Mexican caesalpinia or Tabachín del monte is in the genus Caesalpinia. Common names include Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana, Pride of Barbados, and flamboyan-de-jardin. Native to tropical America, Mexican caesalpinia is a shrub growing to 3 metres tall. The leaves are bipinnate, 20-40cm long, bearing 3-10 pairs of pinnae, each with 6 -10 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are borne in racemes up to 20cm long, each flower with five yellow, orange or red petals.
People of the Amazon Rainforest have long used Caesalpinia pulcherrima for medicinal purposes and call it Ayoowiri. The juice from the leaves is said to cure fever, the juice from the flower to cure sores and the seeds to cure bad breath, coughs, breathing difficulty and chest pain.
