Sunday 22 May 2011

Night jasmine or coral jasmine(shiuli/shefali ful) of Bangladesh


           Night jasmine plant or shiuli/shefali ful gaash

Nyctanthes arbor-tristis- (Night-flowering Jasmine) Cutting



         Night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful
  Heap of night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful


            
Night jasmine flower bud or shiuli/shefali ful er kuri 
Leaves of night jasmine flower(shiuli/shefali ful)
Heap of night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful
Night jasmine flower or shiuli ful have fallen from the tree early in the morning
 Night jasmine flower's fruit or shiuli/shefali ful er fal



  


      
























































































































Coral jasmine commonly known as night jasmine is known in Bangladesh as shiuli ful.People call it as shefali ful also. Night jasmine or shiuli ful is a highly perfumed flower.The tree is sometimes called the ''tree of sorrow'',because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime. Its scientific name is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. It belongs to Family:Oleaceae; Genus:Nyctanthes; Species: N. arbor-tristis.
 Night jasmine or shiuli ful is native to southern Asia. It grows in Bangladesh, as well as in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries. It is a tropical plant. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India and for Kanchanaburi Province,Thailand.
The night jasmine tree or shiuli ful tree can be tall up to 10 meters with a flaky grey bark. Leaves of the tree are opposite,simple,6-12 cm long and 2-6,5 cm wide, with an entire margin.Large attractive leaves are rough and hairy like sandpaper.Night jasmine or shiuli ful is a sweet scented flower and small in size, 2,5-5 cm, attractive shape, with white corolla and an orange-red tube in center; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together. The flowers bloom profusely, opening at night and casting off in the very early morning. The fruit is a flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm diameter, with two sections each containing a singel seed.
Night jasmine or shiuli ful has a important place in Ayurvedic treatment.Even the flowers have been used as a source of yellow dye for clotning.Hindus and Buddhist use this flower for worship to God.In Bangladesh children use night jasmine or shiuli ful to make garlands.
This flower is more known for its important place in Hindu mythology and the romantic story behind it. According to mythology, this is a heavenly tree brought to earth by the god Krishna. A quarrel over it ensued between Satyabhama and Rukmini, Krishna's wives.But Krishna planted the tree in Satya bhama's courtyard in a way that when the tree flowered, the flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard. Another romantic story woven around the tree is about Parijataka, a princess. She fell in love with the sun but when he deserted her she committed suicide and a tree sprung from the ashes. Unable to stand the sight of the lover who left her, the tree flowers only at night and sheds them like tear-drops before the sun rises.But these are apparently only flowers that Hindus offer to God picked from the ground instead of plucking from the tree.

S:en.wikipedia.org; rareflora.com; toptropicals.com; worldagroforestrycentre.org; flickr.com .

Read also: White water lily or Sada Shapla is the national flower of Bangladesh
                   Kadam/Kadambo is a rainy season flower in Bangladesh
                   Water hyacinth (Kochuripana) beauty and death
                   Silk Cotton tree - Shimul ful/ Shimul Tular Gash
                    

5 comments:

  1. the fourth photo with caption ' Heap of night jasmine flower or shiuli/shefali ful' is taken by me and used in my blog. I will appreciate it if you acknowledge the image sources!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Melee, that you have noticed this. I have removed this image.Usually all the images I use in my blog, I collect from net different times. That is why it is difficult for me to note the image sources. I don't claim that all the images used in my blog are mine. All images are collected from different blogs and websites.

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    2. How do I buy a shiuli flower and get it transported to England

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  2. In Bangladesh, near my house there was this plant with small, pretty, and very fragrant flowers. I haven't been able to forget how fragrant were the flowers. I've been looking for some time to find the name of this plant. Thanks for posting this blog as I can now move on to locating a nursery where they might sell it. -M.Ah.Kochi

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