Last year, I posted Search for Flame of Forest/ Tesu tree in Jaipur. Flowers of Flame of the Forest/ Tesu tree is used for preparing organic Gulaal. Gulaal is a powder used in Holi – the festival of colors. During my explorations in parks to find Tesu tree, I spotted this visual feast in the crimson shade of Semal flowers. Unaware of its name, a street vendor in the vicinity came to my rescue; he mentioned it is a Semal tree! It’s easiest to spot the Semal tree during the springtime. The botanical name of the Semal Tree is Bombax Ceiba. Semal tree in English is called the Silk Cotton Tree. Semal Tree in Hindi is called – शाल्मली, काटेसांवर, people commonly call it Semal ka Ped.



Finding Tesu tree in an urban landscape of Jaipur is not easy. In contrast, Semal Tree can be spotted on roadsides across central areas of Jaipur like MI Road and C-Scheme.

Semal Tree Flower
It’s a beautiful tree with big & bright red flowers which stands out among the surroundings. Its flower has 5 petals which only appears in the spring before the new foliage.

These red flowers create a spectacular look. The flower produces a capsule, it’s fruit. This fruit of this tree is a ball-like structure that appears during April and is full of cotton-like fiber called Kopak.
Semal Tree Uses
The tree is not merely beautiful, every part of this tree is useful. The bark of the Semal tree is a softwood, used in the match sticks. Since the bark lasts long even when submerged in water, fishermen use it as the float. Its seed produces edible oil, used in making soaps.
In rural areas, It is for this fiber that villagers gather the Semal fruit. Kopak is used for filling low priced pillows and quilts, which is commonly used in rural areas in India.

It has a medicinal use, too. Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from the gum produced by this tree. Almost every part of the tree has medicinal use in Ayurveda.

Many tribal communities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh worship a Semal tree. They derive many uses from this tree; it’s a part and parcel of their everyday life. The tree attracts many birds and bees, after all, that’s what bright color flowers are for.

According to customs, the stem of this tree is used as Holi-Danda during Holika Dahan on Holi as it is considered as a symbol of mythological character Prahlad. This has resulted in the cutting of the Semal tree at a fast pace in certain regions.
Semal Tree Price
The wood from this has a good demand. The Semal tree wood price ranges from Rs 250 to 400/cubic feet.
The fall in the population of this important tree species has worried environmentalists. It’s imperative that we conserve this tree species to ensure the balance in ecology as many birds and bees depend on this tree. Cutting any link in the food chain has a disastrous effect. Reduction in the bee population in some places is already a concern. It’s being said that if the bees vanish from this planet, extinction of the human population is guaranteed!
It’s interesting to note how both Tesu and Semal tree is linked with the festival of Holi. Both these trees bloom during the March-April period during which the Holi is celebrated and has bright flowers. Somehow it seems nature has planned it out, so well!!
I hope to see a lot more Semal trees in Jaipur, after-all It’s a beautiful tree. It will be interesting to mention that one of the famous writers from India- Ruskin Bond has also written about this tree in his book – The world of trees. He has a chapter called The Feast in the Semal Tree. Have you read this book?
Have you ever spotted one in your vicinity?
Check out other stories in the Trees of Jaipur.
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Pictures are beautiful 👍
And thanks to introduce the name of this.
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Thank you Monika. Happy to know that you liked it. 🙂
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Welcome
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Mind-blowing post. I love these red flowers too and it is fascinating to read more about them! 🙂 Thanks.
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Happy to know Shubham. 🙂
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I did not know about this beautiful tree.Its incredible how much trees are revered in India and beautifully inter-twined with our lives, our faith and worship.Many thanks!
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It was a revelation to me too. Generally, Neem, Banyan/ Bargad and Peepul/ Bodhi tree are associated with rituals and customs. But our association with trees is much stronger. Thanks for sharing your views 🙂
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every picture bears such a serene feeling to my heart,hope to visit jaipur someday.
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Thank You Neha. This tree is confined to Jaipur only. In fact, you can find this tree spread across India. Do visit Jaipur. I’m sure you’ll love the experience. 🙂
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Can’t wait to visit jaipur.
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🙂
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I didn’t even know it has so many uses, though i must have surely bumped into it sometime in India.
I liked the medicinal part, and even that kopak is useful.
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It was a revelation for me,as well! Every tree that I have written about has some connection with Ayurveda…Like the Tesu, Chilbill, Dhauk trees. It’s surprising how well developed Ayurveda was.
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Yes, guess people were more close to nature ages back.
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That was way of life, then. Moving in tandem with mother nature. Today we have insulated our life.
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True that.
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🙂
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I think I have seen these trees but was not aware of their multiple uses and relevance to Holi.
Thanks for the sharing this knowledge. I can now ask my dad to plant either one of these. My parents have this never-ending hobby of collecting trees in their home.
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Every time I try to find more about a tree, it surprises me. There’s so much that we don’t know. While we have other knowledge and information, we are disconnected with nature and how little we know about it.
I’m happy to know that your parents love trees. I’m sure they must have so many facts and information to share about trees. I hope that local climate is suitable for Semal tree to survive and thrive; it’s a hardy tree, though. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. 🙂
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That’s extremely beautiful, Arv.
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Happy to know Mick 🙂
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Last night my wife and I watched a historical documentary India. Your beautiful city Jaipur came up. Thanks to your wonderful blog, we had already a personal connection to Jaipur. Thanks for the amazing photos in today’s post!
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I’m very happy to learn this. I’m sure you two must have enjoyed the documentary, too. Was that a general documentary? There’s a very popular documentary series on Monkeys, shot in Jaipur…
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This was an older two-hour documentary on the Mogul Empire. Thank you for the hint on the monkeys of Jaipur! We watch a lot on YouTube.
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oh great! There was so much opulence associated with the Mughal empire because they invaded India and ruled for centuries before the Britishers occupied and forced them out. There’s interesting book on Kohinoor diamond by William Dalrymple, british writer and traveler who also explores part of Mughal rulers and how world’s most famous diamond ended up in UK from India. Se if it interest you. 🙂
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Thanks for the tip, arv! The events surrounding the largest diamond in the world must contain a fascinating story.
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Certainly, I’ sure you’ll find the story exciting. you can google on it to get some insight. 🙂
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Beautiful flowers and so wonderful that you shared the various phases of it. the shots are just beautiful. Loved the write up too – very informative. Thanks for joining Thursday Tree Love! Great to see you around! 🙂
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Thanks Paul. This post was pending for more than a year. Happy to join. I hope I’ll be able to contribute frequently… 🙂
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Such pretty spring flames!
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It sure is. Fiona. Thanks for appreciating:)
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Very interesting post with lots of useful informations.
It is belived that Semal cotton / fiber stuffed pillow is good for eye sight.
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Oh! Is it? Never knew about that bit. Have you used it? Thanks for adding Rekha. Appreciate it. 🙂
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Yes. Its really good.
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Great. Will try it too. Thanks Rekha
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Very interesting facts about the Semal tree. I know it is found in Bengal and it is called ‘Shimul’ in Bengali. The flowers are bright red and are an inseparable element of springtime festivities, and gave their presence even in songs. Your post gives us a lot of factual information on how the flowers have wide use which I was not aware of. Strangely, Bangalore abounds in many similar kinds of trees but I haven’t come across Semal here so far. Not that I know of. Of course we have a few varieties of other flowering trees here, typical of this season, with a rich array of colours, (typical being the flame of the forest ) which I’ll keep as a post for another time. 🙂 Great to see you join the linky.
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Happy to know the Bengali name of this tree, Esha.We are so engrossed in our daily life that we are unable to notice the presence of such beautiful trees around us, unless we make a conscious effort. I have always liked the fact that Bangalore is green and has so many trees, all around. Gulmohar is common in this city that if someone were to ask me where to find Gulmohar I’ll probably say, everywhere across Bangalore. Even though jaipur is semi-arid but we do have variety of trees here. Hopefully, I should be able to share some more trees of Jaipur. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and providing inputs. Retrieved this from spam folder 🙂
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Oh, thank you for taking the trouble to retrieve it! So glad 🙂 Yes, you are right…as the years go I can see how our lives have changed so much already. Thanks to technology we are even more wrapped up with gadgets on top of that which leaves space for very little else. I’m happy that you are planning to share more about the trees of Jaipur. For all I remember Jaipur used to be very green when we lived there and I recall moving to Ahmedabad and getting the shock of my life to find most of it was just concrete! It is sad that Bangalore is losing its beautiful trees, and all those tree-lined canopied roads of Old Bangalore are now giving way to metro work everywhere. People loved MG Road for it’s beautiful tree-lined roads and now you can see the ugly face of urban living there. So much for progress! Such is life. We ruin our city and run elsewhere to admire Nature!! Will be looking forward to your posts for the #treelove series! 🙂
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what you have just written is sad to read but then that’s the reality. While earlier I used to look forward to visiting Bangalore that’s not the case anymore. Traffic is a big pain.
Jaipur is quite green, even now Esha. Of course, one can’t compare it with Bangalore given it’s climatic condition and topography which permits certain type of trees. In monsoon, the hills are all green and it’s difficult to believe that we are in a desert state! I’m sure you would have experienced this. You are so right about so called “development” in the city. Fortunately, I’m able to experience nature within a driving distance. Quite a breather, it is!
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Yes, totally agree Jaipur is way greener than many cities I know of. It will always be one of my favourite cities for that reason alone.
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Happy yo know this, Esha 🙂
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So lovely photos! Beautiful spring flowers
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Wow… Such beautiful pics.. And you have described them very well.. Wow.. I didn’t knew about such medicinal uses of this plant.. Very informative post too.
Have a great weekend, Arv.. 🙂
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Hey Jackie. Thank You for appreciating and liking this post. There are many aspects of trees which we are not aware of being engrossed in our daily life. I’m happy you liked it. BTW, I found this comment in spam folder. Thanks for informing me. 🙂
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Hello sir! You are most welcome.. The pics are very beautiful.. And yes, we are struck in this daily life, most of us get very less time to know about such interesting and useful tips.
Yea.. I am having some problem with filters. I have contacted Akismet..
Have a great week.. 🙂
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Happy yo know you liked the pictures Jackie. I’m hoping this issue gets sorted out soon. Are you native of Andhra Pradesh, Jackie?
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Yea, I also hope that this issue gets sorted out quickly. And No, I am not native of Andhra Pradesh. We just live here. I am a native of Rajasthan. I am a Jain. 🙂
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Ah! great to hear Jackie that you belong to the state where I live in. 🙂
Which is your native place in Rajasthan?
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Yea.. My native place is Bhenswara, near Ahore in Jalore district..
Rajasthan is a very beautiful and historic place. We visit it every year. Sometimes even twice.. 🙂
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Good to know Jackie. Never heard about this place though. Indeed Rajasthan is lovely state.:)
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Yea.. It’s a small village in Jalore district.
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🙂
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Thanks for capturing the beauty of this tree arv! I had no idea about it…where do you gather so much information? Watching flowering trees during spring is a wonderful gift of Mother Nature! We have many around us but don’t know any names 🙂
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Its only once you start noticing things around you that information starts flowing in. All these years I never noticed the presence of assortment of tree around us. There have been some projects on trees whereby information was collated and put on website or book. Look up for trees of Delhi and trees of Pune on Google. You said it well, it’s a treat. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
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I wonder if this is related to the “Silk Floss Tree” I sometimes see planted here in S. California? They have very thorny trunks and similar looking flowers.
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Could be Peter. Though I have never heard about it. The name sounds similar too. It’s possible given that there are some variations given the geographical differences. 🙂
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The crimson against the sunny blue sky is a treat!:)
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Well said. The contrast looks great.
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Loved the post. Beautiful pics.
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🙂
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Wonderful colors and good info captured in your post.
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Thank you 😊
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Beautiful arv!
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Thank you Nicole. I’m happy that you liked it. 😊
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