Alstonia scholaris - in India (Delhi)
I can smell it everywhere in streets in Delhi, since end september... and I'm addicted ! ohh it's sweet spicy smell. Scholar Tree is an elegant evergreen tree, found in most parts of India. The generic name commemorates the distinguished botanist, Prof. C. Alston of Edinburgh, 1685-1760. The species name scholaris refers to the fact that the timber of this tree has traditionally been used to make wooden slates for school children. In October small, green yet fragrant flowers appear. Its bark, known as Dita Bark, is used in traditional medicine to treat dysentery and fever. In Ayurveda it is used as a bitter and as an astringent herb for treating skin disorders, malarial fever, urticaria, chronic dysentery, diarrhea, in snake bite and for upper purification process of Panchakarma . The Milky juice of the tree is applied to ulcers.
Saptaparna (Sanskrit, ‘seven-leaved’) TRADITIONAL USES: Since ancient times, the Alstonia scholars tree has been used to make paper in India and other parts of South Asia. The wood has also been made in to writing tablets (Miller 1985). These things help to explain the name of the species, scholaris, and show the strong connection that this plant has with written language and scholarship. In India, many tribal peoples believe that the dita tree is evil and avoid it completely. They say that the tree is inhabited by an evil spirit who will possess any individual who dares walk or sleep beneath it. This spirit is also said to kill any individual who chooses to sleep beneath its branches. Thanks to this belief, dita trees have been spared much of the destruction that has faced other species of tree in India
