Hearing the name Urvashi, the most beautiful, eternal youth mentioned in Hindu mythology comes to mind. However, in the Puranas, not the nymphs of the heavens, we will discuss a beautiful, charming and rare plant species like the nymphs of the heavens. Its Bengali name is Urvashi which means beautiful.
Lady Sarah Armhast, wife of William Armhast, former Governor General of British India, and a nature lover, was known as a collector of Asian plants in the early nineteenth century. The plant is scientifically named Amherstia nobilis after him . Other local names of the plant include Raj Ashoka, Parijat, Queen of the Flowering Plants, Tree of Heaven, Pride of Burma, Orchid Tree etc. It is the only member of the family Amherstia in the family Fabaceae (Pea family).
Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka and Burma have a long history of using Urvashi flowers. Urvashi is not a common plant in our country, it usually grows in tropical, humid and fertile soils, sunny and partially shaded places. This plant is native to Myanmar. However, at present it is cultivated in protected environment as an ornamental plant in some gardens in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, America and Europe.
Urvashi is considered as one of the most beautiful plants in the plant world. Some naturalists have called it one of the most beautiful flowering plants in the tropics. The flowers are as beautiful as the Urvashi tree. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree. They are usually 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 feet) high. However, for some unknown reason, sometimes in some areas it is not more than 5 meters (15 feet) long. The leaves are petals and compound leaves. The leaves, 6 to 8 cm long, hang from the stalks much like the leaves of Ashoka. That is why many people mistake it for Ashoka. The young leaves are very beautiful to look at, with large inflorescences emerging from the cocoons of the copper-colored leaves. The crimson red flowers on the buds hang from the trees in a spectacular manner as if they were some small red birds with wings.
Its flower is branched like an orchid and is also called 'Orchid Tree' in many places. Among the red petals of this flower, the golden-yellow flower has made the Urvashi flower alluring, while the shape of the English letter 'V' in the middle of that yellow flower seems to indicate its superiority. This flower has 5 petals although 2 of them are very small and the rest are unequal in size. Its large petals can grow up to 8.5 cm long and up to 4 cm wide. These flowers usually bloom in February and March.
They bear very little fruit. Its red and golden-yellow young fruits or seed pods look a lot like beans which are 11 to 20 cm long. However, germinating seeds are available in very small quantities as compared to the few fruits that can be obtained from it. This is why these plants are usually propagated using wind-layering or sarcoposing techniques. These species form symbiotic relationships with certain soil bacteria, forming nodules on the roots of the plant that bind nitrogen from the atmosphere to meet the plant's nitrogen needs.
It is very rare to see Urvashi tree in natural environment. It was collected only twice in the wild from the forests of Burma. Some Urvashi trees can be found in Narail in Bangladesh, in the National Botanical Garden in Mirpur and in the Bulldha Garden in Old Dhaka.
This species is protected in accordance with Schedule-4 of the Wildlife Conservation and Security Act, 2012 of Bangladesh. That is, according to section 7 of the law, plants of this species cannot be intentionally picked up, uprooted, destroyed or collected. Violation of Section 7 of the Protected Plants Act will result in a person being sentenced to one year imprisonment or a fine of Rs. Section 41 of the Act further stipulates that if a person directly or indirectly aids or abets in the commission of an offense under this Act and if the offense is committed as a result of such assistance or incitement, the accomplice or instigator shall be punished for the offense. Be.
The declaration of this species as a protected plant by the Government of Bangladesh in view of its extinction is also commendable.