Sometimes known as Annato, Achiote is known for its fruit, a bright red spiky seed capsule that contains seeds covered with a soft red material that is used as a dye. It is a source of pigment for indigenous adornment and is still used today as a food coloring.

Achiote is also used to treat dysentary, venereal disease, and fever with the shoots of the plant, and the leaves are used for hepatitis, dermatitis, and tonsilitis.