Sala Flower
There are many unique and interesting looking flowers out there in the world. But this one has to be one of my favorite. Not to be mistaken with the sala of a Wat or anything else. The Sala flower is related to the Brazilian nut family tree. I’m not sure if anyone has ever seen one of these flowers grown in a Lao temple before, since Dok Champa (frangipani, plumeria) seem to be more common. Which of course is Lao’s national flower and also very beautiful and special to me.
Many Hindu temples in India grow the Sala tree. In their religion, It is a sacred tree since the flower resembles a nagam or a sacred snake. Also in Buddhism, the sala tree represents an important part of Buddha’s life story. The sala tree provided the shade in which Queen Maya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha. And on the day of the Buddha passing, the sala tree blossom out of season and showered the Buddha with petals and sweet fragrances. It was like a kind of offering sent from above. So that is why the sala tree has been grown near many Wats of Thailand and India.
Other interesting things about this tree is for use in traditional veterinary medicine. The Chinese physician Lee Song Cheong writes, “It is a very important plant in traditional veterinary medicine. The fruit pulp is fed to chickens as both a vaccine against and medicine for respiratory and other diseases. It is believed that feeding the fruits to chickens is an excellent way to maintain their health. The pulp of the fruit of the Sala tree is rubbed on the infected skin of mangy dogs. Some fractions of the stem bark and flowers exhibited anti fungal activity.” Too bad we don’t have any growing in our area, or it would be great for treating the farm animals.
The flower or tree goes by many other names as well, from the “Cannonball tree”, “Sal tree” or “Ayauma tree”. The flower is very fragrant, but the fruit turns into a woody nut and the pulp does not smell pleasant. There are some really great pictures of the Sala flower found on flickr, but the one pictured here is from Ann’s TravelingBelgian and is my favorite.
More pics and facts about this tree can be read at the Lecythidaceae Pages (from NY Botanical Garden).
Interesting. I didn’t know of this tree and story relating to Buddha.
So, Buddha was born under a “sala” tree but became enlighten under a “bo “tree.
Does anyone know if there is a Lao name for a sala tree?
Such an interesting flower, I’ve never seen or heard of it until now, the Thai called it Salalunka, but I’m not sure what the Lao would call it. At first I thought it’s Sala(t) minus the “t”
What a beautiful flower. I will ask my relatives in Laos if they know the name in Lao. It should be the same as the Thai name or very close to it. If there is such a tree in Vientiane, then I will ask aunt Kian to go take pictures for us. If they can grow this in Thailand, then we should be able to grow the tree in Laos as well. It should be beautiful to contrast the temple ground with thon dok champa.
I just called my aunts in Vientiane and asked about this tree. Aunt Kian told me there is one temple in Vientiane with such a tree. She told me the name and the story of the tree is on the posted sign and will take a picture for us later this week. We should have the photos next month then. Aunt Kian said the tree was from India and was planted at this particular temple a few years ago. As far as she knows, it is the only temple in Laos with Sala tree. She said all temples in Laos would plant Bodhi tree. But as far as she was taught from the Buddhist texts, the Lord Buddha was born under thon hung. She’ll check the name for us.
I have a photo of the sign on a Sala tree at a temple in Thailand and it said that the Sala “is an important tree which appears on two seperate occasions in the Buddha’s life story. 1.) At the time of the the Buddha’s birth, the mother of the Great One help onto a branch of the Sala while she was giving birth. 2.) At the time of the Buddha’s passing away. The Blessed One lay down between two Sala trees and passed on into Parinibbana in the year 543 B.C.E.” That’s just what the sign sign, I won’t claim to be an expert on that. : )
I’ve also seen it called Luk Bpen Yai in Thai.
Darly - I’d love to know the Lao name and see your aunt’s photo of it!
: D Khap jai deh!
Darly, I was thinking the same thing about it being able to grow in Laos. So I am looking forward to the flower pic from you aunt in Vientiane.
And my mom also said the Buddha was born under thon hung too. I guess the story must have been mixed up as it traveled outside of Nepal-India. Buddhist scholars said Buddha was born in Lumbini Garden in Nepal, possibly amongst many other trees as well.
Kelly, I love to see your Sala flower too. It must have been nice to see or smell the flower in person
I found out the name of the Sala flower. It is the same as in Thai language. They also called it Dok Hung India since it is from India. The Lao version looks a bit different than the one above.
Aunt Kian went to the temple in Vientiane and took some pictures two Saturdays ago. There were only a few blooming flowers and some buds. The fruits are just starting. She will go back again this coming Saturday to take more photos, just incase more flowers are blooming. Then next Monday or Tuesday she will sent the photos to me so I can post them for all to see.
There are two Thon Sala brought from India by a man as a gift to the temple in the early 1980s. They are the only two trees in the entire country as far as anyone know. I can’t wait to see the trees in person when I go to Laos the next time.
Good news for sala flower fans. Aunt Kian went back to the temple on Saturday to take more photos. More flowers are blooming and she saw the fruit at the top of the tree. Aunt Kian had to stand on the table to get a closer look at the fruit. She will send the photo CD tomorrow and we should have it by next Wednesday or Friday at the latest. It takes about one week for package to get here from Laos.
I can’t wait to see the photos myself.
[...] have been planted side by side at Wat Keopa Xayaram, Vientiane, Laos. Since Salat posted about sala flower, I asked my relatives in Vientiane if they have seen the flower in Laos. Only one of my aunts has [...]