Night-flowering Jasmine

Common Name : Night-flowering Jasmine

 

Botanical Name : Nyctanthes arbor-tristis

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 the official flower of the state of West Bengal, India, and for Kanchanaburi Province. Thailand.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (Night-flowering Jasmine) is a species of Nyctanthes, native to southern Asia, from northern Pakistan, and Nepal south through northern India, Bangladesh and southeast to Thailand^.Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (sometimes incorrectly cited as Nyctanthes arbortristis or Nyctanthes arbor tristis) is commonly known as:
"Singgarei" in Manipuri, Sewali pronounced as Hkhewali in Assamese 'Shefali  or Shiuli  in Bengali. Official State flower of West Bengal.
It is a shrub or a small tree growing to 10 m tall, with flaky grey bark. The leaves are opposite, simple, 6–12 cm long and 2–6.5 cm 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 flat brown heart-shaped to round capsule 2 cm diameter, with two sections each containing a single seed.