November 21st, 2008
This tree is called the Rudrasksha in India. Its seeds are used to
make rosaries and necklaces for prayer and meditation. Is this tree
native to India and Nepal? Can this tree be grown in the USA?Hi jiten,
Thanks for the question. I started by doing my search on the botanical
name Elaeocarus Sanitro. Unfortunately I was unable to find anything
under this search. After searching using the keyword Rudrasksha I was
able to find something.
I am presuming that you mean the Rudraksha Tree, sometimes also called
Rudraksa. Searching with this keyword pulled out the botanical name
which is Elaeocarpus Ganitrus Roxb sometimes also known as Elaeocarpus
Sphaericus. Before the seeds are dried, they are a deep rich blue,
dried they become brown and are as you have said in your question used
as prayer beads. I found some further details of the tree here:
[ http://www.pharm.uu.nl/home/smit/ayurveda_e.htm#Elaeocarpus%20ganitrus%20*
]
It comes from the family Elaeocarpaceae.
I am presuming that you already know about the legends surrounding the
Rudraksha tree - that they are the tears of Lord Shiva in Indian
Mythology. Rudra means Shiva and Aksh means eye. However, judging by
your question I am presuming you are after some scientific facts of
the trees.
The following site gives various botanical information which you may
find useful:
[ http://flora_of_china.mirror.ac.cn/mss/volume12/Elaeocarpaceae-AGH_coauthoring.htm
]
It is as you have already mentioned in your question from India and
Nepal. It can also be found in Indonesia. Again from the site I
mentioned above it can be found in the following areas:
"Broad-leaf montane and valley rainforests; 400--1300 m. ?Guangdong,
Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan [Cambodia, NE India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand; Australia, Pacific Islands (Fiji)]. "
As to where they originated, the following site suggests it was
Indonesia where they first came from:
[ http://nationalbeadsociety.com/articles/rudraksa.html ]
"These plants are primarily found growing on the islands of Indonesia.
However, 15%-20% of the commercially grown plants are found growing
in Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, India."
It is also found growing in the Solomon Islands:
[ http://www.thewoodexchange.info/Country%20Data/Solomon%20Islands/resource2.html
]
Whilst looking for information on growing them in the USA I found
several dealers in exotic plants who can sell you seeds of the tree.
These sites are:
[ http://www.abonline.com/products/seeds_a.htm#e ]
[ http://www.banana-tree.com/ ]
It appears that the seeds themselves are quite rare. Getting fertile
seeds seem to be harder still, which explains the high price that
these exotic seed and plants sellers are able to put on the purchasing
of the trees. This company is selling five seeds for $9.95:
[ http://www.seedman.com/limited.htm ]
I couldn't find any specific information about the growth of the tree
in the USA. However the www.seedman.com site did say that this tree is
being grown in Hawaii. Judging by the various comments of I would
suspect that tropical conditions are required to grow this tree.
I hope that I have been able to answer your question.
Best Regards
Aziphirael
Search Terms Used:
Rudraksha
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Rudraksha ]
growing Rudraksha
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=growing+Rudraksha
]
Elaeocarpus Ganitrus Roxb
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Elaeocarpus+Ganitrus+Roxb
]
Elaeocarpus sphaericus
[ ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Elaeocarpus+sphaericus
]
growing Elaeocarpus sphaericus
[ ://www.google.com/search?q=growing+Elaeocarpus+sphaericus&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
]
Posted in ashcroftevans.com | edit