Night-flowering Jasmine, Tree-of-Sorrow, Tree of Sadness
Life Cycle
Perennial
Cultivar Name
Category(Bush/Vine/Tree)
Tree, Shrub
Height
10-12 feet
Spacing
8-10 feet
Flowering Months
Late Spring/Early Summer
Mid Summer
Late Summer/Early Fall
Mid Fall
Flower Color
White with orange center
Growing Areas
All over Pakistan
Frost Tender
No
Exposure
Full Sun/Sun to partial shade
Soil pH
5.6 to 6.0 (acidic)
6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
Propagation
From semi-hardwood cuttings
Uses
Ornamental/Herbs
Other Details
It is native to southern Asia, from northern Pakistan, and Nepal south through northern India, Bangladesh and southeast to Thailand.
The tree is sometimes called the "tree of sorrow", because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime; the scientific name arbor-tristis also means "sad tree". The flowers can be used as a source of yellow dye for clothing. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India, and for Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.
Extracts of the seeds, flowers and leaves possesses immunostimulant, hepatoprotective, antileishmanial, antiviral and antifungal activities in vitro.[5]
The leaves have been used in Ayurvedic medicine&Homoeopathic medicine for sciatica, arthritis, fevers, and various painful conditions and as laxative.
I have heard nursery men/malis call it Atra batra, probably a distortion of Arbor-Tristis.I have also heard-not seen yet( my bush being still young), that a more attractive feature of this bush is the beautiful sheet of white flowers fallen at night, spread on the ground early morning.
Munir wrote:I have also heard-not seen yet( my bush being still young), that a more attractive feature of this bush is the beautiful sheet of white flowers fallen at night, spread on the ground early morning.
The Latin meaning of Nyctanthes arbortristis is evening blooming sad tree. The names describes it so so well. I love this tree, we had two. One bloomed profusely and one didn't. The one which used to lay a white carpet of flowers in the morning was chewed by termites to death.
Anyway, the orange part of the flower is/ can be used as a substitute for the "zarday ka rang" which is potentially a toxic dye for colouring rice.
The atra-batra is most likely Artabotrys hexapetalus.
