Butea monosperma | |
---|---|
Top: inflorescence, bottom: leaf | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Butea |
Species: | B. monosperma |
Binomial name | |
Butea monosperma | |
Synonyms | |
Butea monosperma is a species of Butea native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also known as flame of the forest, Bengal kino, dhak, palash, and bastard teak. [2] Revered as sacred by Hindus, it is prized for producing an abundance of vivid blooms, and it is also cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. [4]
The plant grows across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. [2]
Butea monosperma is a small-sized dry-season deciduous tree, growing to 15 m (49 ft) tall. It is slow-growing: young trees have a growth rate of a few feet per year. The leaves are pinnate, with an 8–16 cm (3.1–6.3 in) petiole and three leaflets. Each leaflet is 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long. The flowers are 2.5 cm (0.98 in) long, bright orange-red, and produced in racemes up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long. The fruit is a pod 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) long and 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) broad. [5]
The flowers frequently have a spectacular bloom sometime from February to April, although the trees do not flower every year. [6] Each flower features five petals, two wings, and a keel that resembles the curled beak of a parrot. [7] If the winter season is too cold, too dry, or too rainy, trees may not blossom.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2012) |
Historically, palash originated in Bihar and Jharkhand. Dhak forests covered much of the Doaba area between the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers, but these were cleared for agriculture in the early 19th century as the English East India Company increased tax demands on the peasants. [8]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(April 2015) |
The plant is used to make timber, resin, fodder, medicine, and dye. The wood is dirty white and soft. Being durable under water, it is used for well curbs and water scoops. Spoons and ladles made of its wood are used in various Hindu rituals to pour ghee into the fire. Good charcoal can be obtained from it. Farmers typically plant trees on field bunds and use them to reduce soil erosion. Young shoots are grazed by buffaloes as fodder. The leaves were once used to serve food where plastic plates would be used today.
Consumption of Palash Sharbat (drink) gives strength to the body to bear the heat and keeps away from health related diseases. The body gets immunity power.
Fixed oil in the seed and glucoside butrin of the flower sap are considered to be poisoned. Its consumption may cause dizziness, headache, and hypotension. [9]
In India, the tree serves as a crucial host for the lac bug (Laccifer lacca), which creates shellac. It produces the most lac sticks per hectare of any lac tree. [10]
The bark produces a crimson exudate that, when dried, hardens into a substance called "Butea gum" or "Bengal kino". The gum is considered valuable by druggists because of its astringent qualities and by leather workers because of its tannin. [11]
The gum from the tree, called kamarkas in Hindi, is used in certain food dishes.
In Maharashtra state of India it is prepared as a summer beverage out of tea of the flower which is considered to have medicinal benefits [12]
In villages of many parts of India, for example in Maharashtra, this tree provides the leaves that are used either with many pieced together or singly (only in case of a banana leaf) to make a leaf-plate for serving a meal. Up until a century ago, a would-be-son-in-law was tested on his dexterity in making this plate and bowl (used to serve daal, gravy dishes) before being declared acceptable by the father-in-law-to-be. [13]
The flowers are used to prepare a traditional Holi colour called "Kesari". It is also used as a dye for fabric. Butein, a vibrant yellow to deep orange-red dye made from the flowers, is used mostly for dying silk and occasionally for dying cotton. Hindus ink their foreheads with this colour.
The plant is known as palāśa in Sanskrit and is found in Sanskrit texts including the Rigveda and Yajur Veda. [14] The first sloka of the Sukla Yajurveda speaks about the Palasa tree. The Palasa tree branch is cut and trimmed by the Adhvaryu priest who performed the practical part of sacrifice, the day before a new moon or a full moon, and used it to drive the calves away from cows whose milk was to form a part of the offerings for the next day's special ceremony. [15]
The flame of the forest is mentioned in the description of the landscape of Punjab in Khushwant Singh's A History of the Sikhs Vol. 1. He writes, "While the margosa is still strewing the earth with its brittle ochre leaves, the silk cotton, the coral and the flame of the forest burst into flowers of bright crimson, red, and orange." [16] References to this tree are often found in Punjabi literature. The Punjabi poet Harinder Singh Mehboob employed its symbolism in his poems.
In Rudyard Kipling's short story Beyond the Pale (contained in Plain Tales from the Hills, published in 1888), he says of the dhak: The flower of the dhak means diversely "desire", "come", "write", or "danger", according to the other things with it. The tree was also featured in The Jungle Book in the story Tiger! Tiger! as the tree Mowgli instructs his wolf-brother Grey Brother to wait under for a signal that Shere Khan has returned.
According to legend, the tree sprang from a falcon's feather that was infused with soma. The right side of Yama's body is where the plant, according to Vayupurana, had its start. This lovely tree is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists. It is said to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by second Lord Buddha Medhaṅkara Buddha. [17]
In West Bengal, it is associated with spring, especially through the poems and songs of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who likened its bright orange flame-like flower to fire. In Santiniketan, where Tagore and Vishalnarayan lived, this flower has become an indispensable part of the celebration of spring. The plant has lent its name to the town of Palashi, famous for the historic Battle of Plassey fought there. [18]
In the state of Jharkhand, palash is associated with folk tradition. Many folk literary expressions describe palash as the forest fire. The beauty of dry deciduous forests of Jharkhand reach their height when most trees have shed their leaves and the Palash is in its full bloom.[ opinion ] Palash is also the State Flower of Jharkhand.
It is said that the tree is a form of Agni, the God of fire and war.[ citation needed ] In Telangana, these flowers are specially used in the worship of Shiva on occasion of Shivaratri. In Telugu, this tree is called Moduga chettu.
In Kerala, it is called plasu, chamata or vishalnarayan. Chamata is the vernacular version of Sanskrit word harinee, small piece of wood that is used for agnihotra or the fire ritual. In most of the old Nambudiri (Kerala Brahmin) houses, one can find this tree because this is widely used for their fire ritual. Tamil Brahmins have a daily agnihotra ritual called Samidha Dhanan, where barks of this tree is a main component for agnihotra, and this ritual is very essential for brahmacharis during the first year of brahmacharya.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(April 2015) |
In Sanskrit, the flower is extensively used as a symbol for the arrival of spring and the colour of love. Jayadeva in the Gita Govinda compares these blossoms to the red nails of Kamadeva or Cupid, with which the latter wounds the hearts of lovers. The imagery is all the more appropriate as the blossoms are compared to a net of kimsuka flowers (किंशुकजाले). In a completely leafless tree, the blossoms look like a net.
The following stanza is translated by Barbara Stoller Miller; for kimsuka blossoms, she uses the common name "flame tree petals":
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is Kerria lacca.
Arti or Aarati is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, part of a puja, in which light from a flame is ritually waved to venerate deities. Arti also refers to the hymns sung in praise of the deity, when the light is being offered. Sikhs have Artikirtan which involves only devotional singing; the Nihang order of Sikhs also use light for arti.
Saraca asoca, commonly known as the ashoka tree, is a plant belonging to the Detarioideae subfamily of the legume family. It is an important tree in the cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent and adjacent areas. It is sometimes incorrectly known as Saraca indica. The flower of ashoka tree is the state flower of Indian state of Odisha.
Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu. Holi originated and is predominantly celebrated in the Indian subcontinent, but has also spread to other regions of Asia and parts of the Western world through the Indian diaspora.
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown as an ornamental tree and in English it is given the name royal poinciana, flamboyant, phoenix flower, flame of the forest, phượng vĩ or flame tree.
Shorea robusta, the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions.
Wiliwili is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It is the only species of Erythrina that naturally occurs there. It is typically found in Hawaiian tropical dry forests on leeward island slopes up to an elevation of 600 m (2,000 ft).
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is a species of Nyctanthes native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as night-blooming jasmine, tree of sadness, tree of sorrow, hengra bubar, coral jasmine and in Singapore seri gading. Despite its common name, the species is not a "true jasmine" and not of the genus Jasminum.
Cassia fistula, also known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, kani konna, or pudding-pipe tree, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia. It is the official state flower of Kerala state and Delhi UT in India. It is also a popular ornamental plant and is also used in herbal medicine.
Butea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the pea family, Fabaceae. It includes five species native to the Indian Subcontinent, Indochina, Tibet, and southern China. It is sometimes considered to have only two species, B. monosperma and B. superba, or is expanded to include four or five.
Lagerstroemia speciosa is a species of Lagerstroemia native to tropical southern Asia. It is a deciduous tree with bright pink to light purple flowers.
Prunus cerasoides, commonly known as the wild Himalayan cherry,sour cherry or pahhiya is a species of deciduous cherry tree in the family Rosaceae.
Delhi Ridge, sometimes simply called The Ridge, is a ridge in the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor in the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. It is a northern extension of the ancient Aravalli Range, some 1.5 billion years old. The ridge consists of quartzite rocks and extends from the southeast at Tughlaqabad, near the Bhatti mines, branching out in places and tapering off in the north near Wazirabad on the west bank of the river Yamuna, covering about 35 kilometres.
Dhak may refer to:
Sources: Common Trees of India, Pippa Mukherjee, World Wildlife Fund India/ Oxford University Press 1983, Flowering Trees and Shrubs in India, D.V. Cowen
Worship in Hinduism is an act of religious devotion usually directed to one or more Hindu deities, invoking a sense of Bhakti or devotional love. This term is probably a central one in Hinduism, but a direct translation from the Sanskrit to English is difficult. Worship in Hinduism takes many forms, and its expression vary depending on geographical, linguistic, and cultural factors. Hindu worship is not limited to a particular place and Hindus perform worship in temples and within the home. It often incorporates personal reflection, music, dance, poetry, rituals, and ceremonies. Worship in Hinduism serves various purposes, including seeking blessings, guidance, or specific outcomes, as well as fostering a sense of inner peace and spiritual growth. It can also be an expression of devotion (bhakti) to the deity. The aim is to lead a pure life in order to progress spiritually and eventually attain liberation (moksha) from the cycle of rebirth.
Bauhinia racemosa, commonly known as the bidi leaf tree, is a rare medicinal species of flowering shrub with religious significance. It is a small crooked tree with drooping branches that grows 3–5 metres (10–16 ft) tall and flowers between February and May. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and China.
Leaf plates are eating plates, bowls or trenchers made with broad leaves, particularly in India and Nepal. In India they are known as Patravali, Pattal, Vistaraku, Vistar or Khali; in Nepal, as Tapari. They are mainly made from sal, dhak, bauhinia or banyan tree leaves. They can be made in circular shape, by stitching 6 to 8 leaves with tiny wooden sticks. Food is served on both fresh and dried pattal. It is popular during traditional meals, festivals and in temples. Its manufacture is a cottage industry in India and Nepal where women work on weaving them at home in spare time.
Euphorbia caducifolia is a subtropical succulent species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is found in the arid regions of northwestern Indian subcontinent. In India it is known as the leafless milk hedge.
Telangana has special climatic conditions due to its unique location in the heart of the Deccan Plateau. It is considered suitable for the developing flora and fauna. There are famous wildlife sanctuaries all over the region.The state of Telangana harbors a total of 2,800 taxa belonging to 1,051 genera under 185 families with its diverse ecosystems and varied agro-climatic regions, is home to a rich and vibrant flora. The state's flora encompasses a wide range of plant species, including both native and cultivated varieties.Telangana tropical rainy type of climate prevails, The State has a wide variety of soils and they form into three broad categories - red, black and laterite with Tropical moist deciduous forests, Southern dry deciduous forests, Northern mixed dry deciduous forests.
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help){{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)