The Shimul's Dance Through the Seasons

Shimul is a very familiar flower to us. So when you pronounce the word Shimul, the first thing that comes to mind is its blood-colored appearance. The English name of Shimul is Silk Cotton Tree. Bengali names: Shimul, Rakta Shimul, and Lal Shimul. Scientific name: B. ceiba. Deciduous cotton-producing plants belong to the genus Bombax. This tree grows in abundance in Bangladesh, India, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is about 15-20 meters in length.

Its branches are relatively small. Straight and circularly spread all around. The bark has thorns. The tip of the spine is narrow and sharp, and the base is quite thick. The structure of the leaves is similar to the claws of the hands spread out in the bud. Its leaves are 7 to 11 cm wide. At the end of winter, the leaves of this tree fall. Flower buds appear in Phalgun month, and large and brightly coloured red flowers bloom in Chaitra month. Then the leaves start growing. The flower petals are 10 to 12 cm long. It has many stamens. Its pistils are longer than the stamens. It has a mochakriti fruit, and the fruit ripens in the month of Baisakh, and the fruit bursts to reveal seeds and cotton. The seed colour is black. Shimul is used to make cotton sheets, mattresses, etc. These are Silk Chimul, Red Chimul, Kapok Chimul, Pahari Chimul, and Mozambique Chimul. Chimul is a perennial herbaceous plant. In the fields of Bengal, on the side of the road, the shimul tree grows with disrespect and neglect. It usually grows when water is available during a monsoon. Fast-growing tree. In just 4 to 5 years, the surrounding mango-jackfruit trees can surpass 20 to 25-year-old mature trees in height.

For six months of the year, the shimul tree is adorned with green leaves. Green leaves turn yellow at the beginning of the Hemant. At the beginning of winter, all the leaves fall, and the tree becomes completely bare. In spring, when other trees are blooming, only the buds emerge from the shimul tree. That feels good. Otherwise, the beauty of Shimul leaves would have paled to their flowers. The opposite could have happened. The shimul flower colour is dark red. Sometimes pale red flowers are also seen.

But due to a lack of stove water, Again, a kind of golden shimul can be seen. But I don't have the slightest knowledge about it, avoiding its description. Shimul flowers are bell-shaped. There are five petals. Petals are dense and well-furnished. Flowers can be 5 to 7 inches in diameter. A petal should be at least 4 inches long when measured. The petals are quite thick. At least as thick as a glass teacup. Shimul flower also weighs a lot due to its extra thickness. Each flower will weigh 30 to 50 grams. I think Shimul is the only tree whose branches bend under the weight of flowers.