Sacred trees in India
Can anyone guess what trees these are?
The flowers are very fragrant and smell similar to neroli or champaca, with maybe a hint of minty camphor odor. It used to be very important for making perfumes and flower garlands in India but now has become more difficult to find. According to Hindu legend Krishna danced with Radha under this tree, and played a prank on the milk-maids of Vrindivana by stealing their clothes while they were bathing and hanging the clothes up in the branches.
Comments (8)
parker25mv
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
This tree can get to be 60 feet tall and is attractive but very messy, dropping lots of small dark purple fruit all over the place.Children in India love to pick the fruit off the tree and snack on it, but the flavor can be very astringent. A pinch of salt is said to help bring out the sweetness. The dark juice stains. The flavor is kind of similar to blueberry or plum. Diluted and sweetened with sugar it makes a refreshing juice.
It actually happens to be in the same genus as Wax Jambu, if anyone knows what that fruit is.
It is said that Lord Ram lived on this fruit for years after his exile from Ayodhya, and the complexion of his skin is compared to the slick texture of the fruit. The ancient Hindu scriptures describe the splitting of the cosmos into seven island continents, the center one is a land named after this tree.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
The wood of this tree is very expensive and highly sought after. Although culturally significant for thousands of years, it has been overharvested and become a threatened species.
I can't give any more clues without giving it away. But I will say the wood smells soft, warm, smooth, almost creamy, and very pleasant.
(Another little known fact, this tree is actually parasitic and requires tapping into the roots of a host tree for healthy growth)
shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
7 years agoI think there's as much of this (Santalum album) grown in Western Australia now as there is in India...
Here's one for you...
parker25mv
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoActually, the sandalwood in Australia is a different species (Santalum spicatum), and is inferior in quality (though substantially less expensive).
Shaxhome, that picture is a very tough one... but I'm going to have to guess False Ashoka (Polyalthia longifolia).
Here's a picture of the real Ashoka tree:
The fragrant orange flowers are used in temple worship in India.shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
7 years agobonitapplebum
6 years ago
shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)