Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L. - syn. Parilium arbor-tristis (L.) Gaertn. - Oleaceae
parijat, harsinghar (hindi), night-flowering jasmine, coral jasmine, tree of sorrow, sad tree
Shrub or small tree, up to 10m high, native to India, Pakistan, Nepal, cultivated since ancient times for its fragrant flowers, naturalized elsewhere; bark grey or greyish-green; leaves opposite, up to 10cm long and 5cm broad; flowers fragrant, corolla five- to eight-lobed, waxy white with orange-red centre.
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200017801
https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?25424
The flowers open in the evening, but drop with dawn, making the tree looking sad during the day with all the flowers on the ground. Main components of the flower scent are methyl anthranilate (10.4%), methyl benzoate (10.7%), and (E)-ocimene (7.3%). There are many minor olfactory interesting constituents, including oximes like isobutanal oxime (0.6%), 2-methylbutanal oxime (3.2%), and isovaleraldehyde oxime (2.4%); esters like ethyl butanoate (2.8%), ethyl isovalerate (1.3%), (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl isobutanoate (0.8%), (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl isovalerate (0.2%), (E)-2-hexen-1-yl butanoate (0.8%), (E)-2-hexen-1-yl 2-methylbutanoate (0.3%), (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl tiglate (0.2%), (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl benzoate (0.3%), (E)-3-hexen-1-yl benzoate (0.3%), and (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl salicylate (0.2%); furthermore limonene (2.3%), benzaldehyde (2.4%), linalool (2.6%), 2-methyl-1-nitrobutane (1.7%), dihydro-β-ionone (1.0%), and β-ionone (0.3%) e.g.
[Meaningful Scents around the World, Roman Kaiser, Zürich 2006, 169-170 and 244-245]
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L.; Koorders, S.H., Valeton, T., Atlas der Baumarten von Java, vol.4 t.663 (1918) [M. Mangoendimedjo]
http://www.plantgenera.org/taxa.php?id_taxon=9129
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis flower at Madhurawada in Viskhapatnam, Author: Adityamadhav83
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Nyctanthes_arbor-tristis)_flower_at_Madhurawada_02.JPG