Jacaranda
Jacaranda mimosifolia – Neelmohar/Purple Gulmohar
Family – Bignoniaceae; Non-native Tree – medium-sized (15-18m), deciduous; Leaves – compound, bipinnate, alternate, exstipulate; Flower – bisexual, purple, in panicle, during spring; Fruit – capsules
![Jacaranda](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2cb6bb_cf85a930403446f3b48ccbc32a56f283~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_97,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/shutterstock_2218454059.jpg)
This striking tall to medium-sized deciduous tree has rightly been called the Neelmohar, as a tribute to its brightly purple-blue blooms. Flowering in the hot summer months of April-May, the Jacaranda flowers offer solace to glazed eyes. The leaf is bipinnately compound, alternate arrangement. Flowers are large, tubular and purple, occurring in clusters, and the fruit is a round-shaped pod.
Gulmohar and Neelmohar have strikingly similar leaves – both have twice-feathered or bi-pinnate compound leaves. What sets them apart, apart from their flowers? Their pods! Gulmohar bears long sword-like flat beans while Jacaranda fruits are small and rounded. And their leaves have a fine difference, too – while the Gulmohar leaflets have rounded tips, that of the Neelmohar are sharply pointed. Also, Jacaranda side-stalk has an odd leaflet at the terminal end.
As per a scientific research Jacaranda flower extracts can be a natural source of antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds as it is rich in polyphenolic substances.