Palash/Tesu Flower Powder

Also called palash, tesu or Flame of the Forest, the plant grows as a medium-sized tree and is a native to India. The tree grows up to 40 feet high and has a distinctive appearance due to its grey bark, irregular branches and crooked trunk. The pinnate leaves have three leaflets each, which also brings to the very famous Hindi saying, ‘dhaak ke teen paat.’  The tree doesn’t flower until January, and even its leaves fall until then. From January to March, the tree is laden with orange-vermillion flowers, which also lend it the most famous name, ‘The Tree of the Flame!’ The flowers have five petals with a beak-shaped keel. The keel also earns it another colloquial name- parrot tree. Birds are the main pollinators of the flowers. The flowers grow in clusters on leafless branches.