Love Flowers: Kadamba

Today we invite you to discover a species that is popular in India: the Kadamba. In English, this tree is known by various names: burflower-tree, laran, Leichhardt pine, or even kadam or cadamba.

The species is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is found in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, South China, Malaysia and as far as Australia. It is worth noting that a Cambodian hairstyle, now out of fashion, was called the cadamba flower hairstyle.

It is a large tree, which can reach a height of 45 meters. It is fast growing, which makes it a very popular shade tree in India. The fruit is a multiple fruit that keeps the same spherical shape as the inflorescence which, in India, is most often yellow in color. The fruit is a little bigger than a golf ball.

It is easily recognized by its surface covered with a multitude of small thorns. After being washed in clear water, the fruit is simply cut into quarters. It is accompanied by the condiment often used by Indians to season green fruits, i.e. a mixture of salt, sugar and crushed chili pepper.

It is eaten raw, whole, skin and thorns included. It has a slightly acidic flavor, but it is not very tasty. It is not very juicy either and its texture is a little grainy.

The wood is used to make small objects and that it can be used to produce paper pulp. The wood, which is very light, is used in the preparation of powder for fireworks. The wood is used in construction and to make boards.

The bark and wood, in infusion, are analgesic. The juice of the fruit and the infusion of the bark are used to soothe fevers. This mixture is often applied to the foreheads of children. The dried flowers, soaked in water, are used to treat headaches.

Finally, the species is associated in India with several religious cults, notably that of Krishna. The following episode is reported from the life of this divinity. Varuna, god of the seas, had forbidden bathing naked in rivers, ponds and other public places. A group of young women, the gopis, had defied the ban by bathing in a river.

They were surprised by Krishna who, to teach them a lesson, seized their clothes and scattered them on the branches of a cadamba tree a little way from the bank. He hid in the tree while waiting for the young women to come out of the water. When they came out of the bath, the gopis saw that their clothes had been stolen.

They saw them on the branches of the cadamba tree, but also saw Kishna spying on them. They implored the divinity to give them back their clothes, but Krishna was intractable and forced them to come out of the bath to go and retrieve the clothes hanging on the branches.

Karam-Kadamba is a popular harvest festival, celebrated on the eleventh Moon day of the month Bhaadra. A twig of the tree is brought and worshipped in the courtyard of the house. Later in the day, young ears of grain are distributed among friends and relatives.