Indian Trumpet Tree (Shyonaka)

Indian trumpet tree is a small deciduous tree of the Bignoniaceae family with very large, much-divided leaves, purplish flowers that open at night and smell unpleasant, and huge, flat, sword-shaped pods up to a metre long that hang from bare branches. It grows in moist forests across India, including Kerala, and Southeast Asia.

The root bark, called Shyonaka in Ayurveda, is one of the ten roots of Dashamula and is traditionally used in respiratory and digestive preparations and classical decoctions.