Saraca asoca

Ashoka tree
Ashoka flower cluster
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Saraca
Species:
S. asoca
Binomial name
Saraca asoca
Synonyms[2]
  • Jonesia asoca Roxb.
  • Jonesia confusa Hassk.
  • Jonesia pinnata Willd.
  • Saraca confusa (Hassk.) Backer
  • Saraca indica sensu Bedd., non L.

Saraca asoca, commonly known as the ashoka tree (lit. "sorrow-less"), is a plant belonging to the Detarioideae subfamily of the Fabaceae family of plants (also referred to as the legume, pea, or bean family).[3]

The tree is native to the Indian subcontinent, with its native range extending from Pakistan to the west, through India and Bangladesh to Myanmar in the east, and from Bhutan and Nepal in the north to Sri Lanka in the south. Within its native range, it is primarily growing in seasonally dry tropical forests.[4]

It is an important tree to multiple cultural traditions across the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

The flower of ashoka tree is the state flower of Indian state of Odisha.[5]

  1. ^ CAMP Workshops on Medicinal Plants, India (1998). "Saraca asoca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998: e.T34623A9879360. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Saraca asoca (Roxb.) Willd. — The Plant List". The Plant List. 5 January 2015.
  3. ^ de la Estrella, Manuel; Forest, Félix; Klitgård, Bente; Lewis, Gwilym P.; Mackinder, Barbara A.; de Queiroz, Luciano P.; Wieringa, Jan J. & Bruneau, Anne (2018). "A new phylogeny-based tribal classification of subfamily Detarioideae, an early branching clade of florally diverse tropical arborescent legumes". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 6884. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.6884D. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-24687-3. PMC 5932001. PMID 29720687.
  4. ^ "Saraca asoca (Roxb.) W.J.de Wilde | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  5. ^ Orissa State Symbols