A khatta-meetha take on life around me through my presbiopic eyes!
I spotted this Mango tree in full bloom quite recently. Almost every branch and subbranch seems to have an inflorescence. They reminded me of tiny arrows that seem to have framed the tree almost creating a brilliant halo around it!
Actually almost all Mango trees are blooming right now. The profuse flowering suggests a bumper harvest but usually many of the flowers fall off (for various reasons) and the actual fruiting may be lesser than the number of flowers.
Here is an image of the inflorescence.
Have you noticed the Mango blossoming in your city?
While there are several varieites of mangoes, they are horticultural variants of Mangifera indica. Mango belongs to the Anacardiaceae family. Cashew and the Indian Ash Tree are also members of Anacardiaceae.
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still join in!
I am referring to Parkia biglandulosa which is locally called Chenduful belonging to the Mimosaceae family. Its a common avenue tree here and one realises its in bloom as one has to side step what look like furry balls when walking on the road. They obviously are not something kids have played with and one is compelled to look up. I have unfailingly been amazed to be looking up at what looks like tennis balls hanging down from the branches of the tree.
Each of these balls, is just the inflorescence and consists of several flowers. They remind me of tennis balls and I am still unable to understand why this Parkia is called Badminton Ball tree.. As far as I know, Badminton is played with a shuttlecock so…
Parkia biglandulosa is not native to India but I have seen it growing across the country even at one of our bases in the north east. Our daughter remembers playing with these blossoms and even preserving one of the furry balls in a box.. She still doesnt remember why and what happened to it later! More recently, one of the children in my Tree Walk group collected it as a memory of our walk!
A lovely tall tree with delicate leaves that reminds of the Gulmohor. I am sure most of you would have noticed these fallen ‘tennis balls’. If not, do look out for them as Parkia is still blooming at least here in my city!
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Do head over to see some great trees from around the world.
Better still, join in!
🙂
The gnarled trunks seem to be telling a story.. To me they convey the will to survive and succeed despite adversity..
What do these trees tell you?
Its the last week of 2018 folks. Here’s wishing all of you a very happy, healthy 2019, full of wonderful writing and reading!
🙂
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove Blog hop. Head over to see some incredible trees from around the world. Better still, join in!
My walks take me to an urban forest, which is protected to some extent. It mainly consists of Glyricidia sepium but some natives have survived and continue to thrive. This forest is a popular spot for health walkers on a daily basis and on weekends for bird watchers and photographers. Besides keeping up the heart rate and covering my mandatory distance, I keep a look out for the flora and it has paid rich dividends in helping me identify trees.
Today I am sharing a tree that I have seen growing only in the hills of Pune (of course, it does grow in other parts of India). It is locally called Dhawda and is a species of the Anogeissus genus of the Combretaceae family. I have not managed to identify down to to the specific name but based on descriptions in the book “आपले वृक्ष” by Prof SD Mahajan, I think it could be Anogeissus latifolia. It is a native species which is decidious in nature.
Surprisingly they are not found all over the hill forest but only in some sections.. maybe it has something to do with the underlying soil/rock which may have created a unique habitat suitable for this species. The plant grows to about 15 feet and its light coloured bark has whitish spots. Leaves are subopposite The tree becomes almost leafless in winter and then breaks into delicate inconspicuous flowers somewhere in March. The fruit is spiny , green initially and turns brownish red later.
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| Fruit |
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| Subopposite leaves |
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| Whitish spots on the trunk |
A beautiful tree in whatever the season! Growing as they do in a protected area (for now), these trees seem to be happy here. I hope and pray they continue to grow and prosper in this habitat! While all trees are beautiful it is important to nurture natives.
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Head over to see some beautiful trees from around the world. Better still, join in!
