If we want to care for the Amazon with conviction, we first need to know more about the rainforest. That’s why we want to tell you about one of its most iconic trees: the Lupuna or Giant Ceiba.

This plant is enormous, reaching up to 70 meters in height and 3 meters in width, with impressive tabular roots that seem to invite you to sit on them. In fact, for some indigenous communities, this is a place where they can talk to their ancestors.

The truth is that this tree is integral to human life in the jungle, as its seeds, leaves, and resin are used as medicine for:

Diarrhea
Dysentery
Kidney problems
Inflammation
Cuts

Some communities in the Colombian-Brazilian Amazon even use it to treat certain types of cancer.

Of course, that’s not all. Indigenous communities hollow out its wood with fire and then carve it into very sturdy canoes for traveling down the river. These canoes are so durable that they last for generations.

For a native of the Amazon, the Lupuna is more than just a plant; it is a tree of life that cares for each and every inhabitant of the jungle.