Ashoka

Ashoka, "sorrow-less", is a small evergreen tree of the legume family native to the Indian subcontinent, grown for its dense dark green foliage and its heavy bunches of fragrant flowers that are orange-yellow and turn red before wilting. It is a traditional medicinal plant and is considered sacred throughout the subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and is often planted near temples and palaces. It is closely tied to yakshi figures in Buddhist and Hindu temple art, and Hindus worship it in the month of Chaitra. The name Saraca indica is described as incorrect. The page warns that a different tree, Polyalthia longifolia, is also sold as "false ashoka".