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Nyctanthes arbor-tristis
Also called Night Flowering Jasmine
In Singapore: Tree of Sadness, Seri Gading, Night Blooming Jasmine, Tree of Sorrow, Coral Jasmine (Grown in Singapore)
A shrub or small tree up to about 10 m tall, native to South and Southeast Asia, prized for its fragrant white flowers with orange-red centres that open at dusk and fall by dawn. It is a genus-independent species, not a true jasmine, and grows best in warm, sunny conditions.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis is a species of Nyctanthes native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as night-blooming jasmine, tree of sadness, tree of sorrow, hengra bubar, coral jasmine, as seri gading in Singapore and as shiuli in the Bengal region. Despite its common name, the species is not a "true jasmine" and not of the genus Jasminum.
N. arbor-tristis is native to Indo-China, Himalaya and Sumatera to Jawa. It grows in dry deciduous forests and hillsides.
The leaves have been used in Ayurvedic medicine and Homoeopathy for sciatica, arthritis, and fevers, and as a laxative. An orange dye from the corolla, nyctanthin, is used to dye silk. In India, flowers are used to make garlands and used for worship.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Nyctanthes arbor-tristis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
