Native to the coastal areas of the Atlantic Forest, a plant known for its beautiful flowers – and toxic effects – may be present in your garden.
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Extinct from the natural environment, the Brugmansia suaveolens has versions in white, yellow and pink. Due to its peculiar shape, the flower has received nicknames such as white skirt, yellow skirt and trumpet, in Portuguese, and floripon, in Spanish.
During his travels around Foz do Iguaçu for the É da Vida segment, environmentalist Francisco Amarilla found yellow specimens in Porto Meira.
“I know it as yellow skirt because the flower looks like a skirt, a long dress,” explains Amarilla. “It is a hallucinogenic, toxic plant, it has poison inside.”
In other regions of Brazil, the species is called zabumba, cartão and canudo, as well as erva-dos-mágicos, erva-dos-feiticeiros, hálito-do-diabo and mata-zombando. The fame linked to “spells” comes from the use of the plant in rituals among some indigenous peoples.
On the other hand, in regions such as Rio Grande do Sul, the flower or seed, diluted in tea, is included in the list of medicinal plants. The infusion, as long as it is prepared with due knowledge, has an analgesic effect.
Even extinct in its natural environment, curiously, the Brugmansia suaveolens has gained new life as an ornamental plant. Today, the flower is present in public and private gardens in several countries in South, Central and North America.
Produced by H2FOZ, the É da Vida program has the support of Bird Park. Presentation: Francisco Amarilla. Images and editing: Marcos Labanca. Distribution on digital platforms: Claudio Siqueira.
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