Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, the night-flowering jasmine or Parijat or hengra bubar or Shiuli is a species of Nyctanthes native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is a shrub or a small tree growing to tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, long and broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are fragrant, with a five- to eight-lobed white corolla with an orange-red centre; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together, with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn. The fruit is a bilobed, flat brown heart-shaped to roundcapsule diameter, each lobe containing a single seed.
Names and symbolism
The tree is sometimes called the "tree of sorrow", because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime; the scientific namearbor-tristis also means "sad tree". The flowers can be used as a source of yellow dye for clothing. The flower is called Gangaseuli and some where Jharaa sephali in Odisha, India. In the Borok Tipruri culture of Tripura, it is associated with the cycle of life i.e. birth and dying. It is popularly used as a garland for the dead. The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal, and is also known as Parijat, Shefali and Siuli in local West Bengal region in India, and for Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is commonly known as night-flowering jasmine and coral jasmine. It is referred to as har-shrigar in Bihar's Mithilanchal. It is called Xewālee in Assamese, while in Sri Lanka, it is called Sepalika. In Kerala, where it is called Pavizhamalli in Malayalam, it is used for Pujas and such ceremonies. It also has importance in old Malayalam romantic songs.
Significance in Hinduism
Parijat appears in several Hindu religious stories and is often related to the Kalpavriksha. In one story, which appears in Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana, parijat appeared as the result of the Samudra manthan and Lord Krishna battled with Indra to win parijat. Further on, his wife Satyabhama demanded the tree be planted in the backyard of her palace. It so happened that in spite of having the tree in her backyard, the flowers used to fall in the adjacent backyard of the other queen Rukmini, who was favourite of Lord Krishna, because of her superior devotion and humility. It is the subject of a prabandha named Parijatapaharanamu in Telugu literature written by Nandi Thimmana, the court-poet of Krishnadevaraya.
Flowers: The flowers contain essential oils, nyctanthin, D-mannitol, tannins, glucose, carotenoids, glycosides including β-monogentiobioside ester of α-crocetin, β-monogentiobioside-β-D monoglucoside ester of α-crocetin, and β-digentiobioside ester of α-crocetin.
Plant: The plant contains 2,3,4,6-tetra-0-methyl-D-glucose; 2,3,6 tri-0-methyl-D-glucose; 2,3,6-tri-0-methyl-D-mannose; 2,3,-di-0-methyl-D-mannose; arbortristosides A, B, and C; and iridoid glycosides.
