Sheuli / Shefali - Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

Common Name :	Coral jasmine.
Binomial Name :	Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
Family :	Oleaceae
Bangla Name :	Sheuli, Shefali.
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

Common names of this flowering plant are Parijat, Tree of sorrow, Queen of the night, Coral jasmine, etc. Binomial name is Nyctanthes arbor-tristis. In Latin Nyctanthes means blooming at evening and arbor-tristis means sad or sorrow. As the flower blooms at night and sheds before the day light, hence people call this as Tree of sorrow. It belongs to the plant family Oleaceae (Jasmine family). This plant is native to Indian territory and few part of East Asia. In Bangladesh this is known as Sheuli, Shefali, etc. As per the Indian myth, it is believed that this flower belongs to heaven and it was brought to the earth by Lord Krishna.





Parijat (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) is a shrubby to medium growing tree. Leafs are arranged oppositely. Leafs are having short petiole, ovate shaped and broad near the base. Bark of the plant is grey in colour. This is an ornamental plant and people put this in their garden. In Bangladesh its flower blooms during the autumn and keep continuing during late autumn and some part of winter.





Parijat flowers are small and white in colour and the tubular corolla is orange in colour. It has five to eight lobed petals. Along with the lovely outlook, the fragrance of the flower is amazingly attractive. Having these characteristics this flower become one of the favourites to most of the florist. Despite of being a small flower, it has a very high value to the romantic minded people, poets, and writers.





Parijat flower blooms during night, and in morning you'd find thousands of small flowers are accumulated beneath the tree. It's a lovely scene to see such things in the early morning. There is an interesting romantic story available about this flower where a princess fall in love with the Sun. After refused by the sun she committed suicide and transformed into a Parijat plant. As she couldn't stand the sight of her lover sun, her flowers just shed down from the tree before sunrise.

Fruit of Parijat (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis).

In ancient, people used to extract orange colour from the corolla of this flower. They used that colour in food and to dying cloths. After failing to vie with the artificial colours, now a days that process is no longer being practiced among us.


Photos of Parijat (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) article were taken from Mohera, Tangail. I was traveling there during January 2012. In Bangladesh we call this Sheuli ful (শিউলি ফুল), Shefali ful (শেফালী ফুল), Shefalika ful (শেফালিকা ফুল ), etc.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog https://icflora.blogspot.com/