Mandar, a form of Parijat flower, commonly known for its fiery-red, vivid colour is getting lost in the natural surroundings of Bangladesh.
The scientific name of the Mander flower is Erythrina variegata, its origin is at the Gengetic Plains and in Myanmar. This flower grows on the middle-sized, thorny tree Mander which also was once widely spread in the South, South-Eastern and Middle parts of the country. But, the number of trees is gradually waning in the country.
The grey-coloured Mander tree and its branches are usually 15 to 20 feet in height. The leaves of the tree fall during the end of winter and the branches of the tree are filled with deep-red coloured, scentless flowers. During the March-April, new leaves appear in the branches.
Rarely a Mander tree is visible in the rural areas nowadays. This tree survives for a long time so some village people used to plant this tree to identify the areas of their land. Even some people used this tree as a poll of their houses. The wood of this tree is not being costly, people are no longer interested in planting this tree.
Bayezid Bostami of Chatmohar Municipality area informed, no one cultivates this medicinal plant any more rather it grows naturally. Specially, the tree is seen in a large number in the coastal areas of the country.
The match-sticks are made from the branches of the Mander tree. Once this tree was used as fuel in the brick kilns of the country but due to excessive logging of the trees, it is now on the verge of extinct from some areas of the country.
