Harsingar

Autumn marks the beginning of festivities. And the tree that marks the beginning of this season called 'sharad ritu' (शरद ऋतु ) in Hindi is the Coral Jasmine or Night Jasmine tree. During rest of the year, this tree can easily go unnoticed. But as the month of October sets in and it starts blooming, there is no way that anyone cannot get enchanted by it. Creamy white and deep orange coloured flowers with their heavenly aroma leave everyone mesmerised with their surreal beauty and fragrance.

Coral Jasmine or Harsingar (हरसिंगार) in Hindi is known for its characteristic night blooming fragrant flowers which bloom in profusion at dusk and fall off at dawn next day forming a carpet of white and orange beneath.Since it appears to be weeping early morning and shedding away its flowers as teardrops, it is also called by the common name Tree of Sorrow. Its botanical name Nyctanthes arbor-tristis literally translates into night blooming sad tree ( Nyctanthes means night blooming and arbor-tristis means sad tree).

Botanical name : Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
Common name :  Hindi - Harsingar, Parijat
                              English - Coral Jasmine, Night Jasmine, Tree of Sorrow
                              Bengali - Shefali, Shiuli 
Family : Verbenaceae 

This tree finds many references in ancient literature and there are a few stories regarding its origin and the reason behind it shedding flowers at the break of dawn. According to one story, there was a princess named Parijataka who fell in love with the Sun. But the Sun refused to accept her. Dejected she burnt herself to ashes. From her ashes rose this tree that bloomed at night but  shed all its flowers at sunrise as it could not bear the sight of its lover. Hence, it is also called as Parijata ( पारिजात ) in Hindi. 

Another story states that this tree Parijata appeared as a result of Samudra Manthan (churning of milky ocean) and was given a place in the Garden of Heaven. But when one of Lord Krishna's wife Satyabhama demanded this tree, Lord Krishna brought it down from Heaven to earth and planted it in Satyabhama's courtyard in such a way that the flowers fell in Rukmini's (Lord Krishna's first wife) courtyard. 

It is also said that the abode of Lord Vishnu is under this tree and that Lord Hanuman rests under its shade. Since its flowers have always been used for puja, hence it was called Hari shringar ( Hari means Lord Vishnu and Shringar means ornaments ) which later became Harsingar.

A Rajasthan miniature painting depicting a lady picking Harsingar flowers

Rabindranath Tagore too composed a song Shiuli phool ( Shiuli is the Bengali name for this tree ) that beautifully describes this flower.

Distribution 

It grows well all along the sub-Himalayan tract and peninsular India.

Morphology 

It is a small tree with light canopy that can also be trained to form a shrub by regular pruning. Branches are quadrangular and fairly symmetrical. Bark is slightly wrinkled and greyish or greenish-white in colour. Leaves are simple, arranged opposite to each other,dark green and oval with pointed tip and entire margins. They are covered throughout with coarse hair and are rough to touch.

Bark of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

Floral buds

Inflorescence is a cyme. Sepals are green and fused to form a cup like structure. Each flower has five to eight creamy white petals fused beneath to form a coral coloured or deep orange corolla tube (hence the name Coral Jasmine ). Each petal is lobed. When the flowers are in full bloom and fully turgid, their petals roll in such a manner that the flowers look like little pinwheels with yellow-orange centres. Petals are delicate and get easily bruised.Two stamen are present inside the corolla tube. Stigma is bifid.

Blooms of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis at dawn

 
Fruit is a capsule that splits into two parts each bearing a seed. When unripe the fruit is green but turns black with time.

Unripe seed of Coral Jasmine

Uses

This tree earns the distinction of being the only tree whose flowers can be picked from the ground and offered to God. They are commonly used for puja.
Apart from that, the flowers are collected every morning and can be placed in a broad dish or bowl and placed in a room. The whole room gets filled with their heavenly fragrance. They can also be made to float in a dish filled with some water to keep them fresh all day.

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis has been an important medicinal plant in Ayurveda.Every part of the plant is medicinally valuable.  
The leaves are anthelmintic and hence are used for treating intestinal worms.Paste of leaves is applied externally to treat skin infections. Concoction of leaves is also used to bring down fever. They are also used in the treatment of dry cough, malaria and as an antidote for snake bites. 
The flowers  are carminative and aid in digestion. They are also useful in treating dysmenrrhoea. 
Seeds are used as a hair tonic and are effective in promoting hair growth and treating infections of scalp.  
Powdered bark is consumed for getting rid of joint pains. A decoction of roots is useful in treating enlarged spleen.     

Bitter yet sweet

Karela or Bitter Gourd has been one of my favourites since childhood. Unlike some kids who used to make faces on hearing its name, I would always smile on hearing that in lunch we have 'karele ki subzi'.
Some years ago, we had bitter gourd growing at our home ( a long variety that is usually grown in hilly areas nearby) and it was so generous in producing fruits that we had to give away some to our friends and neighbours. So recalling old memories this year I decided to have home grown karelas for summer.

How did I grow them ?

By seeds . In early April, summer fruits and vegetables start coming in the market. And many times you can get a bitter gourd with ripe seeds inside. I too found one or two with ripe seeds which were removed from the fruit, dried in the sun for a day and they were ready to be sown.  

Even before the climbers start flowering, one can know that it is bitter gourd by the smell of its leaves. When it gets shaken by the wind or when we brush our hand against its tender shoots, we get a bitter smell identical to the one present in its fruits. It climbs by means of tendrils. It catches hold of any support nearby and coils itself tightly around it. Hence it can spread pretty fast and in any direction, so it is always best to make a support for it before. In my case the support that I chose was a small citrus tree nearby so that the fruits remain within my reach. I directed the shoots on to it and they covered its little canopy in no time.

The looks..

The leaves are simple, with serrated margins and five to seven lobes.

Botanical name : Momordica charantia
Family : Cucurbitaceae
Common name : English- Bitter gourd, Bitter melon, Bitter squash
                              Hindi- Karela


Each plant bears male and female flowers separately. Male flowers come first followed by female flowers. On each shoot, male flowers are borne above and female below. It helps in pollination of female flowers from pollen falling from above.
When the male flowers start blooming,they are in abundance. This continues for several days. Last year too I had a climber growing and I wasn't aware of this difference in male and female flowers. So I was hoping to see some little karela hanging after the initial flowering spree. But soon I realised that those were male flowers when one day I spotted a flower that had a green center and an ovary shaped like a miniature bitter guard fruit.
Both male and female flowers are yellow, polypetallous (free petals numbering five). Male flowers have a orange-yellow center which is due to the pollen bearing anthers.

A male flower

Female flowers on the other hand have a light green center which is the carpel. Also the ovary which is shaped exactly like a tiny bitter gourd and present behind the petals, is another feature that distinguishes female flowers from the male ones.

A developing female flower

Female flower with elongated ovary and petals closed in a bud above

Female flower in bloom

Female flowers appear some days after the male flowers and they are fewer in number initially but their number starts increasing soon and we can spot many little fruits hanging from the branches adorned with long, curly tendrils.

Spiky skinned fruits 

By the time it started flowering, monsoons had arrived with full vigour. And this was the best time for its growth. The flowering increased so did the size of the fruits. Long, tapering, green bitter gourd fruits swayed like pendulums
in the monsoon winds, showing off their spiky skins.

To be eaten they are plucked while still green, before they start getting ripe and turn yellow. Though there were some that escaped our eyes and were spotted only when they turned bright orange (almost ready to split open) as it becomes difficult to spot green fruits among green leaves.   

Health benefits 

Bitter gourd is well known for its hypoglycaemic properties. Charantin a chemical substance found in its fruit is one of the phyto-chemical responsible for lowering blood sugar. Regular consumption of bitter gourd juice has been found effective in treating type 2 diabetes. It also contains many vital minerals and vitamins and is rich in folates and anti-oxidants. Its blood purifying properties help keep skin acne free and this is the main reason why it is one of my favourites during summers.

Culinary uses

Bitter gourd or Karela is made into a host of dishes ranging from quick and simple ones to the tedious ones that test your patience and skills. The skin is usually removed before cooking but such is our love for this fruit that we do not throw it away. They are dried well in sun to remove all moisture and then are deep fried till they become crisp and golden. The whole fruit too can be made into a crispy accompaniment. It is sliced thinly along with the skin, dipped in batter and deep fried. And not to forget the finger licking pickle made from it, this fruit's bitterness is what makes it so likable. Though some people run from it but this bitter fruit ultimately proves to be sweet for our health.
As my father recently told me," karele ka gun hai uski kadvahat" that means the goodness of bitter gourd lies in its bitterness. 

Rain rain come again

Thundering, rumbling black clouds slowly pulling a curtain over the blue sky makes us all heave a sigh of relief. Winds start blowing and I rush out from the hot, stuffy, humid interiors of my house not just to feel its coolness but also to collect clothes and other things that were left outside to dry. It starts drizzling soon, making me smile from ear to ear. Finally, its raining. Tiny raindrops start rolling over the long, slender leaves of Rain Lily that were earlier swaying with the wind. 

As much as we long for monsoons, the Rain Lily perhaps is more eager for it. And it conveys its love for rains out and loud. One or two days of shower and you see several floral buds emerging from the midst of grass like leaves. Just a few more days and one morning you will be welcomed by a burst of colour in your garden as if every raindrop that fell on its leaves transformed itself into a flower. White, Yellow or Pink delicate six petalled flowers resting on slender green stalks, these are also known by the name Zephyr Lily.

Botanical name : Zephyranthes candida
Common name : Rain Lily, Zephyr Lily, Fairy Lily 
Family : Amaryllidaceae

I have a white Rain Lily growing in a pot and placed under the open sky. The buds are creamish at first but later they bloom into white flowers.

It had been growing in a smaller pot before but was re-potted in a bigger one after the old one was broken when two notorious kittens knocked it over. Out of all the other plants that grow in our home, Rain Lily has always been a favourite of cats. Often it can be seen resting peacefully on top of it in winters, soaking in the warmth of the morning sun. In summers, when it is roaming around with its kittens from one house to another, the babies make it their favourite playing spot during their stopover at our house. They would play hide and seek and jump over it, thus breaking a few leaves and flattening the rest. Such nuisance they created that finally I grabbed all of its leaves and tied them lightly at the top with a nylon rope.

Fortunately the kittens are not around now. Otherwise, who knows what havoc they would have created with this plant that is in full bloom.

The flowers have six petals, six stamens and one carpel.

The peak period of flowering is during monsoons but the blossoms continue till autumn. In the months of October-November you could see the buds springing up, though fewer in number after a heavy shower. In winters it does not flower but its slender grass like foliage makes sure it stays looking beautiful all round the year.

The best way to grow Rain Lilies would be to plant them in the ground, as borders or under the partial shade of trees. A small clump or individual plants placed at little distance from each other would soon fill the space around them, as they propagate through underground bulbs. But if space is a constraint, they can be grown in pots too. Take care to thin them out when the pot gets filled. Removed plants can be sown in another pot. I re-potted the entire clump in a bigger one but even that is now getting smaller for them.

Don't they seem like singing, " Rain rain come again? "

Maulshree

Elengi tree or Maulshree  in Hindi was one of the few trees that I had read about in a book, but had never seen it. This book mentioned almost all the trees that are widespread and grow naturally on Indian soil. Maulshree was one of the few about which I had never heard before. But my recent trip to Himachal gave me the opportunity of seeing not just one but two trees, both of them outside temples.

Not a very tall tree, occasionally reaches a height of 12-18 metres . it is the thick canopy  of the tree that is a standout feature. Evergreen, lush, dense, shining green foliage of the tree offers a welcoming shade on hot sweaty days. Flowers are small, fragrant and fill the air around with their smell.

The first one was spotted at the Jwala Devi temple in Kangra. Mostly we see Peepal or Banyan trees in temple complexes. So I was sure this must be a sacred tree. I asked a priest sitting beneath its shade who told me that it was a Maulshree.

The second one was seen growing in front of the Brij Raj Swami temple in Nurpur Fort. This one was bigger. Its two main branches were quite thick and covered a large area under its shade. It is said that along with the idols of this temple, the sapling of this tree was a gift from the king of Chittor in Rajasthan to the king of Nurpur.

Botanical name :  Mimusops elengi
Family : Sapotaceae

Common names : Maulshree, Bakula in Hindi

Elengi in Malayalam

Indian medlar, Spanish cherry, Bulletwood in English

Distribution :  a native of India grows well in subtropical rainforests. Also found in other parts of south and south- east  Asia.

Description :  a medium sized tree, occasionally reaches a height of 12-18 metres. The trunk is covered with deeply fissured grey or brownish bark. Branches emerge some distance off the ground and spread out evenly in all directions thus giving the tree a rounded, umbrella shaped canopy.

Foliage is dense and evergreen. Leaves are simple, oblong, dark green, glossy, thick with wavy margins.

Flowering is from March to July. Flowers are inconspicuous owing to their small size and subtle colour but highly fragrant. Hairy and cream coloured, flowers are star shaped arranged in small clusters. Sepals are eight and petals are arranged in two series. Stamens are eight in number.

Fruit is a berry that turns orange- red on ripening and encloses one black seed. 

 

Uses : The tree finds a mention in various religious texts as well as ancient Sanskrit literature. In ayurvedic texts it is referred under the name Bakula. Since time immemorial, various parts of this tree owing to their medicinal properties have been used to treat diseases effectively. It is known for its tooth strengthening properties. The bark and fruits are used to treat dysentery.

Edible fruit is pickled. 


Below is a picture of the Maulshree tree growing at Mangala Gauri Temple in Gaya, Bihar which is another Shaktipeeth like the Jwala Devi Temple in Kangra.