Four rare Nagalingam or Naglingam trees at Azim Uddin High School premises of Kishoreganj have adorned the educational institution with special beauty and flavour. The flower of the tree is designed like the hood of a snake. The Bangla/Sanskrit word ‘Nag’ means snake that is why the name Nagalingam has been given to the name of the tree according to the shape of the flower, it is assumed.
The flowers of Nagalingam mainly sprouted during the Summer but even at the end of Spring, the trees are full of flowers. A huge number of people daily visit the school premises to watch the rare trees and the flowers.
Unlike other trees, the flowers of Nagalingam are seen to sprout from the trunk or body ( branch) of a tree, not from the end of branches of the tree. By watching a Nagalingam tree full of flowers, it is usual to think a huge tree trunk has been decorated with colourful flowers.
The flowers also emit intense scent- a mixed scent of Rose and the Lotus. But the fruits of the trees are large, round-shaped like that of hard balls. In English, the fruit is called Cannon Ball.
There are examples of many injuries and even death from the falling effect of the Nagalingam fruits on the heads of men and animals. The fruit is not consumable to the people of the region.
A Nagalingam tree can grow to 35-metre long, its branches are also thick with elongated leaves. The scientific name of Nagalingam is Couroupita Guianensis which is originated from South America.
The leaves of Nagalingam is used as herbal medicine. Drugs of various diseases are learnt to be prepared from the leaves, barks and flowers of this tree.
To the Buddists people, Nagalingam tree is regarded as a sacred tree that is why a large number of the trees are seen in front of Buddhists temples in Thailand, India, Srilanka and Myanmar.