Theobroma (ThursdayTreeLove)

Chocolate or cocoa is omnipresent in our lives. We use to as a gift or a treat or a comfort food or to reward ourselves or on a cheat day of a diet!

It is made from the fruit of the Theobroma cacao trees. Though an introduced speices in India it is widely cultivated in the state of Kerala.

Here are its flowers. You can read the entire post here.

Stopping in my tracks (ThursdayTreeLove)

How many times have you stopped or detoured just to see a tree? It often happens to me and my family are now used to my (apparently) random calls to stop the vehicle.

One such tree (more like a large shrub) caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks.

🙂

This was on the curvy winding roads of Munnar. The tree was the Spiky Powder Puff

aka Calliandra calothyrsus of the Mimosaceae family.

Here it is.

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop.

Click here to read more.

Creeper or Tree (ThursdayTreeLove)

Todays plant is a massive woody liana (creeper) whose trunk can compete with that of any tree. Yes, I am referring to the Bauhinia vahlii of the Caesalpiniaceae family. Though it belongs to the foothills of the Himalayas there are two of them growing quite happily in Pune.

You can read the post here as well..

Here you go…

My image does not justice to the lianas foliage that has grown to cover all the tall trees in the Empress Garden
Pretty flowers

Have you seen this plant?

If you are unable to comment here, you can share your thoughts here.

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

SoapNut (ThursdayTreeLove)

Sharing a tree from Pune… many of us already know its fruit… the Reetha or Soapnut tree.

Read more about this tree here. Some images from the other post follow.

Compound Leaves

Reetha goes by the botanical name Sapindus emarginatus and belongs to the the Sapindaceae family.

This post is part of Parul’s ThursdayTreeLove blog hop.

I had several issues with posting on this space and issues with comments as well. Lets see how this post fares!

Tree Course (ThursdayTreeLove)

Here is yet another wonderful Tree Course.. oops.. I mean Golf Course .. from Pune.

Enjoying the trees at the course is one of the main reasons for me to accompany my husband for Golf.

You see see more images here.

This row of Ficus is the star attraction IMO. One of them has fallen but continues to flourish.

Please click here to see more images of this Golf Course.

In case you face difficulties in leaving your comments, please click here. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

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

Monsoon Fruit (ThursdayTreeLove)

As the mango season ends, its time for yet another fruit to capture our food senses! The Jamun or Syzygium cumini of the Myrtaceae family is available in plenty in June-July as the Alphonso harvest comes to an end.

The tree has just finished flowering and that is how it finds a place in my TTL post. The unique flowers are hidden among the glossy green leaves.

Jamun fruits are typically sold on hand carts in Pune

The fruit is delicate and crushes easily. Monsoon showers bring down some fruit that then colours it purple. Expert tree climbers are required to pluck the fruit from the trees. The fruit has a sharp taste and stains the mouth when eaten. It will also stain clothes if one is clumsy when eating!

Jamun is not among my favourite fruit but those who do like it are its dedicated fans!

Have you seen the Jamun tree? Do you like Jamuns?

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

Despite my best efforts at trying to resolve commenting issues on this blog, some of you, dear readers, may find it difficult to share your thoughts. Please click here to leave your comments . I would love to hear from you. Thank you for your patience!