''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree,
sāla, shala, sakhua,
or sarai, is a species of tree in the family
Dipterocarpaceae
Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...
. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions .
Evolution
Fossil evidence from
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
mines in the Indian states of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
and
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
indicate that sal trees (or at least a closely related ''
Shorea'' species) have been a dominant tree species of forests of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
since at least the early
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
(roughly 49 million years ago), at a time when the region otherwise supported a very different biota from the modern day. Evidence comes from the numerous
amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
nodules in these rocks, which originate from the
dammar resin produced by the sal trees.
Description
''Shorea robusta'' can grow up to tall with a trunk diameter of . The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are 10–25 cm long and 5–15 cm broad. In wetter areas, sal is
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
; in drier areas, it is dry-season
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
, shedding most of the leaves from February to April, leafing out again in April and May.
The sal tree is known also as sakhua in northern India, including
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, Odisha and Jharkhand. It is the state tree of two Indian states – Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Distribution and habitat
This tree is native to the Indian subcontinent, ranging south of the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, from Myanmar in the east to Nepal, India and Bangladesh. In India, it extends from
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
,
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
and
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
west to the
Shivalik Hills in
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, east of the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
. The range also extends through the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
and to the eastern
Vindhya
The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India.
Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...
and
Satpura
The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and th ...
ranges of central India. It is often the dominant tree in the forests where it occurs. In Nepal, it is found mostly in the
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...
region from east to west, especially, in the
Sivalik Hills (Churia Range) in the subtropical climate zone. There are many protected areas, such as
Chitwan National Park,
Bardia National Park
;
, iucn_category = II
, photo = Bardiya_02.jpg
, photo_caption =
, photo_alt=
, map_image =
, map_caption = Location in Nepal
, location = Nepal
, map = Nepal
, relief = 1
, coordinates =
, area_km2 = 968
, established = 1988
, gov ...
and
Shuklaphanta National Park, where there are dense forests of huge sal trees. It is also found in the lower belt of the Hilly region and
Inner Terai
Interior may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas
* ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck
* ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See
* Interior de ...
.
Culture
Hinduism
In
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
tradition, the sal tree is sacred. The tree is also associated with
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
.
The tree's common name, sal, comes from the word ''shala'', which means 'rampart' in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
.
Jains
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
state that the 24th ''
tirthankar'',
Mahavir
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...
, achieved enlightenment under a ''sal''.
Some cultures in Bengal worship
Sarna Burhi, a goddess associated with sacred groves of Sal trees.
There is a standard decorative element of Hindu
Indian sculpture
Sculpture in the Indian subcontinent, partly because of the climate of the Indian subcontinent makes the long-term survival of organic materials difficult, essentially consists of sculpture of stone, metal or terracotta. It is clear there was a gr ...
which originated in a ''
yakshi
''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...
'' grasping the branch of a flowering tree while setting her foot against its roots. This decorative sculptural element was integrated into
Indian temple architecture as ''
salabhanjika
A salabhanjika or shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to, often holding, a tree, or a reference to Maya near the ''sala'' tree giving ...
'' or "sal tree maiden", although it is not clear either whether it is a sal tree or an asoka tree. The tree is also mentioned in the
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
—specifically, where Lord Rama (on request of deposed monkey-king Sugreeva for proof he can kill Sugreeva's older half-brother Vali) is asked to pierce seven ''sals'' in a row with a single arrow (which is later used to kill Vali, and still later to behead Ravana's brother Kumbhakarna)
In Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, one can find typical Nepali pagoda temple architectures with very rich wooden carvings, and most of the temples, such as
Nyatapol Temple
Nyātāpola (Nepal Bhasa: , "''ṅātāpola''", ) is a five tiered temple located in the central part of Bhaktapur, Nepal. It is the tallest monument within the city and is also the tallest temple of Nepal. This temple was commissioned by King B ...
(Nyatapola), are made of bricks and sal tree wood.
Buddhism
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
tradition holds that
Queen Māyā of Sakya
Queen Māyā of Shakya ( sa, मायादेवी, pi, Māyādevī) was the birth mother of Gautama Buddha, the sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. She was sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, the first Buddhist nun ordained by the ...
, while en route to her grandfather's kingdom, gave birth to
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
while grasping the branch of a sal tree or an
Ashoka tree in a garden in
Lumbini in south Nepal.
[Bhikkhu Nyanatusita, “What is the Real Sal Tree”, ''Buddhist Publication Society Newsletter'', No. 63, 2010, accessed on 15.1.2017 at https://www.scribd.com/document/192654045/Nyanatusita-Bhikkhu-What-is-the-Real-Sal-Tree]
Also according to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha was lying between a pair of sal trees when he died:
The sal tree is also said to have been the tree under which
Koṇḍañña and
Vessabhū, respectively the fifth and twenty fourth Buddhas preceding
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, attained enlightenment.
In Buddhism, the brief flowering of the sal tree is used as a symbol of
impermanence
Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is ...
and the rapid passing of glory, particularly as an analog of ''
sic transit gloria mundi
''Sic transit gloria mundi'' is a Latin phrase that means "Thus passes the glory of the world."
Origin
The phrase was used in the ritual of papal coronation ceremonies between 1409 (when it was used at the coronation of Alexander V) and 1963. A ...
''. In Japanese Buddhism, this is best known through the opening line of ''
The Tale of the Heike'' – a tale of the rise and fall of a once-powerful clan – whose latter half reads , quoting the
four-character idiom from a passage in the
Humane King Sutra, .
Confusion with cannonball tree and other trees
In Asia, the sal tree is often confused with the ''
Couroupita guianensis'' or cannonball tree, a tree from tropical South America introduced to Asia by the British in the 19th century. The cannonball tree has since then been planted at Buddhist and Hindu religious sites in Asia in the belief that it is the tree of sacred scriptures. In Sri Lanka, Thailand and other
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Buddhist countries it has been planted at Buddhist monasteries and other religious sites. In India the cannonball tree has been planted at Shiva temples and is called Shiv Kamal or Nagalingam since its flowers are said to resemble the hood of a Nāga (divine cobra) protecting a Shiva lingam.
An example of a cannonball tree erroneously named 'sal tree' is at the Pagoda at the Royal Palace of Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
In Japan the sal tree of Buddhist scriptures is identified as the deciduous camellia (''
Stewartia pseudocamellia''), called shāra, 沙羅, from Sanskrit śāla.
The sal tree is also said to be confused with the
Ashoka tree (''Saraca indica'').
Uses
Sal is one of the most important sources of
hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
timber in India, with hard, coarse-grained wood that is light in colour when freshly cut, but becomes dark brown with exposure. The wood is resinous and durable, and is sought-after for construction, although not well suited to planing and polishing. The wood is especially suitable for constructing frames for doors and windows.
The dry leaves of sal are a major source for the production of leaf plates called as
patravali
Patravali, also known as Pattal, Vistaraku, Vistar or Khali, are eating plates, bowls or trencher made with broad leaves in India and Nepal. It is mainly made from sal leaves, dhak leaves and bauhinia leaves. It is also made from banyan tree l ...
and leaf bowls in northern and eastern India, also used as leaf plates to serve food in Karnataka Canara (Dakshina Kannada, Gokarna) regions of India. The leaves are also used fresh to serve ready made ''
paan
Betel nut chewing, also called betel quid chewing or areca nut chewing, is a practice in which areca nuts (also called "betel nuts") are chewed together with slaked lime and betel leaves for their stimulant and narcotic effects. The practice ...
'' (betelnut preparations) and small snacks such as boiled
black ''grams'', ''
gol gappa'', etc. The used leaves/plates are readily eaten by goats and cattle. The tree has therefore protected northern India from a flood of styrofoam and plastic plates that would have caused tremendous pollution. In Nepal, its leaves are used to make local plates and vessels called "tapari", "doona" and "bogata" in which rice and curry is served. However, the use of such "natural" tools have sharply declined during last decade.
Sal tree resin is known as sal
dammar or Indian dammar,
[ ''ṛla'' in Sanskrit. It is used as an astringent in ]Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
medicine,Sala, Asvakarna
/ref> burned as incense
Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also be ...
in Hindu ceremonies, and used to caulk boats and ships.
Sal seeds and fruit are a source of lamp oil and vegetable fat. The seed oil is extracted from the seeds and used as cooking oil after refining.
Gallery
File:Managed Sal forest in Dehradun.jpg, Sal forests in Dehradun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
, India
File:Sal forest at Gazipur, Bangladesh in winter.jpg, Sal forest in winter at Gazipur, Bangladesh
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- trunk- strangulated by some ficus tree at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 119.jpg, Sal trunk constricted by a ficus tree at Jayanti
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- new leaves with flower buds at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 120.jpg, New leaves with flower buds West Bengal, India
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- old leaf at Jayanti, Duars W Picture 122.jpg, Old leaf at Jayanti
Image:Sal (Shorea robusta)- flowering canopy W Picture 117.jpg, Flowering canopy at Jayanti
File:Shala Tree in full bloom.jpg, Sal Tree in full bloom at Gazipur, Bangladesh
File:India, tre dee, salabhanjika, periodo hoysala 1150-1200 da Karnataka.JPG, ''Salabhanjika'' or "sal tree maiden", Hoysala sculpture, Belur, Karnataka
Belur () is a town and tehsil, taluk in Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. The town is renowned for its Chennakesava Temple, Chennakeshava Temple dedicated to Vishnu, one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture and the la ...
See also
* Shorea robusta seed oil
* Yakshini
* List of Indian timber trees
There are over 150 species of timber which are produced in India. Following are the chief varieties of timber (trees) which are used for engineering purposes in India:
¹ After seasoning at 12% moisture content
Indian Mangrove
*Agati
*Algar ...
References
External links
Haryana Online.com: Sal (śāl) trees
{{Taxonbar, from=Q909828
robusta
ROBUSTA (Radiation on Bipolar for University Satellite Test Application) is a nano-satellite scientific experiment developed by the University of Montpellier students as part of a Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) call for student projects ...
Flora of China
Trees of the Indian subcontinent
Trees in Buddhism
Symbols of Chhattisgarh
Symbols of Jharkhand