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GREEN NOTES

Of ornamental value Cannonball tree

Apart from having ornamental value, these trees also have a special significance in Indian culture due to the resemblance of the flower to the hood of a cobra brooding over a shivalingam-like structure at the centre.

Popularly known as Couropita guianensis in the scientific world, it belongs to the Lecythidaceae family. This evergreen tree is native to the rainforest of the Guiana’s in North East South America. The IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) Red Data book has enlisted the Cannon ball Tree in the Lower Risk category (LR/lc) of endangered plants. The tree grows to a height of 50 to 75 feet.

The cauliflorous nature of the tree (producing flowers and fruits from the main stem, like the Jackfruit) and the fancy flowers and fruits adds to its ornamental value, making it an excellent choice in large gardens. The leaves are clustered at the end of branches.

Although it sheds leaves several times a year, the rapid appearance of new leaves ensures that the tree is never bare for more than a week. The new leaves are rich and bright green in colour before the turn dark in colour.

The large fleshy flowers bloom in complex mixtures of yellow, white, red and pink hues all around the year. Borne in long woody inflorescence stalks that hang from the base upwards, the flowers open gradually in the morning and exude a strong fragrance. The six thick bowl-shaped petals are yellow, both on the interior and exterior, with rose to red-rose margins, the hood and its associated parts are a combination of brilliant lilac, yellow and white combination. The tree is chiropterophilous (bat loving) with special features to make their nectar and pollen attractive to nocturnal fliers and bees also thus representing a vital relationship that exists between the plant and animal world.

The large round rusty cannonball-like fruits are also borne directly on trunk. The fruits ripen in about a years’ time. The tree is not suitable for planting in places with heavy traffic, as the fruits drop off at maturity. The fleshy pulp contain numerous seeds that turns blue-green when exposed to air. The tree is suitable for planting in large gardens. Propagation is mostly by means of seeds and also by suckers.

As a cut flower it has a good demand in certain local markets. The flowers and inflorescence are considered unique objects for Ikebana. The hard shells of the fruits are used as containers in African countries. There is little or no heartwood and hence the wood is of sub-standard quality.

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