Temple Tree

Location in BHU campus : Planted in the garden premises outside offices, departments,residential quarters and hostels.

Botanical name : Plumeria acuminata Ait.

Family : Apocynaceae

Vernacular / local Name : Bengali - Dalan phul, gorur cha,golchampampa; Gujarati - Rhada champo; Hindi -Golainchi; Kannada - Deva ganigile; Malayalam – Ezha - champakam, arali; Marathi - Khairchampa, son champa; Oriya - Kat champa, golochi, torato; Sanskrit - Kshira champa; Tamil - Arali, kalli-mandharai; Telugu - Nuru varahalu, vaada ganneru,arhataganneru.

English / Trade names : Temple tree, Pagoda Tree, Frangipani, Graveyard tree, Dead Man’s Flower

A small tree up to 7 m high with fleshy branches and milky latex. Leaves oblanceolate or elliptic, 15- 30 cm or more long, borne at the end of the branchlets. Flowers white with yellow centre or cream-coloured, sometimes pink-flushed outside, in terminal panicles, fragrant. Fruits brownish black follicles. Seeds winged, with pappus.

Flowering :May-July

Fruiting: October-December

• Sacred value

The ability of the ‘Temple tree’ or ‘Pagoda’ tree to bloom even when it has been uprooted has made it a symbol of immortality. For this reason Buddhists and Muslims plant the tree next to the tombs of their dead. In fact the images of the Buddha are carved from the wood of this tree. The Hindus consider it as one of the holiest trees and plant it near temples and the flowers are offered to the deity. The tree is considered sacred to Kamadeva, the God of Love. It is considered inauspicious to cut it .

• Uses

Bark and sap have medicinal value. Decoction of bark is used as purgative and for venereal diseases. Latex from the plant is used for making ointments for itch, rheumatic pains and gum troubles. Wood is used for making drums and other musical instruments. In Goa the leaves of are tied around coconut trees to protect them from beetles.