Archana – Page 9 – Spice of Life!

10/06/202110/06/2021

Coffee (ThursdayTreeLove)

I have posted Coffee on my blog earlier and here it is again.

The reason for a repeat post on Coffee is because @puneribaker shared these lovely Coffee blossom images.. And I had to share them with all TTL bloggers!

Coffee belongs to the Coffea genus and to the Rubiaceae family.

Its flowers are extremely fragrant and grow in leaf axils. The leaves itself are oppositely placed on the stem and have a prominent interpetiolar stipule. This kind of stipule is a characteristic of this plant family.

Commercially, coffee is grown in tea estates under the shade of tall Silver Oak trees. In India, the Kodagu district in Karnataka is a prominent coffee growing region.

But plant lovers have procured and nurtured coffee plants in their gardens in other parts of India as well. The above images are from one such garden. The species grows well in Pune.. bears flowers and fruits (despite not being in its optimal weather conditions) thus keeping the plant parents are happy!!

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. We are meeting after a break and best wishes to Parul for recovery. Do head over to her blog to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

PS. Some other Rubiaceae members are Mussaenda , Morinda citrifolia and Mitragyna parviflora. They are popular garden varieties and I am sure you would have seen those.

18/05/202118/05/2021

Leaves (Wordless Wednesday)

Click here to read more about these leaves…

22/04/202118/05/2021

Fruit or Bowl (ThursdayTreeLove)

Kamamdalu, Beggars Bowl are just 2 of the common names of this tree of the Bignoniaceae family. Quite self explanatory I think! Calabash is yet another name this tree is known by.

The common names suggests that the fruit shell continues to be useful even after its pulp is consumed. Very few plants can boast that….coconut is one. Can you think of another?

This tree is Crescentia cujete and is seen around Pune mostly as a planted tree. It doesn’t grow very tall and bears flowers directly on its trunk. (This is referred to as Cauliflory. Jackfruit grows in this manner.) The large fruit seem too heavy for its stalk but it does a good job!! The evergreen species is originally from South America yet seems to be happy in our country!

Here is You Tube video of the same tree .. I have added this video as it gives a nice perspective of the plant and fruit.

Have you seen this Fruit-Bowl?

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

14/04/202114/04/2021

Sun Smiles (WordlessWednesday)

I spotted these beautiful flowers as I walked out of the apartment and could not resist pulling out my cell phone!

The Sunflowers reminded me of the Sun as we drew in school ..with a Smile.

These blooms seemed to smile and reassure me , offer me hope as the Pandemic groups the city.

Have you seen the Sunflowers smiling at you?.😁

I am joining Natasha in her WordlessWednedsay blog hop.

08/04/202119/04/2021

Fragrance Overload (ThursdayTreeLove)

As the heat increases at this time of the year, our trees and plants burst into new leaves and flowers. This makes every Nature Walk a magical experience for the splendid colours that it dons. Fragrant flowers and the crunch of dry leaves under our feet, add to this multi sensory joyous experience! After the glorious red leaves of Kusumb, the haunting sweet fragrance of Shirish flowers announce the trees’ celebration of a season change. It beckons you to stand below the tree and drown yourself in its sweetness.

**In March, on the tekdi, Shirish is among the few trees sprouting green and stands out from a distance**

**The Flower Up Close.. Pretty and Light and Fragrant!**

Shirish goes by the botanical name Albizia lebbeck of the Mimosaceae family. The flowers are curiously shaped and look like a bunch of delicate strands that would wilt if we touch. Greenish white in colour, each ‘flower’ is actually an inflorescence. These turn into broad green fruit that dries to white over the year. At any time, the Shirish always bears these white pods which rattle in the breeze.

**Standing under this row of Shirish is a heavenly experince.**

As luck will have it, I am unable to locate the image of the pods but I will get a new one and upload it here. 🙁

This species grows to a fairly large size and is common as an avenue tree in Pune. At times, it is confused with the Rain Tree (Samanea saman) also of the same family but the flower colour, pods are some of the distinguishing features.

Shirish is among my favourite species and in bloom right now. I am sure many of you would have seen it. Enjoy it’s flowering as the tree celebrates a season change.

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Head over to see fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in.

31/03/202131/03/2021

Two Moons (Wordless Wednesday)

Can you spot the Moon and it’s reflection?

The colour contrasts is what first caught my eye , but the Moons is what I wanted to capture in this image.

I hope I have succeeded!

I am joining Natasha in her WordlessWednesday bloghop.

25/03/202123/09/2021

Red (ThursdayTreeLove)

I had another post with the same title a few weeks ago. So yes, you dear readers, are right in wondering if you have reached the wrong page. But no, this is a different Red, just as spectacular.

I am talking about the spring foliage of a native tree called Kusumb or Schleichera oleosa. It belongs to the Sapindaceae family and is a treat to watch. This deciduous tree bursts into new leaf as winter ends and the tree dons a glorious red. It can be easily spotted from a distance.

The blaze of red one sees when travelling in the ghats in Maharashtra at this time of the year is most likely the Kusumb.

Here are some of the tantalising glimpses we got as we were returning home from a Botany field visit. Finally, we just had to stop and enjoy this beautiful foliage.

Capturing images from a moving bus is so difficult! This is just one Red that we whizzed past.

**All of us trying to capture the red in our cell phones.**

Here is the Kusumb from Pune from our Vetal Tekdi.

My phone camera does not do justice but the red is easily spotted among the bare trees, even from a distance!

**A good camera in the hands of a knowledgeable person captures such great images! Photo credit Pallavi Gharpure**

The Kusumb also bears flowers at this time but the leaves steal the show! Its fruit is very useful among them is being used to make a special kind of hair oil that encourages hair growth.

Schleichera oleosa finds a mention in Trees of Delhi and Jungle Trees of Central India … which means it grows in those regions as well.

Do try to see these gorgeous leaves..because they will turn green soon.

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

11/03/202123/09/2021

Wander Into Nature (ThursdayTreeLove)

And Nature, the old nurse, took

The Child upon her knee,

Saying: ‘Here is a story -book

Thy Father has written for thee.’

‘Come, wander with me’, she said,

‘Into regions yet untrod;

And read what is still unread

In the manuscripts of God.’

Longfellow The Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz

I came across these words recently on the first page of a book I am reading and they immediately reminded me of the Bhorgiri trek we took a few years ago. It was one of my first experiences of walking out in Nature and being the monsoon the experience was fantastic. One that I have craved for again and again. To feel free and to experience Nature as it is meant to be.

Here are a few images from that wonderful outing.

**Till date, I have not identified this tree.. And it was the only bare leafless one, surrounded by a profuse burst of green.**

**Some Orchid on the tree.. could not photograph properly due to the rain**

**We walked through a thick jungle, over rocks and gurgling streams.. the forest showed some of its mysteries to us..**

**The entire countryside was covered in a glorious green carpet..**

I did identify some trees and herbs, but the lasting impression was of the green countryside… Raw. Rejuvenated. Glorious.

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.

25/02/202123/09/2021

Golden Silk Cotton (ThursdayTreeLove)

The Golden Silk Cotton Tree is a wonderful harbinger of end of winters in my city. Its botanical name is Cochlospermum religiosum and belongs to the Bixaceae family. Some of its other common names are called Torchwood Tree, Buttercup Tree, Ganer, Sonali Simul. The name Golden Silk is probably from the silky fibers seen when the fruit bursts.

This bare tree on my walk route showing off it’s flowers!

The tree being deciduous in nature, drops all its leaves as winter begins. One begins to wonder if the bare tree will survive. But come January, with the first whisper of spring, the Ganer bursts into beautiful golden yellow flowers. They open before dawn and are said to be fragrant. I see them every year on the Vetal Tekdi but the blooms are usually very high up and impossible to reach till one drops down. A powerful camera can capture flower details but not its fragrance.

In a few months, the oval fruit develops and it rather looks like a Brinjal! It bursts to reveal seeds embedded in silky cotton.

Further, the Buttercup Tree has very pretty foliage as well .. the leaves are lobed and pleated are add to its beauty when in leaf.

This native tree is grows in the subcontinent and finds a mention in the book Jungle Trees of Central India by Pradip Krishen. It is on the cover of the book Aple Vruksha by Prof SD Mahanjan.

A page from the book *Jungle Trees of Central India by Pradip Krishen*. A must have for tree lovers! See the silky fibres inside a burst fruit (top right).

Strangely, several attempts to propogate this tree have failed.. from seed, cuttings and so on. Hence, one can see this plant only in the wild.

Have you seen the Golden Silk Cotton Tree? It grows on the hills of Pune and is still blooming. The golden flowers will beckon you from the bare branches around it! It is well worth the effort to trek up and enjoy these wonderful blossoms.

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

12/02/202125/02/2021

Red (ThursdayTreeLove)

One of the ( many) good things of ThursdayTreeLove is the visual treat of Fall colours – something that I want to see with my own eyes. Maybe some day. While we do have several deciduous trees here, they do not have such spectacular Fall colours . Instead we have many trees that throw out beautiful and amazing new foliage in Spring. But more about that another time.

The Terminalia catappa is one of our trees that does turn a brilliant red when it drops it leaves. Currently this species is most eye catching all over my city mainly for its red leaves as they prepare to fall off.

This native species is quite common in my city especially in gardens and by the roadsides.

**Ready to drop leaves. The distinctive tree outline can be seen here.**

The leaves are large, oval shaped and leathery in texture. Flowers are not showy but can be spotted easily if one looks for them. Terminalia catappa belongs to the Combretaceae family and is also commonly called Jungli Badam.

**The inflorescence peeps out from behind the leaves!**

Even without these red leaves, the Terminalia catappa is easily recognisable due to its distinctive growth pattern. The branches seem to grow in whorls stacked on top of each other.