A much-branched, beautiful shrub, with fluted stems and long, spreading branches commonly occurring throughout North India and sometimes cultivated in gardens for its flowers, which are borne during summer. Bark is reddish brown, peeling off in to thin and fibrous strips. The leaves are lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate. The flowers are numerous, brilliant red in dense axillary, paniculate-cymose clusters. The capsules are ellipsoid, and membranous. The seeds are brown, minute, smooth and obovate.

A much-branched, beautiful shrub, with fluted stems and long, spreading branches, 1-3 m. high, rarely up to 7 m., commonly occurring throughout North India, ascending to an altitude of c. 1,500 m. in the Himalayas, but rather scarce in South India. It is sometimes cultivated in gardens for its flowers, which are borne during the summer months. Bark reddish brown, peeling off in thin, fibrous strips; leaves lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate; flowers numerous, brilliant red in dense axillary paniculate-cymose clusters; capsules ellipsoid, membranous; seeds brown, minute, smooth obovate.

Woodfordins A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and were identified from the flowers¹.

There is no adverse effect on usage of this plant.

The flowers have astringent and stimulant properties.

1. Yoshida, et. al., Chem. Pharm. Bull., 1990, 38, 1211; 1992, 40, 2023; Chem. Abstr., 1991, 114, 263170.