Characteristics:
Habit: Tree
Root: Spreading
Trunk: The bark is thick and full of fissures
Leaves: It has large, flat, thick leaves that are leathery hard on top and smooth and hairy on the underside.
Flower: The flowers are bright orange-red. Some varieties have yellow flowers. The flowers grow along a stem. They have five petals, two of which form a beak-like shape, two look like wings and one standard. The curved one has fine, silky hair which make the colour look silvery-peachy.
Fruit: The fruit is a flat pod which when young has a velvety cove.
Seed: Each pod contains one seed.
Pollinators: NA
Seed Dispersal: The pod bursts and drop the seeds on the ground. Some germinate there itself and others are carried by birds.
Where they grow: Palash is found in the drier parts of India.
While the tree is drought resistant it can grow in areas with a wide range of rainfall (450 – 4500mm). It tolerates frosts and can grow in a variety of soils, including saline and water-logged ones
Uses:
Medicinal: The bark is used by indigenous people for diarrhoea, dysentery, sore throats and snake bites
The leaves are supposed to have many medicinal uses, eating off them is said to transfer some of the properties to the person eating the food.
Agroforestry: NA
Religious: The bark of the yellow palash tree is torn off for worship by the locals in Rajasthan.
The flowers are used to make coloured water for Holi.
The leaves are used to make platters to serve food during religious festival.
http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Flame%20of%20the%20Forest.html
