संध्या फूल / संझा फूल - Four O' Clock Flowers

Sandhya Flower / Sanjha Flower - Four O' Clock Flowers

Sandhya flower / Sanjha flower
commonly known as '4 O clock' flowers
in English

     

                It is one of the flowers of worship that comes to bloom at evening nearly at 4 p.m. and remains fresh till morning. That is why it has got its common name as "Four O Clock Flower". In Hindi it is called "Sandhya Flower" or "Sanjha Flower", both means as 'Evening Flower". But as the sun begins to go up in the sky these flowers start wilting and by the noon they get shrunk. They are fit for the evening worship and early morning worship. But the flowers plucked in the morning can not be kept whole day long for worship. These flowers are very tender.  

              It is found in many colors, so can be offered to different Hindu Gods according to their favorite colors. Common colors are plain yellow, red, white and pink. But if there are plants more than one of these colors present in a garden, the next generation of plants may bear flowers that have spots or patches of different colors. Even on a single plant one may find flowers that are of different colors. It is a very popular flower because it is not only used in worships but also as an ornamental plant. These herbs grow up to a height of three ft and are also suitable for hedges. The flowers have a lovely fragrance.   

                Sandhya Flower plants need sunshine and moisture. They can be easily grown in tropical and warm temperate zones. Each flower bears a single fruit which looks like a seed without any outer cover, pulp or shell. They look similar to black peppers but larger three to four times in size. Plants can be grown from seeds even in flower pots. They are perennial plants that require warmth. Come the winter and they die in the first frost. But in the spring the plants will regrow from its tubular roots.  

                One peculiar phenomenon to this plant is related to changing color of the flowers. Take the yellow flower plant for example. As the plant matures the color of flowers on it gradually changes to dark pink. Similarly white flower plant gives light violet colored flowers on maturity.   

Uses other than worship                       

                   The plant and its flowers have medicinal uses and also used in food industry for coloring. To reduce inflammation the leaves are used. The juice of leaves are used to treat a wound like Tagetes flower plant leaves. The Sandhya Flower are used in food coloring and also to obtain an edible crimson dye to color cakes and jellies. The root is believed an aphrodisiac, diuretic and purgative.  

               So for the purpose of getting flowers of worship, plant these in your garden or in the flower pots. 

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