Rumduol

Small, creamy yellow flowers that smell strongest at dusk – in Khmer poetry a symbol of feminine beauty.

The rumduol is a shrub or small tree of the custard-apple family (Annonaceae), related to the cherimoya. It has dark green, elliptical leaves and small, globular flowers with three thick, creamy yellow petals, which open in the dry season. Their intense, sweet scent is strongest in the late afternoon and evening, and at night it carries far. The plant tolerates drought well and is widely planted in gardens and at temples.

Significance in the country

The rumduol was declared Cambodia’s national flower in 2005; in Khmer literature and songs it has long symbolised the beauty and gentleness of women. One of the most highly prized varieties of Cambodian jasmine rice – Phka Rumduol – is also named after it.

Where it grows

Throughout the country, mainly as a planted tree – in gardens, at pagodas and in the parks of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap; in the wild it grows in dry lowland forests.

More: Wikipedia (en)