The district countryside wears an enchanting look with the flowers of Butea Monosperma, popularly known as flame of the forest, in full bloom everywhere.
From a distance, they resemble brightly-lit torches, given their orange colour. The trees stand out from others as they have more flowers than leaves.
It’s in this season that children in rural areas mash the flowers to extract juice, to be used as a colour to smear on each other on Holi. Many villagers grow the trees near their houses, but they are mostly found in the wilderness. The colour extracted from these flowers is also used in dyeing clothes and for other purposes as it has medicinal properties.
In Telangana region, these flowers are used in the worship of lord Siva on Sivaratri. The blooming of the flower heralds the spring season. Sankineni Jagannadha Rao, a resident of Lybarthi village of Wardhannapet mandal, said, “The blooming of Moduga flowers brings cheer to children in the village. The flowers indicate that Holi is round the corner. In the olden days, villagers used to collect these flowers for various purposes. But now they are losing interest in them.”
