Yaws brasiliensis

Brazilian yaws (Guterresia braziliensis) is a tropical plant from the Rubiaceae family. It has a wide distribution area in South America, especially in Brazil and Colombia. It is a beautiful flower with large pink or red flowers up to 15 cm in diameter. Yaws sap turns red when exposed to oxygen in the air, which is why it is also called “red hour bloomer”. It is known for its healing properties and is used in folk medicine to treat various diseases.

Yaws is a beautiful, colorful, exotic tropical plant that has many medicinal properties that are still not fully understood. It is thanks to its name “yaws”, translated from Portuguese as “fruit of the bloody tree”, that the inhabitants of Brazil were especially popular with the Spaniards, the founders of present-day Rio de Janeiro. Through the joint efforts of African slaves, these trees were brought to the island. Here they provided shelters and enjoyed growing them as ornamental plants. After the Spanish king Fernando VII recognized Brazil as an independent state in the 19th century, this island in the Atlantic Ocean became its most prestigious resort.