Nature Quest: Dhaira, the parasite shrub

I came across Dhaira for the first time on an old mango tree in my grandpa's place in my childhood. At that time I did not bother about its birth history. The tree wore a reddish look with the hanging Dhaira flowers. Could the mango flowers look thus, I wondered. The withered flowers would fall under the tree, which would provide playthings for us. I sort of rediscoverd that flower of my childhood in the National Botanical Garden. They are thriving hale and hearty in a couple of tall trees in the National Botanical Garden and Ramna Park of Dhaka. Finding Dhaira takes a careful spotter as tall branches of grown up trees are where they grow and live. A casual look at the tree gives the impression that a tiny bush of live creepers have settled on the branches!

These are parasitic shrubs.They are (Dendrophthoe falcata) better known as manda or bandha. Full-grown mango trees are their favorite address. At times they are found in raintree, mahoghany, rubberbat or jackfruit trees. Nawajesh Ahmed in his book Banglar Banophool reports seeing them in large numbers in the mango orchards in Chapainawabganj. Another variety is fairly available in the Himalayan belt. Their bright yellow flowers come into blossom at the very outset of winter. They remain largely invisible for the rest of the year. The roots clutch the home branches. The thick leaves spread crosswise. The flowering season spans from December to April. The tubes of the tufted flowers are bright red with greenish mouths, four long roundish with delicate, about three cm tall, completely blooming petals are hairy and deep reddish in colour. They breed through birds. The seeds spread wherever the birds rub their beaks after having the fruits. At times the aggression of this plant may harm the host tree. The bark and leaves are of great medicinal value. There are 31 species of them in the world under this genus. They are found in the largest numbers in Australia, Africa and Asia. Seven species are found in greater India. They have basic similarities with a few species of ficus. Around seventy years ago an extensive research on the worth of Dhaira was conducted in a number of countries including India. The basic difference of Dhaira with other trees is that they depend on other trees for their growth and survival. In that sense, they are similar to orchid and ficus. Ficus, however, can grow without the help of other trees.