit.[5] The fruit is fed to livestock such as pigs and domestic fowl.[5] The fruit is edible, but not usually eaten by people because it can have an unpleasant smell.[7] In India the tree is sacred to Hindus, who believe its hooded flowers look like the nāga, and it is grown at Shiva temples. There are many medicinal uses for the plant. Native Amazonians use extracts of several parts of the tree to treat hypertension, tumors, pain, and inflammation. It has been used to treat the common cold, stomachache, skin conditions and wounds, malaria, and toothache. Laboratory tests show that extracts of the plant have some antimicrobial activity and inhibit the formation of biofilms. The fruit pulp is rubbed on sick dogs to cure them of mange.