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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Sneha Mehta
Hey my mother recently got to know about the benefits of this flower . But it’s very hard to get near my house . There is a place where we can get those flowers but now days it’s really crowded and hard to get even couple of flowers . So is there any way that we can grow it in our backyard .
I am from Biratnagar.
ansr50@gmail.com
Hello Sneha, Apologies for the late reply. I have also heard from some people that the flowers have benefits. I see a few trees these days when I visit the lowlands of Nepal, so your plan to grow them in your backyard is encouraging. I don’t know of any place in Biratnagar, but I could recommend visiting the Local Division Forest Office, as they usually have local tree saplings. Wishing you all the best.