Cassia fistula L. (Syn: Bactyrilobium fistula Willd.; Cassia bonplandiana DC.; Cassia excelsa Kunth; Cassia fistuloides Collad.; Cassia rhombifolia Roxb.; Cathartocarpus excelsus G.Don; Cathartocarpus fistula Pers.; Cathartocarpus fistuloides (Collad.) G.Don; Cathartocarpus rhombifolius G.Don);
KASS-ee-uh — from an ancient Greek name kasia used by Dioscorides … Dave’s Botanary commonly known as: golden shower, Indian laburnum, purging cassia • Arabic: خيار چنبر khiyar-shanbar • Assamese: কৰ্ণিকাৰ kornikar,ৰাজবৃক্ষ rajobrkhyo, সোণাৰু shonaru • Bengali: বাঁদরলাঠি bandaralathi, সোনালী sonali, সোনালু sonalu • Gujarati: ગરમાળો garmalo • Hindi:अमलतास amaltas, सियार की लाठी siyar-ki lathi • Kannada: ಕಕ್ಕೆಮರ kakkemara, ಕೊಂದೆ konde • Konkani: बाळो balo • Malayalam:കണിക്കൊന്ന kanikkonna, കൊന്ന konna • Manipuri: চহুঈ chahui • Marathi: अमलताश amaltash, बहावा bahava • Mizo: ngai-ngaw •Nepali: अमल्तास् amaltas, राजवृक्ष rajbrichhya • Oriya: ସୁନାରି sunari • Pali: इंदीवर indivara • Persian: خيار چنبر khiyar-shanbar • Punjabi:ਅਲੀਸ alis, ਅੰਬਲਤਾਸ ambaltas • Sanskrit: आरग्वध aragvadha, कर्णिकार karnikara • Tamil: சரக்கொன்றை cara-k-konrai, இதழி itali •Telugu: కోలపొన్న kola ponna, రేల rela, శంపాకము shampakmu • Tibetan: don ga • Urdu: املتاس amaltas … names derived from Sanskrit, in Hindi: दीर्घफल dirgh-phal, जठरनुद् jathar-nud, कृतमाल krita-mal, सुवर्ण suvarna, स्वर्ण पुष्पी svarn-pushpi … names derived from Sanskrit, in Oriya: ଅଧ୍ବାନ୍ତଶାତ୍ରବ adhwantasatraba, ଅପାଲଙ୍କ apalanka, ଚତୁରଙ୍ଗୁଳ chaturangula, ମୁକଳ mukala, ରାଜତରୁ rajataru, ରାଜ ବୃକ୍ଷ raja bruksha, ରେବତ rebata, ଶଣାଳୁକ shanaluka, ଶମ୍ପାକ shampaka, ଶମ୍ପାତ shampata, ଶମ୍ଯାକ shamyaka, ଶୂତିପର୍ଣ୍ଣ shutiparnna, ସୁପର୍ଣ୍ଣ suparnna, ସୁବର୍ଣ୍ଣକ subarnnaka, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଦ୍ରୁ swarnna dru, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣ ପୁଷ୍ପ swarnna pushpa, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଭୂଷଣ swarnna bhushana, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଳୀ swarnnali, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଶେଫାଳିକା swarnna shephalika … several more names in Sanskrit: अपालङ्क apalangka, अरुज aruja, चक्रपरिव्याध chakraparivyadha, चतुरङ्गुल chaturanggula, गोमयोद्भव gomayodbhava, हेमपुष्प hemapuspa, जठरनुद् jatharanud, ज्वरान्तक jvarantaka, कण्डूघ्न kandughna, कर्ण karna, कर्णाभरणक karnabharanaka,कृतमाल krtamala, कुष्ठसूदन kusthasudana, महाराजद्रुम maharajadruma, मन्थान manthana, नरधिप naradhipa, नरेन्द्रद्रुम narendradruma,नृपद्रुम nrpadruma, रेवत revata, शम्पाक shampaka, शम्पात shampata, शाम्याक shamyaka, शणालु shanalu, शूतिपर्ण shutiparna,सुपर्ण suparna,सुवर्णक suvarnaka, स्वर्णभूषण svarnabhusana, स्वर्णद्रु svarnadru, स्वर्णाङ्ग svarnangga, स्वर्णपुष्प svarnapuspa, वैद्यबन्धु vaidyabandhu,व्याधिघात vyadhighata, व्याधिघ्न vyadhighna, व्याघात vyaghata Native to: India Deciduous tree reaching 10 m; leaves large, pinnate with 4-8 pairs of up to 15 cm long ovate leaflets; flowers yellow, appearing before leaves, in pendent 30-50 cm racemes; bracts minute, caducous; fruit cylindrical up to 30 cm long, hanging.
It sheds its leaves during March and in April bursts into a mass of long, yellow golden flowers.
The fruit is a long pipe like liked by monkeys. The tree is the host plant for the caterpillars of yellow butterflies;
Its a veritable storehouse of medicinal properties…. esp. the black pulp around the small seeds in the seedpod…;
Its seeds are used in vet medicine for digestive disorders;
Also commonly planted as a garden ornamental;
Cassia fistula – Indian Laburnum from Dombivli: Cassia fistula planted by me ten years ago in a school compound. It is the flowering season lasting upto June.
This tree is a native of India. It sheds its leaves during March and in April bursts into a mass of long, yellow golden flowers. The fruit is a long pipe like liked by monkeys. The tree is the host plant for the caterpillars of yellow butterflies. We in Delhi will have to wait for another 20 to 30 days for this to flower. Once it flowers, it is treat to eyes. The butterfly is emigrant if I am not mistaken. Agreed. It is the food plant of the Common Emigrant. its a veritable storehouse of medicinal properties…. esp the black pulp around the small seeds in the seedpod… in bengal the black stick like pod is called Bandor-lathi……lathi for a monkey… as you say liked by the monkeys, though Calcutta hardly has any free roaming monkey left… My parents planted many such in our neighborhood in Calcutta, many of whom survive, yet many have been cut down by our city pragmatists to widen roads… etc… in recent times it has become somewhat popular in Calcutta streets..
VALMIKI : OBSERVER OF NATURE: Forwarding the image of a plant KARNIKARA ( as mentioned by Valmiki in his Ramayan ). In most of the botanical literature the scientific name of KARNIKAR is Pterospermum acerifolium. In Ayurvedic literature ( Shibkali Bhattacharya ) there is another candidate for KARNIKARA, and this one is Cassia fistula. Valmiki’s description of KARNIKAR fits with Cassia fistula. In case of doubt please refer Kiskindha Kand(pratham sarg) Shlka no 21.
Cassia fistula: Indian laburnum is flowering these days in Gwalior. Here are some photographs. It seems that Gwalior climate suits this tree to the t. Cassia fistula: I wants to identify this plant. It is Cassia fistula of Leguminosae family. This can be Cassia fistula…few last flowers of season?? cassia fistula बहावा Good Morning Post :: Cassia fistula :: Hooghly (WB): I attach images of “Cassia fistula” that i recorded from time to time since 2009.
Species : Cassia fistula
Bengali name : BANDAR-LATHI / AMALTAS / SHONDAL / SONALI
Type : Tree, have medicinal properties
Habit : railway plantation, also on roadsides
Date : 24-Apr-2009 @ 8.38 a.m., 29-Apr-2009 @ 8.38 a.m., 07-Feb-2012 @ 8.40 a.m.
Place : Kamarkundu Railway Station (Hooghly), West Bengal
Cassia fistula bloom at Nagpur: Here are a few photographs of Cassia fistula bloom this summer. Photos are
taken on this Sunday, April 22, 2012. Thanks! P.S. All my photos published here would be released under CC-BY-SA like most of my photos elsewhere.
Cassia fistula-MN05052012: Cassia fistula flowers Place : Dombivli Date : 05.05.2012 A cool thing to soothe the eyes in hot summers, this one and Delonix regia (Gulmohar) steal the show in May and June… May i request you to add Peltophorum pterocarpum and Lagerstroemia speciosa in yorur list 🙂 Definitely … these two also deserve special mention, the reason behind my not mentioning them being there low frequency in our area compared to Gulmohar and Amaltas.. Thank you once again Sir, here we have more Gulmohar and Copper pod than Amaltas and Jarool. Hi – query on Amaltas_Cassia Fistula: You can recollect me from the below mail chain. I have been anxiously waiting for my tree to blossom yellow this May. Last May it was small. But so far it din’t. Will you be able to throw some light please? Is May not the month for yellow blossom in Hyderabad unlike Delhi ? Have explained this in the past but am not able to reproduce the link here
Here is the link:
It’s very easy to find a particular thread by opening home page at link (keep it in your Favourites & you needn’t have to ‘sign in’ to it) & searching on Gulmohar Tree + … Once thread is open, copy & paste the address.
You are right, my Amaltas (Cassia Fistula) is planted in centre of a lawn. I am not sure as to how I will handle this.. but what I get from you is that I should not water the area around this tree so that it blossoms yellow. Do I still have time? Can I right now stop watering the surroundings and still be lucky to see yellow blossom in the next few days?
It is now left to the elements. If the monsoons set in, as I presume it will this week in Hyderabad, you will have to wait another year to see your tree blossom.
Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae (Caesalpiniaceae) :: Cassia fistula in Maharashtra and Chandigarh: Cassia fistula L. KASS-ee-uh — from an ancient Greek name kasia used by Dioscorides
FIST-yoo-luh — hollow (tube-like) Apr 27, 2007 … Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai
commonly known as: golden shower tree, Indian laburnum • Bengali: বাঁদরলাঠি bandaralathi, সোনালী sonali • Gujarati: ગરમાળો garmalo • Hindi: अमलतास amaltas, स्वर्णपुष्पी swarn-pushpi • Konkani: बलो balo • Malayalam: കണിക്കൊന്ന kanikkonna • Manipuri: চহুঈ chahui • Marathi: बहावा bahava • Mizo: ngaingaw • Nepalese: अमल्तास् amaltas, राज्-बिर्छे raj-birche • Sanskrit: अध्वान्तम्शात्रवः adhvantamshatravah, अपालङ्कः apalankah, आरग्वधः aragvadhah, कर्णिकारः karnikarah, राजन्वृक्षः rajanvrkshah, श्चोनाक schonaka, शम्पाकः shampakah शम्पातः shampatah, वैद्यबन्धुः vaidyabandhu • Tamil: கொன்ற konrai • Urdu: املتاس amaltas Native to: India more views: Apr 27, 2007 … Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai May 6, 2007 … avenue tree along LBS Marg, Mumbai
Dec 1, 2007 … at Vaghbil, Thane, Maharashtra
Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae (Caesalpiniaceae) Week: Cassia fistula. Pune: Cassia fistula
Amaltas; Indian laburnum; Bahava बहावा Native . Often seen in western ghats. Also commonly planted as a garden ornamental. Sharing the images of Cassia fistula from NBNP. Anaikatti, Coimbatore
Location: Anaikatti.
Habitat: Garden
Habit: Tree
Surprisingly such a beautiful tree is native. we all see it in gardens but it is still observed growing wild in Forests of Western ghats as well as from Vidarbha. Fabaceae-Caesalpinioideae (Caesalpiniaceae) WeeK: Cassia fistula from Dombivli-MN071211: Seen this tree flowering in our neighbourhood. We use this flower for Vishu kani on our New Year day (Vishu). I have planted some trees in schools and societies and happy to see that all are flowering during April. It is also the food plant of the caterpillars of Grass Yellow butterflies.
Place : Dombivli
Date : April 2009
Kanikkonna (Malayalam: കണിക്കൊന്ന)… your state tree, …
Yes this is the State tree of Kerala and hence I have some affinity towards it !!
efloraofindia:”For Id 20082011MR1’’ tree with oblong leaves Pune: Kindly identify this tree with the following specifications
Date/Time- July 2011 evening
Location-Place, Altitude, GPS- Pune Maharashtra
Habitat- Garden/ Urban/ Wild/ Type- Garden
Plant Habit-Tree/ Shrub/ Climber/ Herb- Tree
Height/Length- about 8-10 feet in height
Leaves Type/ Shape/ Size- green oblong big
Inflorescence Type/ Size- Not seen
Flowers Size/ Colour/ Calyx/ Bracts- not seen
Fruits Type/ Shape/ Size Seeds- not seen
Also attaching 2 pictures of the sky how it looked that evening though out of context but felt like sharing with members
Leaves look like those of Cassia fistula.
Looks like Cassia fistula of Leguminosae family, as … pointed out. Any way let us wait until it flowers to confirm the id. Look like Cassia fistula The tree has not flowered as yet and has hardly grown in size. Attaching fresh pics of leaves
Leaves are 7cms in length
All responses favour to Cassia fistula to which I also agree. True this tree is looking unhealthy infact when I posted the last pics of the leaves I felt they look so dry and lifeless was feeling a bit disturbed about it. But now with this information I look forward to its blooming.
Common names: golden shower, Indian-laburnum, purging cassia
Hindi: Amaltas, girimalah
Beng: Sundali, amultas
Mar: Bahava
Guj: Garmala
Tam: Konei
Tel: Rela
Kan: Kakke
Deciduous tree reaching 10 m; leaves large, pinnate with 4-8 pairs of up to 15 cm long ovate leaflets; flowers yellow, appearing before leaves, in pendent 30-50 cm racemes; bracts minute, caducous; fruit cylindrical up to 30 cm long, hanging.
Photographed from Ashok Vihar and Vikas Puri in Delhi
Tree id Al072512: During my recent trips back and forth from Delhi I noticed a flowering tree all along the way from Chamba to Pathankot. On reaching Delhi I saw a tree which seemed to be similar to the one I had seen on the way…. The tree featured here is the Indian Laburnum [Cassia fistula]. It is also called the Pudding Pipe tree. In Hindi it is called Bahava or Amaltas. It is a fairly common tree seen all over India. Please check the archives of this group for my photographs of this. Yes Cassia fistula, the Indian laburnum, commonly known as Amaltas Some times back I had uploaded both this as well as the real Laburnum, Laburnum anagyroides
This could be a sapling of Cassia fistula.
Host plant looks like Indian labrum – Cassia fistula. Cassia fistula? : Attachments (1). 2 posts by 2 authors. Cassia fistula tree bloom. This is medium-sized tree, very popular garden tree. pea-like yellow flowers. fruits, leaves, bark parts used. this picture taken in june 2013. place is gurgaon.
i’m right or not? please id.
Affirmative. This is the Indian Laburnum [Cassia fistula]. Some of my photographs of this are available at this link
cassia fistula, chandigarh : Attachments (4). 2 posts by 2 authors. cassia fistula was in bloom in almost all the parks in chandigarh in the month of may
after the first storm in june all the pathways were golden from the fallen flowers
Beautiful floral profusion! Requesting ID confirmation of Cassia fistula – Mumbai :19072013 : ARK-01 : January 2013 : Attachments (1 + 5). 4 posts by 3 authors.
Requesting to please provide ID confirmation of the attached Cassia fistula captured in Hiranandani Heritage Gardens, Powai, Mumbai in January 2013.
ID provided by … in the follwoing post consisting 2 different pics of 2 different trees, so there is some confusion….
…, Have I marked the right pic against the right ID?
The pictures do not show the leaf phyllotaxy clearly.
Cassia fistula will have big compound leaves with opposite leaflets which might be the case here. Leaves of Sterculia guttata will be simple alternate, spiral and clustered at twig ends. There can be no doubt that it is difficult to identify the trees from these photographs. However, a certain similarity can be seen in my photographs attached here. They were taken on my property at Shahapur.
My photographs of both flowering & fruiting are also available in the archives of this group, but am not reproducing them here since they are not relevant now.
Identify – MS05082013.02 : Attachments (3). 4 posts by 3 authors. Please help identify young tree at Badlapur near Mumbai..
Cannot ascertain but looks like Cassia fistula… Agree with … This is Cassia fistula [Bahava, Amaltas], the Indian Laburnum. Thank you … I thought so but had my doubts since the new tender foliage isn’t drooping. May be its a wild natural variety so.. The State flower of Kerala Cassia fistula from Kolkata, West Bengal: SCFEB11: 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (1). Cassia fistula L. (Fabaceae) is the State flower of Kerala
Cassia fistula is also known as the golden shower tree. The species is native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia. It ranges from southern Pakistan eastward throughout India to Myanmar and Thailand and south to Sri Lanka. It is also state flower of Kerala in India and of immense importance amongst Malayali population.
The golden shower tree is a medium-sized tree. The flowers are produced in pendulous racemes 20–40 cm long, each flower 4–7 cm diameter with five yellow petals of equal size and shape. The fruit is a legume, 30–60 cm long and 1.5–2.5 cm broad, with a pungent odor and containing several seeds.
Picture taken from the campus of Scottish Church College, Kolkata.
Names of Plants in India :: Cassia fistula L. : 1 post by 1 author. 1 image.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() KASS-ee-uh — from an ancient Greek name kasia used by Dioscorides … Dave’s Botanary FIST-yoo-luh — hollow (tube-like) … Dave’s Botanary commonly known as: golden shower, Indian laburnum, purging cassia • Arabic: خيار چنبر khiyar-shanbar • Assamese: কৰ্ণিকাৰ kornikar,ৰাজবৃক্ষ rajobrkhyo, সোণাৰু shonaru • Bengali: বাঁদরলাঠি bandaralathi, সোনালী sonali, সোনালু sonalu • Gujarati: ગરમાળો garmalo • Hindi:अमलतास amaltas, सियार की लाठी siyar-ki lathi • Kannada: ಕಕ್ಕೆಮರ kakkemara, ಕೊಂದೆ konde • Konkani: बाळो balo • Malayalam:കണിക്കൊന്ന kanikkonna, കൊന്ന konna • Manipuri: চহুঈ chahui • Marathi: अमलताश amaltash, बहावा bahava • Mizo: ngai-ngaw •Nepali: अमल्तास् amaltas, राजवृक्ष rajbrichhya • Oriya: ସୁନାରି sunari • Pali: इंदीवर indivara • Persian: خيار چنبر khiyar-shanbar • Punjabi:ਅਲੀਸ alis, ਅੰਬਲਤਾਸ ambaltas • Sanskrit: आरग्वध aragvadha, कर्णिकार karnikara • Tamil: சரக்கொன்றை cara-k-konrai, இதழி itali •Telugu: కోలపొన్న kola ponna, రేల rela, శంపాకము shampakmu • Tibetan: don ga • Urdu: املتاس amaltas … names derived from Sanskrit, in Hindi: दीर्घफल dirgh-phal, जठरनुद् jathar-nud, कृतमाल krita-mal, सुवर्ण suvarna, स्वर्ण पुष्पी svarn-pushpi … names derived from Sanskrit, in Oriya: ଅଧ୍ବାନ୍ତଶାତ୍ରବ adhwantasatraba, ଅପାଲଙ୍କ apalanka, ଚତୁରଙ୍ଗୁଳ chaturangula, ମୁକଳ mukala, ରାଜତରୁ rajataru, ରାଜ ବୃକ୍ଷ raja bruksha, ରେବତ rebata, ଶଣାଳୁକ shanaluka, ଶମ୍ପାକ shampaka, ଶମ୍ପାତ shampata, ଶମ୍ଯାକ shamyaka, ଶୂତିପର୍ଣ୍ଣ shutiparnna, ସୁପର୍ଣ୍ଣ suparnna, ସୁବର୍ଣ୍ଣକ subarnnaka, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଦ୍ରୁ swarnna dru, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣ ପୁଷ୍ପ swarnna pushpa, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣ ଭୂଷଣ swarnna bhushana, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଳୀ swarnnali, ସ୍ବର୍ଣ୍ଣଶେଫାଳିକା swarnna shephalika … several more names in Sanskrit: अपालङ्क apalangka, अरुज aruja, चक्रपरिव्याध chakraparivyadha, चतुरङ्गुल chaturanggula, गोमयोद्भव gomayodbhava, हेमपुष्प hemapuspa, जठरनुद् jatharanud, ज्वरान्तक jvarantaka, कण्डूघ्न kandughna, कर्ण karna, कर्णाभरणक karnabharanaka,कृतमाल krtamala, कुष्ठसूदन kusthasudana, महाराजद्रुम maharajadruma, मन्थान manthana, नरधिप naradhipa, नरेन्द्रद्रुम narendradruma,नृपद्रुम nrpadruma, रेवत revata, शम्पाक shampaka, शम्पात shampata, शाम्याक shamyaka, शणालु shanalu, शूतिपर्ण shutiparna,सुपर्ण suparna,सुवर्णक suvarnaka, स्वर्णभूषण svarnabhusana, स्वर्णद्रु svarnadru, स्वर्णाङ्ग svarnangga, स्वर्णपुष्प svarnapuspa, वैद्यबन्धु vaidyabandhu,व्याधिघात vyadhighata, व्याधिघ्न vyadhighna, व्याघात vyaghata The flower of Indian Laburnum is the State Flower of Kerala (kanikkonna, Malayalam: കണിക്കൊന്ന).
botanical names: Cassia fistula L. … synonyms: Bactyrilobium fistula Willd. • Cassia bonplandiana DC. • Cassia excelsa Kunth • Cassia fistuloides Collad. • Cassia rhombifolia Roxb. • Cathartocarpus excelsus G.Don • Cathartocarpus fistula Pers. • Cathartocarpus fistuloides(Collad.) G.Don • Cathartocarpus rhombifolius G.Don … The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Names of Plants in India :: Name for Cassia fistula in Goan Konkani : 14 posts by 3 authors.
Dear friends from Goa, … would like to get the local name “balo” in Devanagari script – name of Cassia fistula L.
i would be happy to type it up… but .. is hindi the vernacular of Goa or is it Marathi…
name: is it balo as in b only not BAAA lo and when one pronounces balo… is L the harsh L or is is it gujaratis and marathis also have rl lr as in baval which is a soft rl sound please tell me make a sound file and send it as mp3 i think its allowed in google groups … my difficulty was not knowing how the word is pronounced. Therefore posted the query.
English transcribed word “balo” does not help people understand how it is actually pronounced. All of the following listed transcribe as balo:
Coincidentally, one of my cousins got help from her group in facebook, and it turns out to be बालो.
The meaning of बालो is gajra in Marathi, Hindi …
The name does makes sense when we visualize the the pendulous inflorescence of Cassia fistula.
Thank you very much Usha di for your response.
thanks for the clarification and your diligence … not hard L … ल is soft L. (ळ is hard L) well, my understanding is different… i may be wrong… Let’s Learn Marathi – Alphabets – Mulakshare – मुळाक्षरे https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_0YSwM3kUs
ळ definitely sounded soft to my ears
linguistics/ science may be classifying it differently my knowledge is: phonetically it sounds soft may be that’s the difference and I have never come across equivalent of ળ ळ in bangla learning never ends
so tell me about hard and soft differences
Apologies Usha di, my understanding about linguistics is limited. I would say: ल in Marathi (and Hindi) is soft L … just as you discussed earlier … as in baval which is a soft rl sound.
not to labor this point but I just cant resist it … where the L is definitely complete and hard sound
Not sure how બાવળ is pronounced in Gujarati.
Please find how ल sounds in कमल OR जल
बाळो
ballo is pronounce as follows ‘ba’ as in bath ‘ll’ as in english culled ‘o’ pronounced as awe hope this was useful
Thanks …,
It is interesting to get variances of pronunciation for the word balo – local name in Goa for Cassia fistula. Many thanks to … for providing the name in Devanagari, and also for the elaboration to help understand the pronunciation. Konkani name for Cassia fistula in Goan Konkani is Bhalo Thank you very much … Cassia fistula?/ABDEC38 : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (3) On a drive to the lower town, I spotted several specimens of this tree, mostly young, which I took to be Cassia fistula or Amaltas. A local man who I consulted said that it had yellow flowers in spring and was known as Kaniyar in the local dialect. The Kaniar I know is the Bauhinia purpurea, which this tree is definitely not. But then local names can, and often do differ. The person did not recognise the name Amaltas either but said that any parts of the tree were not edible (poisonous he said). Please advise.
Dharamshala, HP
1500m approx.
21 December 2014
I think you are right. IN SEARCH OF SCIENTIFIC IDENTITY OF KARNIKAR : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2)
During 1981-1984 I was at Pachmarhi. My friend Prabhat Kumar used to stay at a cottage called Bedi Banglow. On the right side of the entry to that house there used to be a big tree with large sweet scented flowers.
To find out the identity of this tree I consulted books in the library of AEC Training college and centre ( this library is having rich collection of books on all subjects). D V Cowen’s Flowering Trees and Shrubs of India (sixth edition, 1984) has hand drawn picture of the flower with leaves, and as per that book the scientific name of KARNIKAR is Pterospermum acerifolium. For me it became the Scientific identity of KARNIKAR, till the time My friend Prof. Suhas Majumdar of Presidency College, Kolkata told me that the description of KARNIKAR by Kalidas does not match with Pterospermum acerifolium (while walking on the bank of the Ganges near Mangal Pande Ghat, I showed him the tree which I knew as KARNIKAR. He told me that tree was MUCHKUNDA (in Bangla), and started reciting from Kalidas and told me that MUCHKUNDA can not be KARNIKAR). So my search started. I referred many books but according to all of them KARNIKAR IS Pterospermum acerifolium. I me Dr S K Jain of Botanical Survey of India, in his office at Lucknow and discussed the subject with him.He told me that a botanist may not be that keen to know the sanskrit name of a particular species. While going through a book by Shibkali Bhattacharya (title of the book, CHIRANJIB BANOUSHADHI), I found him stating Cassia fistula as KARNIKAR. I brought it to the notice of Prof Majumdar and wanted to know whether this tree fits into the description of KARNIKAR by Kalidas. His answer was affirmative. Now i had two scientific names for KARNIKAR. In 1994 I was going through a translated version of Valmiki Ramayan and found mention of KARNIKAR along with some 140 or so distinct names of plants. I got interested and bought Valmiki Ramayan (Gita Press, Gorakhpur). In that book I found an excellent description of KARNIKAR (Kishkindha Kand, Pratham Sarg, Shlok 21). He says, ” look at the KARNIKAR in full bloom, they are looking as if a man in golden ornaments and putting on yellow garments.” Such a good observer was poet Valmiki. For me the identity of KARNIKAR is settled. It is Cassia fistula. Attaching one image of Cassia fistula and an image of Pterospermum acerifolium. Reader can draw his own conclusion.
Very intersting
But did not tell us why you started with the word “karnikar”
Cassia fistula flowers are not scented ..
and I agree with you, Karnikar is most likely Cassia fistula as per Kalidas ‘s writings and Ramayana but in Aryurvedic leterature such as Bhavprakash Nghantu there is no doubt is cassia fistula/ amaltas…
This is such an inspiring story of a citizen naturalist ‘s painstaking inquiry into id of trees named in ancient Sanskrt literature Cassia fistula, Amaltas ABJUN01/04 : 2 posts by 2 authors. 4 images. I just arrived back from Delhi and apart from the searing heat one of the highlights of my trip was the flowering Amaltas trees in public parks. Of course we have our own here too spreading on hills at lower altitude but I haven’t got pictures of the local trees. Here are some from Delhi taken in the last couple of days.
Amaltas seeds are spread by jackals and bears in the wild (Pradip Krishen, Trees of Delhi) and we have both these animals here in the himalayas.
yes they are flowering here too in the lower ganges delta
though I always thought they were (seeds, I mean) were spread by monkeys and hence bengali name is Banorlathi (banor= bunder , lathi = stick) for the stick like long black (when mature) seed pods with the somewhat sweetish pulp important medicine for humans too. Flora of Madh: Cassia fistula L. : VG-JUL-01 : 2 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2) Sharing some images of Cassia fistula, a recent addition to the flora of Madh, North Mumbai.
Though widely cultivated in Mumbai, this tree is uncommon in Madh and was absent in the published enumeration of the flora of Madh by Santapau & Shah (1969).
Photographed on the 15th of June 2015.
Fabaceae Fortnight Cassia fistula-PC-04-21.10.2015 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (2)
Here are few snaps of Cassia fistula from a park of Siddhartha Enclave, New Delhi.
TSP-MAY2016-42-370-Images of Cassia fistula (Fabaceae) : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (4)
It is my pleasure to present few images of Cassia fistula (Fabaceae) Ref: https://sites.google.com/site/efloraofindia/species/a–-l/f/fabaceae/cassia/cassia-fistula Ref: http://florakarnataka.ces.iisc.ernet.in/hjcb2/herbsheet.php?id=1872&cat=1 Ref:http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Amaltas.html Habit: Tree Habitat: Wild, wasteland and Deciduous forest Sighting: Hassan and Tumkur, Karnataka, about 800 msl Date: 20-03-2014, 24-11-2014, 04-05-2015 and 25-03-2016 It appears to be a huge tree.
Certainly … it was huge…. and a visual delight in full bloom. Small Shrub for ID :: Devgad, Konkan, May 2017 :: ARKMAY11 : 5 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (4)
Saw this small shrub at Devgad, Konkan, MH in May 2017.
Is it some Phyllanthus species? Different from Phyllanthus; the leaf looks compound. It looks like a seedling of Cassia fistula Thank you so much … for the ID. Cassia fistula L. ?? : 4 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (3)
Location: Victoria Memorial Park
Kolkata, India
Date: 08 September 2017
Elevation : 25 ft.
Yes …, Cultivated everywhere, especially as an avenue tree for the ornamental flowers. yes, …
ID this plant please : 3 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (2) – 1 MB or more.
Place: Vizag
Date: Oct 28 2017
This two pictures belong to same plant.
Please identify it. Cassia fistula
Cassia fistula :: TMC Biodiversity Park :: 22 APR 18 : 2 posts by 2 authors. 2 images.
TMC Biodiversity Park Thane
Date: April 22, 2018 … Altitude: about 15 m (50 feet) asl
Cassia fistula L.
Need Cassia Fistula Sapling in Chennai : 11 posts by 5 authors.
Our team is involved in tree planting in and around Nanganallur, Chennai.
We are in urgent need of a Cassis Fistula (Sara Konrai) sapling about 5 feet tall.
Can anyone help / provide a local source?
Check with nurseries on East coast Road. Try the forest department nursery. In the link.
Welcome to Nizhal | Trees We Treasure
I shared this note in the floraindia watsapp group. Mr. Samrat Godambe has a contact who can help. Please reach out to him directly. I have copied him on this mail.
He also can be reached at +91 91685 62825
I can supply how much quantity you want? We have stock of 600 Cassia fistula saplings at average one feet height at our Coimbatore Nursery. Please get in touch. Seedlings 10 ft. Height Rs. 350/ available at ECR nursery.
This is my first post in this group and I am touched by the empathetic response. Thank you all!! We have now been able to fulfill our need and the required saplings have been planted. Thanks once again.
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