Red Sandalwood

Adenanthera pavonina

Beng: rakta Chandan / ranjana

A medium to large tree with gulmohur – like leaves (bipinnate) with 4-6 pair of oppositely arranged pinnae but the leaflets are alternatively arranged (diagnostic).

To disambiguate, Pterocarpus santalinus an endemic tree from southeastern ghat is also known as red sandalwood.

Leaf: with 4-6 pair of oppositely arranged pinnae but the leaflets are alternatively arranged (diagnostic). Leaflets have small but distinct petioles.

Flower: minute, creamy-yellow, borne in long spikes

Fruit: are long and narrow pods, their two leathery valves twist and bend as they open to show read bead like seeds (another diagnostic feature)

Season: branches are almost bare of leaves for a short time at the end of the cold season and the new leaves are produced in February and March. From late March to April flowers appear (sometime again in Sep-Oct). Fruits mature by winter.

Range/habitat: Sub Himalayan moist forests, also in SE Asia.

Trivia and notes: Benthall in his “Trees of Calcutta…” writes – “It also yields a red dye which is valued for making marks of religious significance on the foreheads of Hindus”. So, looks like this may indeed be “Rakta Chandan”

Where to Find: A full grown tree in the South East section of the lake next to a large semul tree (22.51037N,88.36054E). One half grown tree in the “famous” flycatcher zone (and it has produced a few seedlings exactly where a brown breasted flycatcher usually stays and may not survive the cleaning frenzy)