The dewy morning and the cool breeze of the fragrant Sheuli flowers announce that autumn has arrived. The dewy morning of autumn and the fragrant touch of Shiuli flowers, together, we witness a unique moment at this time. The relationship between Sharad utsav and Shiuli flowers is also very deep, which is why it is given the status of the arrival flower of Durga Puja. The Sheuli flower is the state flower of West Bengal.
'The garland of Shiuli flowers sways in the chest of the autumn night. On such a night, I wake up alone, where is my companion'. The rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, suffering from the pain of separation in autumn, has thus raised the topic of Shiuli flowers.
Not only him, but every time the association of autumn has appeared in Bengali literature, writers have drawn Shiuli flowers into their pens. Autumn and Shiuli flowers are like each other’s companions. When the citizens are waiting for relief from the damp monsoon, the bed of Shiuli flowers on the earth announces the arrival of autumn.
Physical Characteristics
The Sheuli tree is actually a type of shrub. The trunk of this tree is covered with soft gray bark and the tree can grow up to 10 meters tall. The 'center of origin' of this tree is South Asia. Because it is mainly in this region that the abundance of this tree is most visible.
It is found across the area of South Asia from southeastern Thailand to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan in the north. Its original habitat is the dry deciduous forests and hillsides of the Indo-China, Himalayas and Java-Sumatra region. The indigenous people of Tripura use the plant to predict weather and rainfall.
The leaves of the Sheuli tree can be up to 6-7 centimeters long and are opposite to the parallel edges. The fragrant flowers have five to seven white petals and a reddish-orange tube-like stalk in the middle. The flowers bloom in a bunch or cluster.
The fruit is a round capsule about 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter, to a flattened brown heart-shaped capsule, divided into two lobes. Each lobe contains one seed. The scientific name of the shiuli flower is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. In Latin, the genus Nyctanthes means "blooming in the evening" and the species arbor-tristis means "sad tree".
Parijat - The Krishna Connection
The shiuli tree stands permanently in a strange melancholy between the flowers that bloom in the evening or at dusk and fall at dawn, hence the name shiuli. The shiuli is sometimes called the "tree of sorrow" or "tree of sadness" or "tree of sorrow" because as the daylight increases, the natural radiance and brightness of this flower decreases. According to Hindu scriptures, another name for the shiuli flower is Parijat!
In Hindu mythology, the Shiuli flower is called Parijat. According to the myth, Krishna's two wives - Satyabhama and Rukmini - really wanted their garden to be filled with the fragrance of Parijat. But Parijat is the beauty of heaven! Krishna wants to please his wives.
So he secretly broke a branch from the Parijat tree in heaven and planted it in Satyabhama's garden, whose flowers also fell in Rukmini's garden and spread their fragrance. Meanwhile, the king of heaven, Indra, got very angry when he heard about the incident! He was secretly angry with the incarnation of Vishnu.
For this reason, he cursed Krishna that the Parijat tree in Krishna's garden would indeed bloom, but the fruit would never come, and its seeds would never give birth to new life. Along with this, another story is also prevalent.
A princess named Parijatika fell in love with the sun and desired him, but despite her many attempts, she could not get him, so she committed suicide. The ashes of his body blossomed into a Parijat tree or a Shiuli tree, a symbol of silent, unrequited love! The mere touch of the sun makes it fall like a teardrop.
Needless to say, in Hindu worship, the Shiuli is the only flower that is offered to the deity even if it falls on the ground. According to mythological stories, the Parijat Flower or Shiuli tree emerged from the churning of the ocean.
And from that churning of the ocean, Goddess Lakshmi also emerged. This Shiuli tree is very dear to the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. Therefore, along with lotus flowers, Shiuli flowers are also offered in the worship of Lakshmi.
Indra planted the miraculous Parijat tree in heaven. According to Vastu Shastra, this tree is believed to give longevity. Apart from this, this tree also brings a lot of wealth to the house.
Modern Day Uses
If the Parijat tree is planted in the house, mental stress is removed and peace is maintained in the house. Shiuli flowers can be used to make yellow paint. The petals of this flower are dried and powdered and mixed with lukewarm water to produce a wonderful color.
The leaves of the Sheuli tree are used to make Ayurvedic medicines like medicine or pills for the treatment of sciatica, arthritis, fevers, and various painful problems. Its leaves contain chemical compounds like D-mannitol, flavanol glucosidase. Sheuli seeds are used to remove dandruff.
The flowers that bloom in the evening are collected for sale in the market and sent to the local market wrapped in banana leaves. The fragrant oil is extracted from the petals of the sivuli flower and used in various cosmetics. The newly bloomed flowers are sent to a nearby perfumery industry or cosmetics manufacturing company to extract the essential oil from the flower petals.
Gardening
For modern society accustomed to urban lifestyle, the roof or balcony has become the only resource for their favorite garden, because in this era of population explosion, industrialization and urbanization, the amount of land per capita is decreasing at an alarming rate. To solve this problem, the practice of planting Sheuli trees in pots is becoming popular.
Because if the necessary care is taken, the tree starts flowering after one to one and a half years of planting, but it is small in quantity. After three to four years, it flowers in large numbers. Sheuli flowers bloom from mid-August to about mid-January. The most flowers occur from September to November. Some trees bloom all year round.
The best time to plant shiuli is April. You can plant the plant in a pot either by making seedlings from seeds or by bringing cuttings from a nursery. However, cuttings are suitable for pots. In this, the growth and flowering of the plant are both faster.
When you plant a cutting, the plant has all the characteristics of the mother plant. The height of the plant is also consistent for pots. The roots of the shiuli plant grow very quickly, and that is why it is mandatory to change the pot regularly as the shiuli plant grows. The cuttings bought from the nursery should first be placed in a 4-6 inch pot. Then, you should regularly monitor the growth of the plant and it is important to transfer the plant to an 8 inch pot.
Once the roots of the tree become strong and the tree starts flowering, repotting it in a 12-inch pot will increase the life of the tree. In this context, it is good to say that at every stage of the transplant, it is important to ensure that the roots of the tree are not damaged.
Whenever the roots emerge from the base of the tree, it is very important to remove them periodically. Water accumulated at the base of the tree is not conducive to the growth of the tree and if water accumulates at the base, it can even lead to the death of the tree.
Because the shiuli tree cannot tolerate water stagnation, it is necessary to pay attention to the drainage system of the tub. For this, before planting the tree, the holes of the tub should first be covered with a sieve and some brick pieces or pebbles or stone chips should be placed. The pieces should be covered with some sand on top. The tree should be planted with soil on the sand layer.
Because of the sand, the soil cannot penetrate the sand and go down, so water will not be retained. Before putting the soil in the pot, you need to mix the soil well with ordinary garden soil, cow dung, bone meal, horn shavings, and some old mustard husks. Just like there is a rule for planting trees, there is also a rule for removing trees from old pots.
While removing trees, you should hold the pot upside down with one hand, so that the soil in the pot remains dry. The other hand should be on the base of the tree. Slowly turn the upside down pot and carefully tap it on a hard, high object. With a little tap, the tree, including the soil, will separate from the pot.
If you place the tree in a new pot and press the soil around it well, there is no risk of air entering and causing harmful fungal diseases. It is important to water the tree adequately immediately after planting.
Since it flowers from mid-August, pruning the top of the tree by one to one and a half inches at the beginning of summer (April-May) not only enhances the abundance of flowers, but also gives the tree a beautiful bushy shape, which enhances the beauty of the tree.
When the flowering season is over, the remaining shoots are pruned. When the tree is young, giving three to four days old shell (mustard) rotten water as fertilizer once a month helps the tree grow. If the tree is not watered the day before fertilization, the roots can absorb the fertilizer quickly because the soil is dry.
For rapid growth of the tree, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can be given in a ratio of 10:26:26. However, to increase the life of the tree, it is better to use organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. For a four to five year old tree, it is enough to mix two spoons of bone meal with mustard shell and cow dung fertilizer twice a year, before flowering and in early March when new leaves grow.
The sheuli tree attracts quite a few insects especially caterpillars, which eat the leaves of the tree. For common insects, you can spray boiled water of neem leaves.
Without using chemical pesticides, the easiest way to prevent their attack is to tear off the leaves on which the butterfly lays its eggs and throw them away at a safe distance. The flowers of the shiuli flower bloom from August until the beginning of winter.
Picture is beautiful ~