Bixa orellana
Lipstick Tree of the Amazon
The red streaked cheeks and feather jewellery of the traditionally dressed Indian present an enduring image of the Amazon jungle. The vibrant colouring comes from the plant known as lipstick tree (annatto or achiote are two of many local names), Bixa orellana in the family Bixaceae.
Distribution and biology
The lipstick tree has been planted so widely and historically that its origins have become blurred, but it is believed to be native to parts of Central and South America. Growing up to eight metres in height, the tree has a dense rounded shape, a short thick trunk and pink flowers. Leaves are alternate on the stem, broad and rounded at the base and drawn out into a long point. The red fruit with its soft spines can be broken open to find, arranged in a hollow space, a row of seeds with a red pigmented coating. Rolling the seeds between fingers releases the colouring and finger painting techniques are all that is required for body decoration.
Traditional uses
The older women of Amazon jungle tribes are custodians of methods for preparation of dyes for body paint and fabric colouring. They take the fruit and mix it with water in a strip of bark. It seems that the combination of the pigments and substances in the bark make the colour fix better. The many traditional medicinal uses include infusions of shoots to prevent dysentery, as an antiseptic, for control of venereal disease, as an aphrodisiac and to reduce fever. Leaves are used to treat skin problems and hepatitis. Across the Andes on the western slopes, near the Ecuadorian town of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, the Tsáchila people use the same scarlet dye mixed with grease to coat their hair to form distinctive cap-like shapes.
Use in cooking and cosmetics
Culinary uses range from regional Latin American specialities to global commercial applications. Mixed to a paste (recado) with garlic, onion, citrus and other herbs and spices, the seeds are used as a baste or marinade for grilled meats in traditional cuisine of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Similar mixtures are used to colour and flavour stews in other parts of Central and South America. The natural food colouring is widely added to cheeses, margarine, rice and custard powder. Colouring of cosmetics such as lipstick has given the plant its common name.
Growing lipstick tree
The lipstick tree is an ornamental and potentially useful garden or orchard subject in tropical and subtropical areas, but check its appropriateness for local conditions. The tree has become invasive in high conservation value vegetation in areas including Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands.
Reference
Mondragon, M. and Smith, R., 1977. Bete Quiwiguimamo. CIBT, Quito.
Lipstick Tree
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