A self-destructing flower that blooms just once in a hundred years has become centre of attraction in Burdwan town these days and the researchers and teachers of Botany mainly are seen making beeline to the Burdwan University campus where the tall ‘rare’ tree is standing alone counting its remaining days.
The tree has started blooming this week and Dr Sikha Dutta Sengupta, HoD, Botany, BU, claimed, “Its countdown has begun. It’s now set to die, for sure, within a few months.” It’s named as Centurion Palm, because, as Dr Dutta Sengupta said, “It blooms once in 100 years and dies after completion blooming. It takes seven to eight months to bloom fully.”
The tree with a ‘dangerous’ truth of death in blooming was first discovered in Madagascar. One such tree was identified by the Botanists within the Burdwan University campus a few years ago and the authorities had assumed that the former Bardhaman Maharajas had planted the saplings of this rarely visible palm tree here. Now, according to the local botanists, the flowers looking like a coronet started appearing from the top. The tree, according to the records in possession of the BU, is 82-year-old.
“Sri Lanka has honoured the palm tree as its national tree. In the ancient era, the leaves of this palm tree were used as ‘writing paoers’ and for that this rare tree has enormous historic value too,” said Dr Saikat Naskar, adding, “We must preserve the seeds of this tree carefully for further plantation.” Dr Naskar said that the seeds will burst with a noise like a firecracker and will spread a bad odor.