Joyfully ...

Scientific name: Michelia champaca

The joy perfume tree is native to South East Asia. the fragrance of the flowers is very typical and is used in perfume industry. This flowers is offered to gods in religious customs in India. Women and girls love to wear it on the hair. This is an evergreen tree growing luxuriously, which grows upto a height of 20 m. The bark is light grey to brown. The petals are loosely arranged around a staminal disc. The yellowish orange flowers attract birds and ever there is a poem in Kannada which states that the koel which comes and sings by sitting on the branches of this tree is because the tree and flower has mesmarised the koel! I took this photograph on 20th January, 2012 near my house in Mysore. In America, Champa flower is used to make one of the most expensive perfumes - Joy!!