Silk cotton is a medicinal tree, which is also beneficial in coughs and gallstones. By grinding its raw fruit, making powder or decoction, you get to benefit in stones and other urinary problems.
Have you seen the big red and orange flowers blooming during the spring season on a tall tree? Most of us admire those beautiful and vibrant flowers but don’t know what it is called. It is Silk Cotton or Semal whose scientific name is Bombax Ceiba. Throughout the year, this tree looks barren but during March-April, when the flowers bloom, it looks surreal. Other than the pretty-looking flowers, this tree and its parts hold medicinal and healing properties.

Health Benefits of Red silk cotton tree:

Leucorrhoea: Consume fruit of Bombax Ceiba in cooked form with Clarified Butter and Salt.
Wounds: Crush bark of Bombax Ceiba. Add some water to make paste. Apply it over wounds.
Loose Motion: Prepare a leaf decoction of Bombax Ceiba. Consume 45 ml of it twice a day.
Burns: Burn the cotton of Bombax Ceiba tree. Apply the ash obtained over burnt areas.
Impotence: Take 100 g each of powder of dried Bombax Ceiba fruit and Sugar. Add this to a cup of lukewarm water. Drink it once a day.
Tumors: Apply leaf paste of Bombax Ceiba over Tumor.
Acid Reflux: Take 10 g Gmelina leaves, 4 g Bombax Ceiba bark and 8 g Achyranthes Aspera root. Crush them using milk to make paste. Take quarter teaspoon of the paste twice a day.
Urinary disorder: Take orally the decoction (10 ml) of the bark of semal and flowers of palash. Mixed in 2:1 ratio
Seminal disorders: Take tender roots of seminal, clean and dry in shade. Grind to make powder. Take this powder to cure seminal disorders.
Blood purification: Take leaves of semal and grind with water. Filter and drink.
Leucorrhoea: Take semal root powder twice a day with water.
Over bleeding in menstruation: Mix semal root powder (100 gm.), Mulethi powder (50 gm.) and swarn geru (25 gm.) and take this powder twice a day with water or milk.
Acne, skin blemish and pigmentation: Take thorny part from stem of semal tree. Make paste of root of thorn with water. Apply on the affected area. This also lightens scar marks due to boils, freckles, acne vulgarize and burns.
Wounds: Apply paste of its bark on wound.
Weakness: From the seminal flower take green base part, clean and dry in shade. Grind to make powder. Mix one spoon powder, honey (2 tbsp) desi ghee (1 tbsp) in milk and drink.
Improve breast milk: Take bark of semal root, clean and dry and grind to make powder. Take twice to improve breast milk.
Cold and cough: Mix semal root powder with black pepper and dry ginger powder. Take in small amount to cure cold and cough.