Tag: #ThursdayTreeLove

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Cannon Ball Tree (ThursdayTreeLove)

Kailaspati, Lecyhidaceae, Couroupita

This beautiful tree with glorious fragrant flowers growing out of its main trunk goes by the unlikely common name “Cannon Ball Tree”. This is due to its large round fruit resembling cannon balls.  Its botanical name is Couroupita guianensis and the species has been introduced in India. The tree belongs to the Lecythidaceae family. 

The flowers are uniquely shaped almost like a Shivalinga. Hence the tree also goes by the common name Kailaspati. When plucked, the highly fragrant pretty flower stays fresh in a bowl of water for a day. 




In sharp contrast, the fruit is filled with a foul smelling substance. If you look closely, some fruit are visible and seem to be strung on the trunk. If one of them falls on someone’s head, it can cause an injury! 

Kailaspati is native to the Amazon rainforest but seems to be happy in India considering its gregarious flowering and fruiting! It grows to be quite tall and is an imposing sight!


I am joining Parul‘s #ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see some wonderful trees from around the world!

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Twisted Trunk (ThursdayTreeLove)

Tree trunk, IUCCA, SPPU
Twisted trunk

What could have been the reason for this twisted tree trunk? Considering its pretty huge and old, and growing in the open, I am sure the curves must be natural.


One of my first posts on the ThursdayTreeLove was Sleeping Trees that I saw in Moscow. Just as I could not figure out the reason for those ‘sleeping’ trunks, I simply cant find an explanation for this.


Here is another image.






Bonsai artists often ‘wire’ trees for which they face a lot of criticism. Surely no such intervention was done here. Yet the trunk has acquired wonderful curves that simply will stop you in your tracks.


What do you think?


I am joining Parul in her #ThursdayTreeLove39 bloghop. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world. 

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Curves and Lines (ThursdayTreeLove)

Palm, Unusual tree, Pune

This tree has literally got my attention each and every time I pass by. So much so that I have to be cautioned to pay attention to traffic as it is located on my cycle route! 


It is a Palm and quite and old one I think. For some reason, it has this twisted trunk. I can only speculate why this may have happened. Some storm perhaps. Or maybe there used to be some other structure there and the tree for some reason chose to grow around it…


Whatever maybe the case, its curves and lines are striking! Agree?


I am joining Parul in her #ThursdayTreeLove38 blog hop. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world. Better still, join in! 

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Golden Leaves (ThursdayTreeLove)

My tree for today stands out green in the dry deciduous jungle .. its quite inconspicuous otherwise and easy to miss unless one looks carefully.. Its the Apta tree .. In Maharashtra, family members exchange Apta leaves on day of Vijayadashami or Dusshera. Going by the botanical name of Bauhinia racemosa, it belongs to the Caesalpinia family (Gulmohor family).  I have seen it growing on the Pune hills but not in the city itself. 




The Apta tree possibly grows  just upto 5m tall and its characteristic feature is the bilobed leaf shaped like the hoofs of a cow.  

                                    

When folded the leaflets cover each other perfectly as you can see in the video below. Infact, its this very feature that has given the genus Bauhina – to honor the twin botanist brothers Johann Bauhin and Casper Bauhin. 


Flowering of the Bauhinia racemosa is in the months of February – May and here is an image of its flowers.


I am not sure of the exact origins of the practise of exchanging Apta leaves. These days, people have to buy the leaves which means rampant defoliation of all trees with such bilobed leaves like Kanchan. Those who cannot distinguish between the different Bauhinia species end up buying the other leaves. End result, the trees suffer terribly. 

A ‘cousin’ of this species, the Kachnar is quite common as a roadside tree and in gardens. I am sure you will have noticed its flamboyant pink blossoms. Next time, notice its bilobed leaves too and remember the ‘golden’ leaves of Apta!

I am joining Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove37. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world. 
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The King (ThursdayTreeLove)

Pune, Umbar, Bonsai

This is a very old and massive Ficus tree that I saw at the recent Bonsai Namaste exhibition in Pune (age was upto 150 years according to the organisers). In keeping with its status, the tree was accorded a royal status and displayed in this unique manner… 


A King among the other wonderful Bonsai trees…


Here is a closer look….

Pune, Bonsai Exhibition, Bonsai Namaste



Amazing isn’t it?


I am participating in Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove36. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world.

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Looking Up (ThursdayTreeLove)

Poona, Raintree, exotic, GPO



A Tree Walk is a wonderful experience especially when one is doing a recce walk to identify the species. On one such visit, we chanced to look up and were totally floored by this view… This is the canopy of a very old Rain Tree that was just bursting into leaf. The sunlight glittered on the tender shoots. This gave a glorious painting against the blue of the sky! 


Most big Rain Trees have such glorious canopies. If possible do look up whenever you happen to see one … There is much to be enjoyed when looking up from the humdrum…


I am joining Parul in her #ThursdayTreeLove35 blog hop. Head over for some amazing trees from around the world. 


PS: To complete this post, I have to add that the botanical name of the Rain Tree is Albizia saman. It is not native to India and belongs to the Mimosaceae family. In Pune it is extensively used as a roadside tree and easily identified by its massive furrowed trunk.

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Central Witness (ThursdayTreeLove)

NH4, Pune, Ficus, Tree



Many a times have I seen this tree growing on the median of the NH4 from Pune towards Satara. It seems to be a very old tree considering its size despite the heavy traffic on both sides of the road. I am really happy that whoever built this road chose to retain the tree during road construction – or could it be that it grew after the road was ready?


Whatever the case may be, considering its strategic location, the plant must have seen thousands and thousands of folks pass by, possibly travelling on a holiday, for work, some happy, some not so happy… If it could communicate with us, it would have some wonderful stories to share. 


This one seems to be a Ficus species. The almost perfect dome shaped canopy must offer cooling shade but its not a place were one can stop to rest!! 


I have spotted many such trees at other spots on this highway and other highways as well— a central witness to the progress of the region…


This post is part of Parul‘s #ThursdayTreeLove34. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world!

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Root Skirt (ThursdayTreeLove)

Sunderbans, Mangroves, stilt roots



This tree seems to  be wearing a skirt!! That is what the magnificent stilt roots of this mangrove tree reminded me of!! 


What do you think? 


This is a mangrove species that I saw in the Sunderbans. They are adapted to grow in saline and brackish water and have special roots for support and to breathe. 


I am joining Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove33. Head over to see some wonderful trees from around the world.

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Flawed Beauty? (#ThursdayTreeLove)


This is a view I see very often on my walks on the hills (called Tekdi in Marathi). Recently, I found it difficult to decide if the tree looked more beautiful than the orange glow of the rising winter sun! The twisted trunk and branches ending in arrows pointing skywards won!

But first a little about this plant. It is the Gliricidia sepium (locally called Undirmari) of the Fabaceae family. 

It has been extensively planted on our hills some years ago under a plan to rapidly reforest barren slopes. This non-native took easily to the rocky soil and flourished. It blooms in January each year and the leafless tree looks glorious with pink blossoms. Besides the visual element, its leaves provide oxygen and some folks use its branches as fire wood. I am told that its leaves and bark are useful to keep away rats.

Gliricidia drops its leaves every winter and once the flowering period ends, the  bare branches will spring forth with hundreds of new leaves. They swathe the hills in wonderful shades of green during the monsoon – making it seem like a dense forest!

Here are the flowers up close!
Pink white flowers in racemes
So why have I titled the post as Flawed Beauty?
That is because this exotic plant does not support other native fauna – birds do not nest on this tree and no birds/insects/ animals enjoy its nectar. Nothing grows below these trees so native herbs, shrubs, grasses are slowly disappearing. There have been calls to remove these trees and this particular plantation has drawn criticism from environment activists as well.

Here are some more images..



Trees planted in systematic rows on Pune hills




Lenticels on the bark. The branches grow vertically up and easily help identify the tree

A Gliricidia seen against the morning sky


So would you say this beauty is flawed?

I am participating in Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove32. Do head over to see some amazing trees from around the world. 
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A Tree In A Temple (#ThursdayTreeLove)

The Ram Mandir in Pune’s Tulshibag is a heritage site and it was constructed during the peak of the Peshwa rule. It was completed in 1761. The temple has stood the test of time and despite huge changes in its surroundings. 


Beautiful as the temple is, it was the Muchkunda tree growing in the courtyard that caught my eye.. It has a magnificently gnarled trunk (is that possible) and its roots seemed to have surfaced and uprooted some of the surrounding tiles. I have no idea if the Muchkunda is as old as the temple but it has certainly seen many a monsoons…







Muchkunda or Pterospermum acerifolium belongs to the Sterculiaceae family and is also called Kanak Champa in some parts of India. It can be easily recognised by its typical peltate leaves and flowers that are intensely fragrant and look like a peeled banana!  

Notice the leaf shape and the flowers. This image of a Muchkunda located elsewhere

Restoration works at the site have included creating a base of stones around the tree but I am not sure I really like that grey structure. Here are some more images


The newly restored temple and the Muchkunda Tree

Looking up!

Research has revealed that the Pterospermum acerifolium has some mythological importance as well. You can read about it here and here. 


If you ever get a chance to visit the Tulshibag in Pune, do not forget to admire the magnificent Muchkunda.


I am participating in Parul’s #ThursdayTreeLove31. It is a photo feature posted on the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Head over there to see some amazing trees from around the world!

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