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.