Bio Diversity Park

Common Name : Broken Bones Tree

Hindi Name : भूत वृक्ष | Scientific Name : Oroxylum indicum
Family : Bignoniaceae
Uses : It has been used for centuries as a traditional medicine in Asia in ethnomedicinal systems for the prevention and treatment of several diseases, such as jaundice, arthritic and rheumatic problems, gastric ulcers, tumours, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and diarrhoea and dysentery, among others.
Native: Indian Subcontinent
General Description:

It is a medium sized deciduous tree, growing 8-12m tall. The bark is greyish brown with corky lenticels. The leaves are huge, 0.5-1.5m long, 2-3 pinnate, leaflets 12cm long and 8cm broad. The flowers are reddish- purple outside and pale, pinkish-yellow within, numerous, in large erect racemes. The fruits are flat capsules, 0.33-1m long and 5-10cm broad, sword-shaped. The long, podded fruits hang down from bear branches, looking like dangling sickles or swords in the night. The seeds numerous, flat and winged all around, except at the base. The tree is also a night-bloomer and is pollinated naturally by bats. Additionally, after the large leaf stalks wither, they fall off the tree and collect near the base of the trunk, appearing to look like a pile of broken limb bones. Flowering takes place in June-July.