In the towns, villages and haor areas of Moulvibazar, blood-red krishnachura and jarul flowers catch the eye in mid-Baishakh. Swaying in the breeze, the blossoms have added to nature's beauty, their red petals fluttering in the soft afternoon wind. Krishnachura is also called gulmohar, and it would be hard to find anyone who does not know it.

Krishnachura is native to Madagascar in East Africa, as the report puts it, but it grows in many countries including the Caribbean, Taiwan, southern China, Bangladesh and India. It is also found in the United States. In Bangladesh the flower blooms from April to June.

Although many kinds of flowers bloom in summer, krishnachura is drawing people's attention. It dominates beside the small and large roads and ponds of the river and haor areas. Krishnachura and jarul trees growing naturally can be seen at almost every village home, bearing red and purple flowers.

However, there are fewer krishnachura trees than before. Krishnachura grows where water collects, and a tree of 15-20 metres begins to flower at the start of summer once it has grown a little. For some years many people have been planting krishnachura in their yards or along roads as a hobby.

In Moulvibazar town and in Sreemangal, Rajnagar and Kamalganj upazilas, krishnachura flowers adorn roads, village dirt tracks, haor and riverbanks and various institutions. Sometimes a krishnachura stands alone, elsewhere with companions such as jarul and sonalu.

Nature lover Rakib Khan said: "In Baishakh, along with krishnachura, jarul and sonalu, many kinds of flowers bloom, some whose names we do not know. These flowers enchant nature for a few days. If everyone planted a tree instead of cutting them, nature would look even more beautiful."

Ferdous Ahmed, headteacher of Maijgaon Government Primary School in Kamalganj, said: "Our school has three huge krishnachura trees. The very old trees cover almost half the school. They are in flower now. Look up and the whole sky seems red; look down and it seems someone has spread a red carpet."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.