Nature Quest: Blessings of Bohal

I escape from this concrete jungle called Dhaka whenever I can. Living in this unplanned city for a length of time renders one listless. Therefore I go back to the greenery to recharge myself. In other words, I keep going back to my roots where the dove sings on a rather dull noon. The rows of jarul trees by the canal wear a festive look, adorned with violet flowers. These treats for the senses are available almost all year round.

I remember firing the fruits of a particular kind into a bamboo pipe. These fruits were a good source of gum when ripe. We used the gum for making a whole bunch of things including envelopes and kites. The old trees that would bear these fruits have long been felled.

During my last trip home, I came across a young tree of that fruit which brought back all the memories. I saw bunches of ripened fruits at the back of our house. I touched the fruits and was rather delighted to notice their unique shapes.

Boula gota (Cordia dichotoma) is locally known as bohal, bohari, bohubora or larhora. They are deciduous trees of medium size and can grow up to 20 metres. They have a curved trunk, hanging branches and ash coloured barks. The leaves are straight and come in numerous sizes. The edges are wavy. The white flowers are fragrant and unisex. The oval shaped yellow fruits hang from the branches. The stones are also oval and are coated in a lucid sticky substance. The flowers bloom in February and the fruits ripen towards May-June. The trees provide timber, medicines and the material that can be used to make cloths.

The fruits are a favourite of the santhal tribe. The gum is used for making kites, hunting birds and covering books. In places, the kernels of the fruits are also used as food. They are good for treating skin diseases. The barks produce 20 percent tannin. The bark juice is a useful tonic for treating indigestion, diarrhoea, fever and the ailments of the stomach. The timber can be used for making boats, agricultural tools, and small furniture. The Lodha tribes of India use the barks for blisters.

These trees grow on their own in our forests. They grow in different south Asian countries and can be found as far as Australia.