Dr Chiranjit Parmar
A very beautiful “flower” adorns Himachali caps, which many people are not familiar with.
People from Kinnaur and adjacent tribal areas use this as an accessory on their caps. Do you know which flower is it? First, it is not a flower, but a seed. Secondly, its plant does not grow in areas where these flowers are so popularly used and are an essential part of local people’s attire. It is not even a cold area plant, but comes from warmer areas like Bilaspur, Mandi and even Nalagarh.
The plant which bears this flower like seeds is Arlu (Oroxylum indicum). It belongs to the family Bignoniaceae. The seeds are contained in large sword-shaped pods. Though Arlu is a native of India, it has now spread to other parts of the world, too! Arlu also has some valuable medicinal properties and is used in a few ayurvedic preparations. It has been called “shyonaka” in Sanskrit ayurvedic scriptures.
The tribal residents of the areas where this flower is used are Hindu as well as Buddhists. They are deeply religious people. An integral part of their daily routine is offering prayers and worshipping in village temples. Every home has a room for the deity and the family members regularly offer prayers.
As there is not much vegetation in these areas, so it is hard to find flowers for offering to the deities in temples. To overcome this shortage, local people have found this alternative. They use the large winged seeds of Arlu as flowers. The seeds are quite ostentatious to look at. These are nicely persevered by nature in large pods, so they can be stored anywhere in the house. The winged seed does not contain any moisture. Therefore there is no wilting and these “flowers” remain fresh before the deity for months.
Arlu flowers are not only offered at temples, but the tribal people of Kinnaur also put it on their caps, which have special design and is worn by people from other parts of Himachal Pradesh, too! But if any cap has this flower, it surely indicates that the person is from Kinnaur.
(Writer is Mandi-based fruit scientist)
- Arlu is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing up to a height of 12 m. Surprisingly, it is not a plant of temperate region. It grows almost all over the subtropical India up to an altitude of 1,200 m. It has large compound leaves, which can sometimes be even 1 metre long. The tree bears large purple flowers. The pods are large, 60-90 cm long and sword shaped. These are split open with a knife for taking out the winged seeds.
- The pods are collected from trees and taken to the tribal areas for sale. Each pod sells for Rs 10 to Rs 15. These pods can also be seen being sold at places of Buddhist pilgrimage like Rewalsar.
- Arlu tree is propagated from seed, which germinates easily. The tree can also be propagated by transplanting root suckers, which are produced in large numbers.
Other uses
- People from Kinnaur and adjacent tribal areas use this as an accessory on their caps
- The seeds are contained in large sword-shaped pods. Though Arlu is a native of India, it has now spread to other parts of the world, too! Arlu also has some valuable medicinal properties and is used in a few ayurvedic preparations.
- It has been called “shyonaka” in Sanskrit ayurvedic scriptures
- Arlu is a very valuable plant in the Indian medical system.
- Nearly all parts of this plant are used in medicine.
- Young shoots and unripe fruits are eaten as a vegetable.
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