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Avenue tree Coral wood tree

Coral wood tree (Adenanthera pavonina) is also known by the names; Saga Seed Tree and Red Sandal Wood Tree. It belongs to the family-Caesalpiniacea.

This beautiful, large-sized tree with a spreading rounded crown grows up to 30 metres in height. The branches have an ascending nature with rough grey bark. The leaves are compound and bipinnate. They are 20 to 30 centimetres long with three to six pairs of pinnae. The leaflets are oblong. Flowers are tiny and yellowish in colour.

Flowering occurs inFebruary and March. Fruits are curved hanging green pods that become brown, coil up and split open as they ripen to expose small bright red seeds. These seeds are very similar in shape and size; four seeds make up about one gram.

Due to its hard coat, the seeds can germinate only if they are scratched or boiled for one minute. In nature, they are eaten by birds and go through their digestive system before coming out ready for germination. Coral wood tree is suitable for planting in parks, gardens and roadsides. In Thiruvanathapuram it can be seen in the Secretariat garden and IMG.

The seeds were used in ancient India for weighing gold. Actually the name ‘saga’ is traced to the Arabic word for ‘Goldsmith.’ The raw seeds are toxic but cooked seeds are eaten in some places. In Polynesia people eat roasted seeds. In Java, they are roasted, shelled, and eaten with rice. The ground seeds can produce oil, which is used as an industrial lubricant. In Ayurveda the ground seeds are used to treat boils and inflammations. For treating gout and rheumatism a leaf decoction is used.Red powder made from the wood is used as an antiseptic paste. The bark is used as hair wash.

The leaves are used to supplement animal fodder, or used as mulch for crops. The hard, reddish wood is used to make cabinets. Saga Seed Tree has the ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. Good efforts are needed to conserve this great tree.

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