''Saraca'' L. is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of flowering plants in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Fabaceae ( legume family) of about 20

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s native to the lands from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, China and Ceylon to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and Sulawesi. This plant can be grown outdoors in distinctly warm humid climates, and prefer a moist, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. It can also be grown within greenhouses. The trees themselves are grown for their clustered, upturned flowers in yellow, orange or red. The tree's flowers lack petals, having brightly colored

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s, and have stamens projecting up to eight inches long. The leaves are

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...

, with paired leaflets. Typically, these trees are accustomed to the shade of other trees. Most species of ''Saraca'' are associated with particular bodies of water. The species ''

Saraca asoca ''Saraca asoca'' ( Named after great king 'Ashoka' )(the ashoka tree; lit., "sorrow-less") is a plant belonging to the Detarioideae subfamily of the legume family. It is an important tree in the cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent and ...

'' is believed to be the tree under which

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 L ...

was born. Red saraca is the provincial tree of Yala province,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Species

Species include: * ''

'' or

ashoka tree Ashoka tree is a common name for two plants which are frequently confused with each other: *'' Saraca asoca'', native to South Asia and western Myanmar *'' Saraca indica'', native to eastern Myanmar and Southeast Asia *''Monoon longifolium '' ...

* '' Saraca celebica'' * '' Saraca declinata'' * '' Saraca dives'' * '' Saraca griffithiana'' * '' Saraca hullettii'' * ''

Saraca indica ''Saraca indica'', commonly known as the asoka tree, ashok or simply asoca, is a plant belonging to the subfamily Detarioideae of the family Fabaceae. The original plant specimen from which Carl Linnaeus described the species came from Java, but ...

'' * '' Saraca monodelpha'' * ''

Saraca thaipingensis ''Saraca thaipingensis'' is a tree species native to southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region ...

'' * '' Saraca tubiflora''

Pests

''Saraca indica'' is host to the peacock mite ''Tuckerella channabasavannai''.

References

* De Wilde, W. J. J. O. (1985). ''Saraca tubiflora'', A New Species from West-central Sumatra (Caesalpinioideae). ''Blumea'' 30: 425-428. * Hooker, Joseph Dalton. (1879). ''The Flora of British India'', Vol II. London: L. Reeve & Co. * Mabberley, D. J. (1987). ''The Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Higher Plants''. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. . * Blaxell, D., Bryant, G., Francis, F., Greig, D., Guest, S., Moore, J., North, T., Paddison, V., Roberts, S., Rodd, T., Scholer, P., Segall, B., Stowar, J., Walsh, K. (2001) "The Firefly Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs." Willowdale, Ontario: Firefly Books Ltd. .

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2426272 Fabaceae genera