I had a different tree in mind for todays post but I just read Parul’s TTL 132 post and decided to share some plants from my home balcony garden.
To be more specific, three plants that are so called ‘cousins’.
They belong to the same Genus of Malpighia but the specific epithet is different. Hence they are different species. I am growing them to be Bonsai and they do grow as trees in Nature.
They all belong to the family Malpighiaceae and you can see the distinct flower similarity. The frilly flowers are very pretty but not fragrant. The three plants I am sharing all have simple opposite leaves.
I spied this tree (trees) as we were leaving a parking space. The Neem tree had a Peepal growing on it and the two seemed very happy together.. But will the Ficus eventually overpower the Neem?
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!
Here are some trees that I saw at the Stanford University campus.. the famous Ivy League institution. They added to the intense academic and intellectual aura of the campus and had me in total awe!
Scroll down for a glimpse of some of the beautiful trees.
Possibly a Pine. The quadruple trunk was fascinating!An Oak in fiery russet foliage
This is just a glimpse. The vast campus would have many treasures from the plant kingdom making it the ideal place to study and research.
The dramatic white trunk and golden leaves were eye catching. Is it a Sycamore ???
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Do head over to see fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!
I would love to hear from you. In case you face difficulties in commenting, please click here. Thanks!!
This is actually a backdated post.. I was unable to post here due to issues with the host or server or WordPress or whatever. Then there have been issues with leaving comments on the posts.
Sigh!
🙁
I had a wonderful opportunity to see trees in their winter glory when I joined my husband on his golf trip. These are images from a golf course in South Carolina, USA.
Todays post features trees differently.. Rather I am just sharing images of a unique experience that I was lucky to have last month.
The Chicago Botanic Garden has an annual light festival called Lightscape around Christmas and we were to visit. Our tickets were for a 9PM entry hence cold was certainly what I expected but beyond that I really did not know what to look forward to.
But what I experienced was totally mind blowing. Again, a phone camera is totally inadequate to capture the ambience but I that does not stop me from sharing the images. I am sure some of our TTL bloggers from the US would have this or seen similar winter light displays.
Getting back to the garden, we entered via a lit up archway and then walked on an about 1.25 mile-trail (about 2.01 kms) trail. Different artists had decorated each area in different themes using different lights, music and even other special effects like lasers, music, fire (all with due safety precautions!).
Coming as I do from a tropical region, walking at below 0Deg C at night was daunting. But our hosts ensured we were warmly and securely clad which made the walk totally enjoyable and memorable. The entire visit was an grand surreal, multisensory experience.
It was not a walk meant to identify trees. Rather I could appreciate their shapes and growth patterns which were high-lighted by the various lights.
The moon held its own in the night sky despite the (artificial) million lights glittering below and we could spot its reflection in the lake as well.
Here is my humble attempt to capture memories of my visit. I heavily recommend a visit to this garden at any time of the year and the Christmas light show if possible (I am told tickets get sold out in November itself).
Image credit to Rajendra Sonarikar.
Neon Tree architecture Eerily beautiful
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from aorund the world. Better still, join in.
Lot of my blog visitors have faced difficulties in commenting. If you are unable to comment belw, Please leave your thoughts here. Thank you! I would love to hear from you. 🙏🏻
“Here we go around the Mulberry bush…” is a popular nursery rhyme from my childhood and even now. Contrary to the song, it is not a bush but a small tree. Pune has a few of these trees though it is not native to this region and they do flower and fruit every year. Its botanical name is Morus alba and belongs to the Moraceae family.
I wondered about the origins of the rhyme especially when I saw this fruit laden tree. A Wikipedia article revealed some strange history. One theory suggests that the rhyme began with female prisoners at a prison in England who exercised around a Mulberry tree. Another theory suggests that the rhyme could be a joke on the difficulties faced by the silk industry.
This particular tree was filled with fruit though my photo does not do justice to its abundance. The small oval shaped fruit are sweet sour to taste and best eaten when dark in colour. The fruit is also very delicate and crushes easily when handled. Its flowers are green catkins that hand down from axils.
Heart shaped leaves with toothed margins. Some leaves are lobed. Tree trunk
While this tree is small, I have seen a huge one at Joshimath in Uttarakhand, which is said to be an over 2000 year old heritage tree. (Sharing this image though I know it is totally unrelated to the nursery rhyme…)
Again, my photo does not show the massive trunk girth. It is a long walk to go around the tree.
Have you seen the Mulberry Tree? Do you remember the nursery rhyme?
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Do head over to see some lovely trees from around the world. Better still, join in!
Some of my blog visitors have been unable to comment here. If you face any commenting issues, please leave your thoughts here. Thanks!! I would love to hear from you!
