Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Candle in the wind

The Candle Tree is a common Asian species

FRAGRANT Candle Tree

Plumeria is a small tree with abundant ruby-red flowers. It is found in parks, pagodas, temples, tombs, mosques, monasteries, churchyards and in gardens around grave stones. The tree has low, tapering, straight branches, bereft of leaves. They resemble burning candles and, therefore, arouse a feeling of reverence and prayer. The tree belongs to the Dogbandes family, Apocynaceae and grows in the Asian intertropical zone.

The Sanskrit name `Kashira Champa' means `milky champa'. The copious flow of white latex is a well-known characteristic of the tree.

Tree of many names

Several vernacular names of the tree are based on this characteristic. The milk - mixed with sandalwood oil and camphor - cures itches and relieves rheumatic pain.

The smooth, grey bark has scaly patterns. The leaves have bold, horizontal veins, running parallel from the mid-rib to a scalloped border vein. Though the narrow, long leaves taper at both ends, the apex is more rounded and wide. The spiral crowding of leaves at the ends of branches is again a noticeable phenomenon. The branches and whole trees, when cut or taken out of the soil continue to live, bursting into leaf and bloom. This is taken as a symbol of immortality of the tree. Though profuse flowering takes place throughout the year, flowering is less abundant between November and January. The fruit is a pod, half a foot long. The tree rarely seeds.

The flowers grow in upright clusters at branch ends, which hold as many as twenty individual blooms. The large, waxy white flower has a distinct yellow centre, with funnel shaped fine spreading petals faintly pinkish underneath curling over to the left. The nocturnal fragrance of the flowers is overpowering. The scientific name is Plumeria rubra varicolour. Because if its wide distribution, the tree is known by several local names. An ecclesiastic, 17th Century Frenchman, Charles Premier, gave the tree its generic name.

Propagation is by planting cuttings and is easy even in sandy, stony soil. Wilt the cut branches before planting. Moderate watering is required. Once established, it takes care of itself.

J. MANGALARAJ JOHNSON

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail