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Our World Tuesday- Kadamba

Neolamarckia cadamba, commonly called Kadam, is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. The genus name honours French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. The species has been widely but incorrectly called Anthocephalus chinensis. It has scented orange flowers in dense globe-shaped clusters. The flowers are used in perfumes. The tree is grown as an ornamental plant and for timber and paper-making. Kadam features in Indian religions and mythologies.
The caterpillars of the Commander (Moduza procris), a brush-footed butterfly, utilize this species as a foodplant. The fruit and inflorescences are reportedly edible to humans. The fresh leaves are fed to cattle. The fragrant orange flowers attract pollinators. Its sapwood is white with a light yellow tinge becoming creamy yellow on exposure and is not clearly differentiated from the heartwood. (Link To Read more)

Close up -

Kadamba is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana. In North India, it is associated with Krishna while in the south it is known as "Parvati’s tree". Radha and Krishna are supposed to have conducted their love play in the hospitable and sweet-scented shade of the Kadamba tree. In the Sangam period of Tamil NaduMurugan of Tirupparankundram Hill of Madurai was referred to as a centre of nature worship. He was in the form of a spear under a Kadamba tree.Karam-Kadamba is a popular harvest festival, celebrated on the eleventh lunar day of the month Bhadra. A twig of the tree is brought and worshipped in the courtyard of the house. 
It claimed that the 27 nakshatras, constituting 12 Houses (Rasis) and nine planets, are specifically represented precisely by 27 trees —one for each star. The Kadamba tree is said to represent Shatabhisha (Aquarii).
This post is part of Our World Tuesday meme.

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful flower in full bloom. Nice capture.

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  2. Awesome capture :)

    http://zigzacmania.blogspot.in/

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  3. Great capture, Deepa...I love this flower and the fragrance...

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    1. Thank you very much Maniparna :)

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  4. Excellent Macro.Interesting news about the Kadamba.

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    1. Thank you very much Sri Kri :)

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  5. Beautiful, interesting and the close up really lets us see the details.

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  6. Beautiful flower in full bloom. Nice capture. It is in plenty in our Brij area of northern India including Mathura -Aligarh .

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    1. Thank you very much Yogi :) oh! nice to know that, here in Mumbai it is very rare to find this tree.

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  7. Awesome flower and click

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  8. [ Smiles ] This is one of the most beautiful plants that I have ever seen!

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  9. Absolutely amazing.

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    1. Thank you very much Kalpanaa :)

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  10. That is an interesting looking flower. I don't think I've set my eyes on one.
    Thank you.

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    1. Thank you very much Dipti :) I think it is more commonly found in northern parts of India.

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  11. Amazing capture, Deepa!

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