Can you guess what flower this is?
I used to call it the powder puff flower, for that is what it looks like, soft and pink, and spreading out its fine filament like petals.
This is the flower of the rain tree. Millions of these small pink and white flowers lighten up the sprawling branches of the tree.
This large tree (large enough to accommodate a tree house! See picture below) is right across the road from our home, and no sooner does summer set in, than it begins to throw forward these little beauties. Soon the road is covered with fine petal dust from the fallen blossoms of the previous day.
This is a view of the tree from our terrace - sadly, the tree is blocked by trees in our garden, and a better view is not possible.
I always imagined it to be a tropical tree, and I was pleasantly surprised to see one in Seattle, flowering in June!
Do click on the pictures for an enlarged view.
21 comments:
Oh Rain Trees...remember the streets in Trivandrum..college campuses...there's not one with out Rain trees and Gulmohars I guess,
Lovely, Raji :)
so you have a good summer there, with trees around...Delhi too isn't bad that way, lots of huge trees.:)
wishes,
devika
Nice shots Raji. I like these too for the huge size of these trees and the numerous flowers it has. At times it looks like the whole tree has a coat of pink paint.
hello aunty, long time.... wonderful posts and pictures....
Devika's (isnt she you sister ?)comment - Delhi ?? UGH
lovely picture!we have that tree in our home and its beautiful.i call it puff flower too:)my husband is trying to create a little forest on our home in india,with bamboo,and all kinds of trees:)mil is having fun doing all that job:)
thanks raji,never thought that flower is that beautiful until i saw this pic!
Hi Raji,,
My friends and I used to call these flowers Appupan thadi. way back in college days.
Yeah i think all college campuses in TVM did have these sprawling trees.
lovely pics, Raji.
Lakshmi
Ooh, that first picture is gorgeous, looks like someting from the sea actually.
Raji, I have shamelessly downloaded it, and it is now my desktop picture!
I love this tree too. Lovely post Raji
Here in Mysore, these trees are very popular avenue trees providing plenty of shade. Some are having huge girth and the canopy is a sight to behold, having a lovely spread all round. The fruits when they fall, have a sweet smell and gets sticky. The cows that decorate our roads (!!) love those fruits. When vehicles pass over the fruits, they just get pressed and stick there. As kids we used to collect these fruits, crush and then make a hard hand made ball to play, usually with plenty of cycle-tubing rubber bands all over it to add some softness. A huge 150 year old tree which I had seen all my life fell in a storm 4-5 years back and the void it created near that park was incredible. It had such a huge canopy sheltering so many fruit and flower vendors under it.
At a particular time when the flowers are fresh, it is indeed a sight to behold.
Nice close-up shot you have shown there!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/64321/ This is the name of this tree.
Hi Raji :)
This is an amazingly huge tree. It has countless flowers. The large shade on the road is a welcome sight for pedestrians on a hot summer day. I wonder how old that tree will be! May be 2oo years. The owner of the house should be appreciated for leaving the tree intact without cutting it. Imagine the hundreds of birds that will be having nests in that tree.
Have a nice day Raji:)
Joseph
We have it in our complex and is in full bloom now.
Nice to see a post on this tree. We call it "Kaurav-Pandav" as it has 100 petals and 5 pollens [ I've never counted :) ] It's a common tree in Pune.
Forehead Stamp
I have seen these lovely trees with flowers while driving to office in Bangalore. But I had never seen this flower so close.
Thanks
Long live the tree, its brethren, and its beholders, all in harmony
I remember pretending to powder my face with these!
Nice posr. Very similar to a lily flower...football Lily if I remembe rit right.
Raji, is it the same as this one. I am not sure, you can check and confirm.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16499289@N07/2875782472/
Devika, All the wide open spaces in the cities usually have it! Delhi especially - there is even a book on the trees of Delhi by Pradip Krishen, I think.
T and S, thanks. I cherish that comment coming from you.
Ashvin, welcome back and thanks for syaing such nice things about the post. Devika is not my sister.:)
meerasworld, puff flowers it shall be, then.
Lakshmi, Appupanthadi - did grandpa dye it pink then? Thanks for leaving a comment.
flowergirl, I am flattered.
Kallu, thanks.
DinakarKR, thank you for visiting, and giving me the link. What you have written about the fruits and how you played with them as kids sounds entertaining.
Joseph, I agree. Our neigbour has done a good thing by leaving the tree to give shade.
Indrani, don't you love it?
Bhavesh Chhatbar, thanks for visiting , and telling me the name - a very interesting name!
Rajesh, thanks for visiting.
Swarna - thathasthu!
Kamini - et tu!
Sujata - thanks for visiting!
remainconnected - the colours are similar, but the petals in your pictures are straighter and spikier
have read somewhere... neighbour's house flowers are nice or something like that...
Haven't heard of a rain tree, but its a huge giant of a tree. Nice to see the tree house, kids love them, we had many as children,
Tree house such as this one is what one would all cool living.
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