Saraca indica

Saraca indica

Biggest Plant Dictionary  | Saraca indica | Saraca Indica commonly known as Ashoka tree or Sorrowless Tree is one of the most exotic flowering trees of the Indian subcontinent.

It grows natively in warm humid climates of Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Malaysia and belongs to the Fabaceae family.  The Ashoka is a rain-forest tree. Its original distribution was in the central areas of the Deccan plateau, as well as the middle section of the Western Ghats in the western coastal zone of the Indian Subcontinent. The Ashoka is prized for its beautiful foliage and fragrant flowers. It is a very handsome, small, erect evergreen tree, with deep green leaves growing in dense clusters.

Saraca indica

The colorful flowers of Ashoka are accompanied by soft, deep-green, and shiny leaves. The young wavy leaves are softer and red in color and closely resemble the leaves of Polyalthia Longifolia or The Mast Tree.

Saraca indica

The Ashoka tree has many folklores associated with it and is considered sacred throughout the Indian subcontinent, especially in India and Sri Lanka. It is believed that Queen Maya gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of the Buddhist religion and doctrine of Nirvana, under an Ashoka tree. Buddhists hold this tree in high esteem. Hindus also revere Ashoka tree and dedicate it to Kama Deva, the god of love.

Other names The Ashoka
This tree has a multitude of names in Indian literature. Some names for the Ashoka tree and its flowers include: In Sanskrit: Sita-Ashoka, Anganapriya, Ashopalava, Ashoka, Asupala, Apashaka, Ashoka, Hemapushpa, Kankeli, Madhupushpa, Pindapushpa, Pindipushpa, Vanjula, Vishoka, Vichitra. Other languages: Thawgabo, Thawka (Burmese), Vand ichitrah, Vanjulam (Hindi), Asok (Bengali), Ashoka (Oriya), Asogam (Tamil and Malayalam), Asokamu, Vanjulamu (Telugu), Sokanam โสกน้ำ (Thai), Diyaratmal, Diyeratembela (Sinhala), Nikabilissa (Divehi), Achenge, Akshth, Ashanke, Kenkalimara, (Kannada), Gapis, Tengalan (Malay).

The origin of the tree is India, Burma and Malaysia. This is a very slow-growing, small and evergreen erect tree that has a smooth and gray brown bark. The top of the tree is well shaped and compact. Usually, one can see the flowers almost throughout the year. But from the period of February to May, the plethora of orange and cherry clusters give the tree a view of absolute beauty. The clusters that stick very closely on to every branch and twig are consist of a lot of small flowers having long-tubes which open out into four oval lobes. They also have the appearance of Petals.

Saraca indica

They are of yellow when they are young, then they become orange and after that because of age and the effect of Sun`s rays, they get the colour of crimson. The flowers spread several long, half-white, half-crimson, stamens from a ring at the top of each tube. These give the flower clusters a hairy appearance. They also acquire a delicate perfume after the sun is set. The scimitar shaped pods are broad, stiff and leathery and their length is about 20 cm. The tree has a lot of useful medicinal properties as well. Some of the ailments of women can be cured with the juice obtained from boiling the bark. A pulp of blossoms can also be used as a remedy for dysentery.