Common Name: Broken Bones Tree
Scientific Name: Oroxylum indicum 
Family: Bignoniaceae
Nepali Name: Tatelo ( टटेलो )
Size: 8-12 m 
Location: Chitwan, Nepal 

A striking tree of the Himalayan foothills, Oroxylum indicum, commonly called the Broken Bones Tree or Indian trumpet, grows in warm, subtropical areas of Nepal, typically below about 1,300 m.

It is a sparsely branched, semi-deciduous tree with enormous pinnate leaves and dramatic, nocturnal trumpet-shaped flowers. Mature trees produce long, flattened seed pods (sometimes nearly a metre long) that dangle like sickles; the large leaf stalks eventually drop and gather around the trunk, resembling a pile of “broken bones” and giving the species its popular name.

Local people use its young pods, flowers, and leaves as seasonal food, and the tree has a long history of use in traditional medicine and rituals across the region.  

Please feel free to comment below if the above species has been misidentified.

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