Botanical Name - Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

----- Nyctanthes, Linn.; F.B.I. III-603. N. Arbor-tristis, Linn.; F.B.I. III-603. Grandi's Ind. Trees, 442. Gamble's Ind. Timbers, 469. Vern. Harsinghar, Hind. Karsha, Tel. Kaisar, Paharbatti, Parijatak, Mar.

----- A large deciduous shrub or small tree. young branches quadrangular, rough all over with an uneven epidermis, and stiff white hairs. Bark scabrous, 1/4 in. thick, light brown. Leaves opposite, ovate or oblong to cordate-acuminate, entire or serrate, very scabrous, 3-5 in. long. by 1-3 in. broad, petiole 1/5 - 1/2 in. long. Flowers sweet-scented. sessile in peduncles bracteate fascicles of 3-5, arranges in short trichotomous cymes; involucre to the cymes 2-6 leaved. Calyx tubular, entire, or obsolutely 5-6 crenated Corolla-tube 1/3 - 1/2 in. long., cylindrical, orange-red; limb white, spreading; lobes 5-8 emarginate, contorted in bud, 1/5 - 1/3 in. long. Anthers 2, sessile on the corolla just with in the tube. Stigma capitate, glandular. Capsule obovate or rounded, compressed, chartaceous, 1/3 - 1/2 in long, 2-celled, 2 valved, opening transversely from the apex; seed solitary in each cell, erect from the base, exalbuminous.

----- This pretty little tree is very abundant in the jungles throughout the State and it is also to be met with cultivated in almost every native garden and about temples. The flowers have a most deciduous smell, opening at sunset and falling off at sunrise. The tree is a great favourite in India and it is often mentioned by the Sanskrit poets as the " tree of mourning fragrance of the evening air, and then fall in showers, best rewing the earth's cold season with sweetness" (Balfour). The flowers are used by garlands are employed in Hindu ceremonies and give the colour used for the robes of Buddhist priests. (Trimen, in Gamble). The orange tube of the flowerdye a fine buff, or orange colour. The flowers are collected and dried to separate teh white corolla lobes, which are winnoed out leaving the orange tubes from which the dye is extracted (Kanjilal). In the forest the tree is generally met with as a thick bushy shrub, but whenever cultivated and allowed to grow, it is deloped into a small tree. In places in the forest it densely covers the ground and through constantly burnt back by fires ti is hard to killand forms an important part of the undergrowth of the forests. It is not usually eaten by goats and would be useful to introduced into denuded areas as it can easily be raised from seed. Wood pale red, or pale yellowish-brown, moderately hard, close-grained. It is of useful quality but being of small size, it is only used for fuels. Weight 55 lbs. per c. ft. The leaves are very rough and are used like sand-paper for polishing. Flowers August to October. Fruit cold season.