A tropical plant native to Mozambique and Madagascar with a bitter root used in traditional medicine and herbal remedies.
From the Mozambique region where the plant originates; the word entered English through Portuguese and Arab trade routes around the 17th century.
Calumba root was so prized in European pharmacies during the 1800s that it was listed in official medical reference books—people believed it could cure everything from fever to digestive problems.
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