Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
Information sources
Flowers of India – Website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraca_asoca
http://www.sssbiotic.com/product/sar
aca.asp
Photography Locations
http://cenvironment.blogspot.com/201
1/05/wood-pulp-is-used-as-foodadditive.html
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Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
™ Distribution:
¾ India, Burma and Malaya
¾ Heights: 10-15 m tall
™ Evergreen
™ Leaf shape: oblong
™ Pronunciation:
¾ Saraca (sar-AK-a)
¾ indica (IN-dih-kuh)
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Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
™
Common name:
¾
Sita Ashok, Sorrowless tree
¾
Hindi: सीता अशोक Sita Ashok,
Ashok अशोक
¾
Gujarati: Ashopalava
¾
Kannada: Achenge
¾
Malayalam: Hemapushpam
¾
Marathi: Jasundi
¾
Tamil: அேசாகம் Asogam
¾
Telugu: Asokamu
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Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
Ashoka is one of the most legendary and sacred trees of
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India
Ashoka Tree
Mythology
Saraca asoca
™
The ashoka tree is closely associated with
the Yakshi mythological beings.
™
One of the recurring elements in Indian
art, often found at gates of Buddhist and
Hindu temples, is the sculpture of a Yakshi
with her foot on the trunk and her hands
holding the branch of a flowering ashoka
tree.
™
As an artistic element, often the tree and
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the Yakshi are subject to heavy stylization.
Ashoka Tree
Mythology
Saraca asoca
™
In Mahākāvya, or Indian
epic poetry, the ashoka
tree is mentioned in the
Ramayana in reference to
the Ashoka Vatika (garden
of Ashoka trees) where
Hanuman first meets Sita.
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Mythology
™
Yakshis under ashoka trees were also
important in early Buddhist
monuments as a decorative element
and are found in many ancient
Buddhist archaeological sites.
™
The yakshi under the ashoka tree
became a standard decorative
element of Hindu Indian sculpture
and was integrated into Indian
Ashoka Tree
temple architecture as salabhanjika
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Saraca asoca
Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
™
Mythology
™
Ashoka tree is worshipped in
Chaitra, the first month of the
Hindu Calendar.
™
It is also associated with
Kamadeva, the Hindu god of
Love, who included an Ashoka
blossom among the five flowers
in his quiver
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Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
Ashok is a Sanskrit word meaning without grief or that
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which gives no grief
Ashoka tree
Saraca asoca
Ashoka tree produces large bunch of sweet smelling
flowers throughout the year; profuse flowering occurs
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from February to May
The flowers look like the
flowers of Ixora
Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
Each bunch consists of a lot of small flowers that are
shaped like long-tubes which open out into four oval
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lobes
Yellow when young, they become orange then crimson
with age and from the effect of the sun's rays
Ashoka Tree
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Saraca asoca
Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
In strong contrast to these
fiery blooms is the deep-green, shiny
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foliage.
The bark is dark brown or grey or almost black with warty
surface
Ashoka Tree
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Saraca asoca
Crushed flowers and leaves are rubbed on the skin to get
relief from skin diseases
Ashoka Tree
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Saraca asoca
Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
™
The flowers are used in cases
like burning sensation,
dysentery, hyperdypsia, scabies
in children and inflammation.
™
The seeds are strengthening and
the ash of plant is good for
external application in rheumarthritis
™
In general Saraca asoca is
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considered as best female tonic
Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca
A popular tree simply referred to, and also known as
Ashoka tree of the unrelated genus Polyalthia longifolia
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(false Ashoka tree)
Thank You
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Ashoka Tree
Saraca asoca