‘Kakke’ trees in Dakshina Kannada district starts flowering before season

Mangaluru: The ‘Kakke’ trees in the district, which usually flower in the months of March and April, have started to flower since the past few days due to the untimely rains.

In the district the flowers are a mark of the arrival of rains: it starts raining within a week or ten days after these trees start flowering.

The trees, however, started to bloom flowers in December and in less than two weeks there was rainfall in many parts of Mangaluru, Puttur, Belthangady and Bantwal taluks in the district.

The tree is also known as ‘Konde.’ During the Vishu festival in Kerala, idols of deities are adorned with flowers of the tree and its leaves along with gold and coins for poojas.

“The Kakke tree is known in English as Indian laburnum and its botanical name is cassia fistula. In Sanskrit it is called ‘Araghvadha.’ In Ayurveda, the trees’ bark peels are used to make the medicine ‘Dharishta.’ The trees’ bark, leaves, nuts, seeds and flowers are also be used in treating nausea, cough, leprosy, and cold,” said botanist M Dinesh Nayak.