Butea monosperma, which is also known as Flame of the forest,flowers in abundance in all forests throughout India in spring. It is called Palash in Sanskrit and Hindi, and Muttuga in Kannada. It is mentioned in the Ramayana, where Sita sees the flowering trees, and thinks some stretches of the forest were on fire. The leaves of this tree are made into leaf plates, which are said to impart health giving qualities to the food served on them.Butea superba, a cousin of the Butea moosperma is used in Thai medicine .