Butea monosperma

Overview
Butea monosperma (syn. Butea frondosa, Erythrina monosperma, Plaso monosperma; Kinshuk, Palash, Dhak, Flame of the Forest or Parrot Tree), is a species of Butea native to tropical southern Asia, from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. Also known as kesudo in Gujarati

It is a medium sized dry season-deciduous tree, growing to 15 m tall. The leaves are pinnate, with an 8-16 cm petiole and three leaflets, each leaflet 10-20 cm long. The flowers are 2.5 cm long, bright orange-red, and produced in racemes up to 15 cm long. The fruit is a pod 15-20 cm long and 4-5 cm broad.

It is said that the tree is a form of Agnidev, God of Fire. It was a punishment given to Him by Goddess Parvati for disturbing Hers and Lord Shiva's privacy.

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Malabar-Lackbaum