Schrebera swietenioides is a flowering plant in the family Oleaceae found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. It prefers dry forests. It is commonly known as weaver's beam tree.[2] Other names are mala plasu, muskkakavrksam, maggamaram', manimaram, mushkakavriksham, malamplasu and malamblasu. Flowering season is from February to April.[3]
Leaves are compound, imparipinnate, opposite, estipulate; rachis 5–10cm, slender, pubescent flowers are bisexual, yellowish brown, fragrant, 1cm in size, nocturnal, in terminal, trichotomous cymes. Stigma is shortly bifid. Fruit is a pendulouscapsule, 5 x 2.5cm, obovoid, loculicidally 2 valved. The seeds are winged. Capsule is the size of a hen's egg, and pear shaped.[4]
In Thailand
In Thailand, this species is considered a rare plant, endemic to only a few places, such as Phu Wiang National Park, Khao Kradong Forest Park, etc. It is known as yoni pisaj (Thai: โยนีปีศาจ, "devil's vagina") or hee phi (หีผี, "ghost's pussy"), because the ripe fruit looks like female genitalia. There is a local legend that says that, Maiden Orapim, followed the man she loved, Prince Panjit, the son of Khmer King. The two were separated by a large, fast-flowing river. Orapim was afraid that crossing the river would be inconvenient because she was a woman, so she prayed to place her breasts on the wild cotton tree (Bombax ceiba) and her genital on weaver's beam tree, and so she transformed into a man and continued to search for Prince Panjit.[5][6]
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