Dhaka, May 18 – Changed climate conditions not only make life full of uncertainties at times, but also befool plants and trees. Mostly cloudy sky with intermittant rainall of the last fortnight has made this neolamarckia cadamba tree in Dhaka City to unfurl flowers three weeks and a half ahead of time.
Flowers were seen blooming on Thursday 18 May which is the 4th of the Bangla month of Jaistha that precedes the month of Asharh that heralds the season of incessant rainfall.
The normal time for the neolamarckia cadamba to flower is the first of the Bangla month of Asharh which is still three weeks and a half away.
Changed climatic conditions befooling plants and trees is not a new phenomenon. The day and night temperature and the humidity content of the air plus an overcast sky causing intermittant rainfall which are normal for the onset of the Bangla month of Asharh has made this plant to read a wrong message and bear the flowers.
This tree located inside the Rournalist Residential Area on Kalso Road in Mirpur 11 has been befooled by changed climatic conditions not for the first time. In the last few years too the tree was seen bearing the nice looking flowers which mark the advent of the rainy season in Bangladesh.
Apart from giving flower before the onset of the season, the tree in the last few years was found to bear flower also in Asharh unless climatic conditions of the month was just the reverse what it should be on normal average.
The neolamarckia cadamba, with English common names burflower-tree, laran, and Leichhardt pine, and called kadam in Bangladesh. It is an evergreen, tropical tree native to Bangladesh and grows naturally from seeds that are also spread naturally.
The tree is extremely popular for about a week when its flowers are in full bloom. People specially young ones climb the tree pluck the flowers which also have sweet fragrance and take those home. Some people also sell kadam phul for money. Young ladies find the flower very useful for adding flavour to hair do. – Mostafa Kamal Majumder
