Krishnachura, Jarul and Sonalu Bloom Along Bangladesh's Hill Roads

In late May 2026, between mid-summer and the monsoon, krishnachura, jarul and sonalu trees lined the winding hill roads of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban with red, purple and yellow. A feature published by Jagonews24 on 29 May described the display, which was drawing tourists and photographers to Bangladesh's hill districts.

According to the report, krishnachura was especially striking along the Kaptai road in Rangamati, the hill roads of Sajek and the Nilachal area of Bandarban, where from a distance the green hills seemed to be on fire, the colour growing brighter in the afternoon light. For local people the flower also signals the change of season, and for many Bengalis it carries memories of school and college, songs and poems.

Krishnachura is Delonix regia, known in English as royal poinciana or flame tree. A member of the bean family (Fabaceae), it is native to Madagascar. Each flower has four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals and a fifth upright petal spotted with yellow and white. In India it starts flowering in April and reaches full bloom in May. A University of Florida extension fact sheet describes its red-orange flowers literally covering the treetops from May to July. In Bangladesh the tree is known as one of the symbols of the Bengali month of Boishakh.

If krishnachura stands for exuberance, the report said, jarul is a quieter beauty. Its clustered blooms look from afar like purple clouds scattered over the slopes and are at their best in the dewy morning light. Around Kaptai Lake in Rangamati its colour is especially admired, and photographs of hill jarul are popular on social media.

Jarul is Lagerstroemia speciosa, the giant crepe-myrtle or pride of India. Native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, it grows up to 15 metres tall and carries upright clusters of bright pink to light purple flowers. Its main flowering season runs from April to June, with a second flush in July and August, so its colour lasts for much of the season. In Bangladesh its young leaves are also eaten as a vegetable.

Kaptai Lake itself is man-made. It was created in Rangamati district when the Kaptai Dam was built on the Karnaphuli River for the Karnafuli Hydropower Station; work on the reservoir began in 1956 and was finished in 1961.

Sonalu's hanging clusters of yellow flowers are like ornaments along the hill roads, and when they fall it looks as if gold is raining down, which is why many know it as the golden shower tree. The report singled out sonalu on the hill roads of Bandarban, and noted that in many hill villages the tree is seen as a sign of good fortune.

Sonalu, Cassia fistula, is also called bandarlathi in Bengali. Another member of the bean family, it is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Its yellow flowers, 4 to 7 cm across with five petals, hang in racemes 20 to 40 cm long and open in hot, dry weather in late spring and early summer. Bees and butterflies pollinate them, especially carpenter bees (Xylocopa). The flowers give way to dark brown, cylindrical pods about two feet long. Sonalu is the national tree and national flower of Thailand.

According to the report, the flowering season brings more visitors to the hills; people in the tourism trade said hotels, resorts and boat trips get busier at this time. Photographers wait for hours to catch the blossoms at dawn or dusk, hill children play with the fallen flowers, and the three trees appear in local songs, poems and folk tales.

The report also warned that some tourists carelessly pick the flowers or damage the surroundings, and that deforestation, hill cutting and unplanned construction are reducing tree cover in many places. Trees such as krishnachura, jarul and sonalu give birds shelter and help keep the environment in balance, so its advice to visitors was simple: enjoy the flowers and leave them on the tree.

Photo: Balaram Mahalder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), Wikipedia