The Tree of Erotic Love: the Ashoka

According to ancient romantic Sanskrit poetry,the Ashoka tree, Saraca indica, is one of the five flowers used by Kamadeva, the god of Erotic Love, to arouse love in the heart of a couple.It is supposed to burst into bloom as soon as the toe of a beautiful woman touched it. As students,many a time have I and my friends kicked the Ashoka tree in our college garden with no avail! This dusty Ashoka was in full bloom in a campus in Mumbai Just shows how even the trees are misled by makeup!

The Ashoka, also called Sita Ashok, is a native of India. It has many legends connected to it.Sita , the heroine of the Hindu epic Ramayana, was imprisoned by Ravana in a garden of Ashoka trees. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born under an Ashoka tree according to some Buddhists.

The tree is of great medicinal value in the Indian systems of medicine.

Himalayan Clematis

A wild flower which blooms profusely in May in the Himalayas is the Himalayan Clematis- Clematis montana or Clematis himalaya.

The four petalled white flowers have pale pink centres . The climbers are seen enveloping trees . There are bushes of Clematis too, in all sorts of wild places.

Pride of India

Laegerstroemia speciosa is a native tree known also as the Pride of India and Queen's Crape Myrtle. It comes in purple, pink and white . These trees are beginning to display their beautiful flowers in the traffic squares.

The large flowers attract lots of bees and birds.

The leaves of this tree are used to make a tea, which is said to dissolve kidney stones.

The Cutch Tree

THe Cutch tree, Acacia catechu is a medium sized tree with many medicinal and other uses.

The bark of the Cutch tree has anti oxidant and astringent compounds. A decoction made from the bark is given orally to cure diarrhoea and dysentry. It is also used to cure eczema and asthma.

The wood from the Cutch tree is used to make rice pestles, and handles for daggers and swords.

The tree got its name 'Catechu' because of the cat like claws it has. The thorns are quite painful!

The tree is considered very useful in India, but in Australia it is considered to be an obnoxious weed.

Blue Surprise

The Eranthemum nervosum, or Eranthemum pulchellum is a native Indian flower full of surprises. Its bright blue colour of the flower is very unusual in the tropics. And the plant flowers even in the summer. The dark green leaves look very striking in the shade. Once the flowers have finished blooming, the branches can be cut down to ground level, and the plant sends out more branches and flowers. Aphids and white flies are the plant's pests.
This is a good plant to grow in dappled light in the tropics.

The Siris Tree

The Siris, or Shireesh tree Albizia lebbeck, is not a common tree in urban areas, although it is a native of India. I found this tree on the banks of the River Krishna last month. Although it had finished flowering, there were a few cream coloured , brush shaped flowers here and there. But they were all high up, out of the reach of my camera. The dry pods shivered with each gust of wind, making a rusling sound. This constant sound made by the pods has earned the tree the name of 'Woman's Tongue Tree'- most probably coined by a man.
The Siris is a medium sized tree, and is very useful. Its timber is of good quality, and all parts of it are used in Ayurvedic medicine. The tree is mentioned often in ancient Sanskrit literature. Many men in India are named after it. It is a pity that such a handsome tree is replaced by its cousin Albizia saman , as a preferred shade tree along highways.

The Golden Shower Tree

The Golden Shower tree Cassia fistula has already started blooming now. Called Vishu in Malayalam, it is a sacred tree of the Malayalees and the State tree of Kerala state. It is an integral poart of the Hindu solar new year Vishu, which falls on April 14.

The tree becomes covered with chandeliers of yellow gold flowers in March- April. The leaves are hardly seen during this time. The tree attracts lots of birds and bees. The tree is a native of India, and grows wild all over the sub continent. Tou can see the grape like clusters of yellow flowers in fields and forests if you drive down to Mysore in this season.

The Amaltas, as it is known in Hindi, is extensively used in Ayurveda for curing many ailments from flatulence to leprosy. A tea made of the flowers is a mild and safe laxative.