plants with religious significance

1. A total of 22 plants having religious significance as YES
List of plants
Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
Cedrus
deodara
Deodar
Cedar
देओदार
These are evergreen
conifers known for
their ornamental
value and broadly
used as timber. their
wood has aromatic
smell with red or red-
tinged colour and is
decay-resistant and
insect-repellent.
Among Hindus it
is worshipped as a
divine tree,
particularly in
Kashmir and
Punjab villages, as
the name deodar
suggests. The first
half of the word
deva means the
words divine,
deity, deus, and
Zeus and the
second part
connotes durum,
druid, tree, and
true.
Several Hindu
legends refer to
this tree. In
Valmiki Ramayan
Forests full of
Devadaru trees
were the favorite
abode or living
place of ancient
Indian sages and
their families who
were devoted to
Hindu god Shiva
for whom they
performed very
difficult tapasya
(meditation) to
please him.

2. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
Mimusops
elengi
Spanish
cherry,
Bullet wood
बकु ल
Bakul,
मौलसरी
Maulsari
The tree is used in
rest of the world for
its hard wood. In
India, it is also used
to make garlands
from its fragrant
flowers. It finds use
in many Ayurvedic
products. especially
those for oral health.
Lord Krishna is said
to have played his
flute under Bakul
trees attracting young
women. The tree is
said to flower when
sprinkled with nectar
from the mouths of
beautiful women.
(Source: Wikipedia,
Flowers of India)
It is said that Lord
Krishna liked
Bakul flowers very
much. He used to
play his flute
underneath a
Bakul tree in
Vrindavan and the
milkmaids used to
get attracted
towards the sound
of the flute. Even
today, Bakul
flowers are offered
during the worship
of Lord Krishna.
The ancient poet
Kalidasa
mentioned the
Bakul tree in his
creation
Meghdoot. The
plant is also listed
in Charaka
Samhita and
Shushruta Samhita
as having
medicinal
properties.
Jasminum
sambac
Jasmine
बेला Bela,
मोतिया
Motiya,
मोगरा
Mogra
Jasminum sambac is
a species of jasmine
native to
southwestern and
southern Asia, in the
Philippines, India,
Myanmar and Sri
Lanka. It is grown
mainly as an
ornamental plant due
to its fragrant and
beautiful flowers.
Jasmine flowers
are used in many
religious occasions
as offerings to
Gods. Garlands
made from
Jasmine flowers,
as shown above,
are adorned by
women during
special occasions.

3. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
Nelumbo
nucifera
Water Lily,
Lotus,
Sacred
Lotus, East
Indian Lotus
कमल
Kamal
The Indian Lotus,
also known as the
Sacred Lotus, is a
culturally significant
plant in many Asian
cultures in general
and Indian culture in
particular. It is a plant
native to the Indian
subcontinent, but
now is found as an
ornamental plant
worldwide. The
Lotus is considered a
symbol of devotion
and purity. It is the
seat of Goddess
Lakshmi, Goddess
Saraswati, Lord
Vishnu and Lord
Brahma. The flowers
of Lotus have several
medicinal properties
as per Ayurveda.
Lotus is also the
national flower of
India.
Lotus is a symbol
of purity and
innocence. It is the
seat of Goddess
Saraswati,
Goddess Lakshmi,
Lord Vishnu and
Lord Brahma. It is
most significantly
associated with
Lord Brahma.
Lotus flowers are
used as offerings
in Indian temples.
Phyllanthus
emblica
Indian
Gooseberry,
Amla
आमला
Amla
Phyllanthus emblica
or Indian Gooseberry
is a species
commonly known for
its fruit called Amla.
The fruit has one of
the highest
concentrations of
Vitamin C (160 times
more than apple) and
thus is reputed as a
strong antioxidant.
Amla finds uses in
many medicinal and
cosmetic products,
Significance in
worship of
Goddess Lakshmi

4. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
especially those for
hair such as hair oils
and tonics. Amla fruit
is used in Indian
cooking mainly as
pickles or as mouth-
freshners. It is also a
constituent of the
popular Dabur
Chawanprash.
Saraca
indica
Ashoka
अशोक
Ashok
Saraca indica or the
Ashoka tree is an
important plant from
a religious and
cultural point of view
in India. The tree has
beautiful red flowers
and a dense foliage
which makes it seem
stately to its
devotees. The tree is
a symbol of fertility
in Indian culture and
has been recently
shown to provide
relief to women
during menstruation.
The tree is revered in
Hinduism and
Buddhism and is
frequently found in
royal palace grounds
or near temples.
Jainism
The ashoka tree is
closely associated
with the Yakshi
mythological
beings. One of the
recurring elements
in Indian art, often
found at gates of
Buddhist and
Hindu temples, is
the sculpture of a
Yakshi with her
foot on the trunk
and her hands
holding the branch
of a flowering
ashoka tree. As an
artistic element,
often the tree and
the Yakshi are
subject to heavy
stylization. Some
authors hold that
the young girl at
the foot of this tree
is based on an
ancient fertility
symbol.
The ashoka tree
has a symbolic
importance in

5. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
Buddhism. Queen
Māyā of Sakya is
said to have given
birth to the
Buddha under an
ashoka tree in a
garden in
Lumbini.
According to
tradition, the
queen walked in
the garden until
she came to an
ashoka tree to take
a rest. Then the
tree magically bent
down for her and
she grasped a
branch. At that
moment the
Buddha emerged
from her right
side.
Yakshis under
ashoka trees were
also important in
early Buddhist
monuments as a
decorative element
and are found in
many ancient
Buddhist
archaeological
sites. With the
passing of the
centuries the
yakshi under the
ashoka tree
became a standard
decorative element
of Hindu Indian

6. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
sculpture and was
integrated into
Indian temple
architecture as
salabhanjika,
because there is
often a confusion
between the
ashoka tree and
the sal tree
(Shorea robusta) in
the ancient
literature of the
Indian
Subcontinent.
This tree is also
regarded with
veneration in
Jainism. In the
Jain tradition
Mahavira is said to
have renounced
the world under
this kind of tree in
Vaishali.
In Hinduism the
ashoka is
considered a
sacred tree. Not
counting a
multitude of local
traditions
connected to it, the
ashoka tree is
worshipped in
Chaitra, the first
month of the
Hindu Calendar. It
is also associated
with Kamadeva,

7. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
the Hindu god of
Love, who
included an
Ashoka blossom
among the five
flowers in his
quiver. Hence, the
ashoka tree is
often mentioned in
classical Indian
religious and
amorous poetry,
having at least 16
different names in
Sanskrit referring
to the tree or its
flowers.
In Mahākāvya, or
Indian epic poetry,
the ashoka tree is
mentioned in the
Ramayana in
reference to the
Ashoka Vatika
(garden of Ashoka
trees) where
Hanuman first
meets Sita.
Santalum
album
Indian
Sandalwood,
White
Sandalwood
चन्दन
Chandan
Sandalwood is an
economically
important plant and
has been cultivated
for several centuries
for the fragrance of
its oil. Due to
extensive and
sometimes, illegal
cutting of native
Sandalwood trees,
this species has
become vulnerable to
The heartwood of
Sandal is used in
religious pujas to
make "Chandan
pastes". These
pastes are applied
to the forehead of
gods and of the
worshipers.
Sandalwood oil is
also used in
incense sticks used
in such pujas. The

8. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
extinction. S. album
is native to
South/South-East
Asia, possibly
Indonesia. Another
species Santalum
spicatum is native to
Australia.
oil is also offered
in the sacred
Yajna fires.
Ocimum
tenuiflorum
Holy Basil,
Indian Basil
िुलसी
Tulsi
Ocimum tenuiflorum
or Tulsi is one of the
most sacred plants in
Hinduism. The plant
has several medicinal
properties. It is found
throughout India.
Tulsi, which is
Sanskrit for "the
incomparable
one", is worshiped
throughout India,
most often
regarded as a
consort of Vishnu
in the form of
Mahalakshmi.
There are two
types of Tulsi
worshiped in
Hinduism—
"Rama Tulsi" has
light green leaves
and is larger in
size; "Krishna
Tulsi" has dark
green leaves and is
important for the
worship of
Vishnu. Many
Hindus have tulsi
plants growing in
front of or near
their home, often
in special Tulsi
pots. It is also
frequently grown
next to Vishnu
temples, especially
in Varanasi.

9. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
In the ceremony of
Tulsi Vivah, Tulsi
is ceremonially
married to Vishnu
annually on the
eleventh bright
day or twelfth of
the month of
Kartika in the
lunisolar calendar.
That day also
marks the end of
the four month
cāturmāsya period,
which is
considered
inauspicious for
weddings and
other rituals, and
so the day
inaugurates the
annual marriage
season in India.
The ritual lighting
of lamps each
evening during
Kartika includes
the worship of the
Tulsi plant, which
is considered
auspicious for the
home. Vaishnavas
especially follow
the daily worship
of Tulsi during
Kartika.
Vaishnavas
traditionally use
japa malas made
from tulsi stems or

10. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
roots, which are an
important symbol
of initiation. Tulsi
malas are
considered to be
auspicious for the
wearer, and
believed to put
them under the
protection of
Vishnu or Krishna.
They have such a
strong association
with Vaishnavas,
that followers of
Vishnu have long
been called "those
who bear the tulasi
round the neck".
Curcuma
longa
Common
Turmeric
हल्दी
Haldi
Curcuma longa or
Turmeric is a plant
with high medicinal
and cultural value in
India. The rhizome of
the plant has
medicinal properties.
The dried root is
ground into a powder
which is used on
several religious
occasions in
Hinduism. India is
the largest producer
of Turmeric in the
world. (Adapted from
Wikipedia)
Turmeric paste is
applied to the
body of the bride
before marriage to
cleanse the body
and make it more
radiant. On
religious
occasions,
Turmeric is
applied to the
forehead of
devotees and also
the forehead of the
statues of gods.
Hiptage
benghalensis
Hiptage,
Helicopter
flower
माधवी
लिा
Madhavi
Lata,
Hiptage benghalensis
is a plant native to
India and South-East
Asia. It forms woody
creepers called lianas
Vrindavan, atleast
in olden times,
was full of this
plant and it created
a beautiful

11. Species
name
Common
name
Name in
Hindi
Introdescription Religion
Religious use
description
Is this
a
native
plant?
अतिमुक्ि
Atimukta
and spreads quite
rapidly, making
thickets and
smothering
vegetation. Thus, it is
considered a weed in
many parts of the
world. In India, this
plant has
mythological
association with Lord
Krishna in
Vrindavan. It is also
cultivated for its
fragrant and beautiful
flowers.
atmosphere, with
its fragrant and
three-colored
flowers. It was
said that those
who desired peace
came to
Vrindavan, one of
the reason being
the presence of
Atimukta or
Hiptage trees.