Bananas (ThursdayTreeLove)

When walking on the road, discarded Banana skins are a big hazard in addition to indisciplined traffic, poor pavements etc. I always keep my eyes on the ground when walking .. besides spotting stuff I am likely to slip on, I am very often rewarded. 
Yes Rewarded!
How?
By sighting some fallen flower or fruit which is the tree calling attention to itself! 


Recently I was happy to see what looks like a discarded Banana skin. 
A closer look revealed it to  be the Muchkunda flower. Of course the pervading fragrance immediately confirmed its identity. 

Banana skin?

It goes by the botanical name of Pterospermum acerifolium and belongs to the Sterculiaceae family (Cocoa family). There is some confusion about exact the specific name so lets just say it belongs to the Pterospermum genus. 


The leaves are large and typically Peltate which means the petiole is not attached to the end of the leaf but nearer the centre. This is clearly seen in the image above. According to this Indian Express article, the tree is also called Dinner Plate Tree as the leaves are threaded together to create a plate!


These are night blooming flowers which are pollinated by bats. 
A handsome native species that demands attention and a sight for sore eyes. 

Notice the fruit which is a woody capsule

Have you seen the Muchkunda? 

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

4 Replies to “Bananas (ThursdayTreeLove)”

  1. Why haven't I seen this flower? And you are right. So similar to a banana peel. This is so beautiful. I will keep an eye out here in Bangalore. Thanks for joining, Archana. I hope to see you on the 27th.

  2. I've never seen this flower before. Thanks for shedding light and sharing these pictures. I hope they are found in Bangalore as well.

    Visiting from:
    theskygirl.com/2019/07/04/a-beautiful-tree-in-osaka-thursdaytreelove/

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