Simsapa or Simsipa tree, under whose shade Sita is believed to have sat in the Ashoka Vana in Sri Lanka, has flowered in the Malabar Botanical Garden, Calicut. This is just one of the two Simsipa trees known to exist in Kerala, the other being in the Museum Gardens in the capital city.
‘’Scientifically called Amherstia nobilis, the tree with its hanging clusters of delicate red and yellow flowers, is considered by many botanists as the most beautiful in the whole Vegetable Kingdom,’’ said emeritus scientist at the Malabar Botanical Garden, P V Madhusoodanan, who first noticed the flowers on the tree, considered sacred in many parts of the country.
Commonly known as the ‘Tree of Heaven,’ it is a native of Burma and found on many temple premises there. The tree, the leaves of which resemble that of Asoka (Saraca asoka) and Brownea coccinea, is rarely found in India.
Seed germination is very poor and propagation is very difficult.
In Malabar Botanical Garden, the Simsipa tree was planted nearly 10 years ago. The then managing director of the Garden, R Ansari, was the person who took the initiative for this. He collected a seedling from the lone tree in the Museum Gardens here and tended to it until it became a mature tree.
‘’Amherstia nobilis is named after Lady Sarah Amherst, an artist and collector in India. This genus contains a single species,’’ said Madhusoodanan.
The species name nobilis refers to noble or stately. The flowers are given a special place in Buddhist temples in Burma and Sri Lanka.
The tree belongs to the family Fabaceae and is known to grow up to a height of 10 metres. The exceptionally beautiful flowers are seen hanging from the long flower stalk, the tip of which is crimson red. The flower has five petals, almost all of them unequal in size. Most of the petals are crimson red but two of them have a yellow hue at the tip. Once withered and on the ground, it gives the look of red confetti.
Apart from the flowers, the leaves are also colourful with the young leaves being pink in colour initially and then turn mauve hanging limply from the ends of branches. Soon it shifts to a bright shining green, also gaining strength and firmness.
‘’Though our focus is on aquatic plants, we have established as many as 300 medicinal trees in our garden. We also have many rare, endangered and threatened species under our care,’’ said R Prakashkumar, director of the Malabar Botanical Garden.