A type of tropical tree found in South Asia, known for its fragrant flowers and used in traditional medicine and perfumery.
From Sanskrit vakula, used in classical Indian texts to refer to this tree (Mimusops elengi). The word entered English through Sanskrit botanical nomenclature in colonial Indian botanical studies.
The bakula tree is so beloved in Hindu and Buddhist traditions that it appears in ancient poetry and is planted around temples—the Western world only learned about it through colonial botanists discovering what South Asians already knew.
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