Butea monosperma

Butea monosperma is a species of Butea native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. Common names include flame-of-the-forest, dhak, palash, and bastard teak. Revered as sacred by Hindus, it is prized for producing an abundance of vivid blooms, and it is also cultivated elsewhere as an ornamental. Butea monosperma is stunning as a specimen tree. It is a small-sized dry-season deciduous tree, growing to tall. It is a slow-growing tree: young trees have a growth rate of a few feet per year. The leaves are pinnate, with an petiole and three leaflets, each leaflet long. The flowers are long, bright orange-red, and produced in racemes up to long. The fruit is a pod long and broad. Flowers frequently have a spectacular late-winter bloom. Each flower features five petals, two wings, and a keel that resembles the curled beak of a parrot. If the winter season is too cold, too dry, or too rainy, trees may not blossom. Historically, palash originated in Bihar and Jharkhand. Dhak forests covered much of the Doaba area between the Ganges and the Yamuna, but these were cleared for agriculture in the early 19th century as the English East India Company increased tax demands on the peasants. It is used for timber, resin, fodder, medicine, and dye. The wood is dirty white and soft. Being durable under water, it is used for well-curbs and water scoops. Spoons and ladles made of its wood are used in various Hindu rituals to pour ghee into the fire. Good charcoal can be obtained from it. Farmers typically plant trees on field bunds and use them to reduce soil erosion. Young shoots are grazed by buffaloes as fodder. The leaves were once used to serve food where plastic plates would be used today. The tree serves as a crucial host in India for the lac bug (Laccifer lacca), which creates shellac. It produces the most lac sticks per hectare of any lac tree.