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Young World
Summer blossoms
MALA KUMAR
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It's that time of the year when the trees are celebrating. Look around and see the wonders of nature and the colours of the season...
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I do not know if you have played this game with your friends — stand still under a tree, count to 20, and then check how many flowers have landed on your head! This was one game we enjoyed playing at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden. Some flowers came spiralling down, some blooms were so light that they got teased by the wind, and some showered down like snowflakes. My favourite tree is the Gulmohar. As I write this piece, I can see a row of Gulmohars. Blue sky, green canopy, clusters of bold red flowers... Delonix regia or Poinciana regia (as Gulmohars are called) begin flowering when they are four to five years old. If the Gulmohar is bold, the Jacaranda is elegant. In Bangalore, the Jacaranda mimosaefolia shows up in all her glory! Small lilac flowers cover the tall trees. At the Venkatappa Art Gallery on Kasturba Gandhi Road, this elegant red and white heritage building with a tiny pool in the front, has a Jacaranda tree bending over the water, and there is always a sprinkling of lilac flowers in the waters!
On the Tabebuia trees, tightly packed bunches of buds emerge. By the time the buds are ready to bloom, the leaves have all fallen. Then the yellow flowers cover the tree, giving the tree the sobriquet Golden Tree. The flowers wither and leaves appear. In Bangalore's Cubbon Park, one can see a palette of colours. The yellow of the Tabebuia against the lilac of the Jacaranda set off againstthe shades of pink of the Cassia blooms.
Waiting for a bus under a huge Powder-puff tree recently, I remarked, "This is a beautiful tree!" My friend replied, "All trees are beautiful!"
"Yes, but some... " "No buts," she said firmly. "All trees are beautiful!"
I agree but have you seen a yellow Cassia fistula tree? Definitely whoever thought up the rhyme "yellow, yellow, dirty fellow" could not have seen this tree. Called the Indian Laburnum or Golden Shower, this tree has the softest cascade of yellow flowers, drooping from every branch. The leaves disappear during the blooming season. The light green buds at the tips and the light green stalks of the flowers highlight the beauty further. Flowering trees are God's gift. Some trees don't flower and yet they serve as supports to flowering climbers. Recently, at the dance village Nrityagram, I spotted a jasmine that had dared to climb really high! The carpet made of star-like malligai flowers was as fragrant as it was delightful. Bougainvilleas too deck many a simple tree in myriad colours.
Some trees have strange names — Dividivi Fever Nut tree, Cabbage tree, tree Tomato, Elephant Apple, Monkey Puzzle tree, Sausage tree, Mummy Apple, Tree of Sorrow, the Baobab or Upside-down tree... At the Lalbagh there are mango trees, said to be planted by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan! For many of us, the summer vacation is synonymous with ripe, luscious mangoes. Mango blossoms start appearing in spring. It's difficult to imagine that these lovely fruits come from those tiny, nondescript flowers, isn't it?
Orange blossoms are fragrant, waxy white and pretty. Oranges (Citrus sinensis) grow on a symmetrical tree that reaches some 15 to 30 feet in height. Its leaves are evergreen and glossy, and the branches have small thorns. Trees are masterpieces of natural engineering. There are thousands of species, and one can write reams and reams on the beauty of trees, but that would need paper, which means cutting down trees... Do enjoy life under, or on a tree, this summer.
Pictures by T.L. Prabhakar, K. Gopinath and K. Bhagya Prakash
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