night-flowering jasmine

''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'', also known as the Night-flowering jasmine or Parijat (Parvati chi phula), is a species of ''Nyctanthes'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, ''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis''
/ref>Flora of Pakistan
''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis''
/ref>AgroForestry Tree Database
''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis''

''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'' is a shrub or a small tree growing to tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, long and broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are fragrant, with a five- to eight-lobed white corolla with an orange-red centre; they are produced in clusters of two to seven together, with individual flowers opening at dusk and finishing at dawn. The fruit is a bilobed, flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule diameter, each lobe containing a single seed.

Despite its common name, the species is not a "true jasmine" and not of the genus Jasminum.

Names and symbolism

The tree is sometimes called the "tree of sorrow", because the flowers lose their brightness during daytime; the scientific name ''arbor-tristis'' also means "sad tree". The flowers can be used as a source of yellow dye for clothing. The flower is called pārijāta (पारिजात) in Sanskrit, rātarāni (रातरानी, Queen of the Night) in Hindi, Gangaseuli and Jharaa sephali in Odisha, India. In the Borok Tipruri culture, it is associated with the cycle of life, i.e., birth and dying. It is popularly used as a garland for the dead.

The flower is the official flower of the state of West Bengal,Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
/ref> and of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. It is known as Parijat, Shefali and Siuli around West Bengal. ''Nyctanthes arbor-tristis'' is commonly known as night-flowering jasmine and coral jasmine. It is referred to as Har-shringaar in Bihar's Mithilanchal and Madhesh. It is called ''Xewālee'' (Xewālee, শেৱালী) in Assamese language, Assamese, while in Sri Lanka, it is called ''Sepalika'' (සේපාලිකා). In Karnataka it is called parijatha(ಪಾರಿಜಾತ), In Telugu language, Telugu it is called parijatam పారిజాతం, Kerala, where it is called ''Pavizhamalli'' (പവിഴമല്ലി) in Malayalam, (பவழ மல்லி) in Tamil language, Tamil, (पार्दक) in Konkani, ''prajakta'' (प्राजक्त) in Marathi language, Marathi. In Myanmar, it is called ( :my:ဆိပ်ဖလူး ). It is used for pujas and similar ceremonies . It also has importance in old Malayalam romantic songs.

Chemical constituents

*Leaves: The leaves contain D-mannitol, β-sitosterol, flavanol glycosides, astragalin, nicotiflorin, oleanolic acid, nyctanthic acid, tannic acid, ascorbic acid, methyl salicylate, an amorphous glycoside, an amorphous resin, trace of volatile oil, carotene, friedeline, lupeol, mannitol, glucose, fructose, iridoid glycosides, and benzoic acid.
*Flowers: The flowers contain essential oils, nyctanthin, D-mannitol, tannins, glucose, carotenoids, glycosides including β-monogentiobioside ester of α-crocetin (or crocin-3), β-monogentiobioside-β-D monoglucoside ester of α-crocetin, and β-digentiobioside ester of α-crocetin (or crocin-1).
*Seeds: The seeds contain arbortristosides A and B; glycerides of linoleic acid, linoleic, oleic acid, oleic, lignoceric acid, lignoceric, stearic acid, stearic, palmitic acid, palmitic and myristic acids; nyctanthic acid; 3,4-secotriterpene acid; and a water-soluble polysaccharide composed of D-glucose and D-mannose.
*Bark: The bark contains glycosides and alkaloids.
*Stem: The stems contain the glycoside naringenin-4’-0-β-glucapyranosyl-α-xylopyranoside and β-sitosterol.
*Flower oil: The flower oil contains α-pinene, p-cymene, 1-hexanol, methylheptanone, phenyl acetaldehyde, 1-decenol and anisaldehyde.
*Plant: The plant contains 2,3,4,6-tetra-0-methyl-D-glucose; 2,3,6 tri-0-methyl-D-glucose; 2,3,6-tri-0-methyl-D-mannose; 2,3,-di-0-methyl-D-mannose; arbortristosides A, B, and C; and iridoid glycosides.

Uses

Traditional Medicine

The leaves have been used in Ayurveda, Ayurvedic medicine and Homoeopathy for sciatica, arthritis, and fevers, and as a laxative.

Literature

''Parijat'' appears in several Hindu religious stories and is often related to the Kalpavriksha. In one such story from Hindu mythology, which appears in Bhagavata Purana, the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana, ''parijat'' appeared as the result of the Samudra manthan (Churning of the Milky Ocean) and Krishna battled with Indra to win ''parijat''. Further on, his wife Satyabhama demanded the tree be planted in the backyard of her palace. It so happened that in spite of having the tree in her backyard, the flowers used to fall in the adjacent backyard of the other queen Rukmini, who was favourite of Krishna, because of her superior devotion and humility.

It is the subject of a prabandha named ''Parijatapaharanamu'' in Telugu literature written by Nandi Thimmana, the court-poet of Krishnadevaraya.

See also

*Jasminum sambac
*Tabernaemontana divaricata
*Trachelospermum jasminoides

References

External links

{{West Bengal

Myxopyreae
Flora of the Indian subcontinent
Trees in mythology
Sacred trees in Hinduism
Flora of Java
Flora of Sumatra
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Trees of Nepal
Symbols of West Bengal