Headache Bush (Cayman Islands)
Black Willow (Jamaica & the Bahamas); Jamaica Caper (USA)
Capparis cynophallophora
(syn. Quadrella cynophallophora) Caper Family: CAPPARACEAE
Florida, West Indies and continental tropical America, in rocky thickets and woodlands.
Headache
Bush is an attractive native shrub or small tree with a rounded, compact crown, suitable for use in landscaping.
The
ALTERNATE leathery leaves are shiny, dark green above, and greyish-green with
tiny, rusty scales on the underside. The juvenile leaves are very long and
narrow.
The
pretty flowers are white when they open at sunset, with a pleasant fragrance
that attracts moths.
When the sun comes up the following morning, they wilt,
gradually turning pink and then purplish.
The pod-like fruits (capsules) split open sideways to reveal a bright red interior with black seeds.
Medicinal
uses:
Leaves were chopped, crushed and put in a bottle and used as smelling
salts for a headache. Crushed leaves applied externally for toothache.
(Wilfred
Kings, 1938 Oxford University Biological Expedition to the Cayman Islands, G.C.142)
The
stem and leaves were boiled to make a tea to relieve headaches. The leaves were
also used dry.
(Healing
Plants of the Cayman Islands, compiled by Lorna
McCubbin, March 15, 1995).
Wildlife:
Headache
Bush is sometimes the larval food
plant of the Great Southern White butterfly – Ascia monuste, Family: PIERIDAE, although the eggs and caterpillars
are much more commonly found on the related Bloody Head-Raw Bones - Capparis fluexuosa, (Bottle-cod Root –
Jamaica; Limber Caper - USA).
Medicinal Plants and Cultural Uses in Cayman- photos
FLORA of the CAYMAN ISLANDS by George R. Proctor
p.333, Fig.118, Pl.23
Jamaica Caper tree (called Headache Bush in Cayman)
