Kapok flower (dried)

The dried flower of the kapok tree, large russet corollas gathered after they fall in spring and sun-dried. Faintly sweet and plain in flavour, it is a lead ingredient of five-flower tea and spring damp-season brews rather than rich meat soups.

TCM properties

Nature · cooling　Flavour · sweet、bland　Meridians · spleen、liver、large intestine

Traditional food therapy

In Cantonese food therapy it is brewed through spring and early summer, classically in five-flower tea, to clear heat, drain damp and relieve toxicity when the season turns humid.

Cautions: read first

• Not for people with a weak spleen and loose stools, or who are qi deficient
• In the dry autumn its bitter cold nature can injure the fluids, so do not drink much of it then

Preparation

Choose dried flowers that are whole, dry and free of mould, then soak and wash the dust off.

Origin

The Pearl River Delta in Guangdong, plus Guangxi and Hainan (the kapok is the city flower of Guangzhou)

Availability in Australia

Herbal shops / specialists

Pairs well with