Rainforest flowers used as medicinal herbs

The indigenous Papuan people in New Guinea have used flowers from their rainforest as remedies for the treatment of their diseases. This local wisdom is very effective in curing skin diseases such as white blotches on the skin caused by fungus and even severe abscess. When I was in the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains in Manokwari regency, Samuel Mandacan, the village chief of the Kwau village, explained to me that they use Ntam flower to eliminate the white blotches.

Last week I went to Numfor island with two Dutch volunteers from SDSP foundation. They were Jettie and Monique. When we were talking about the medicinal function of certain types of plants, a woman in Rarsibo village said that the islanders use the sticky resin of Orchid stored in its pseudo bulb to cure abscess. To take the resin, first they have to cut a pseudobulb of the orchid. Then they peel it off and scrape it using sharp knife.

The liquid resin that is thick and sticky will be obtained from the Orchid's pseudobulb. This sticky liquid is applied to the surface of the skin that suffers from abscess beneath it. The orchid resin will accelerate the absorption of the pus and as a result the abscess will dry faster than usual. We may only see orchid as beautiful decorative flower from the tropical rainforest but for the Papuan people in Numfor island, orchid is a very effective herbal remedy in curing abscess and perhaps many other diseases.
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Herbal remedy for abscess
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