Pinning the hope

Botanical name: Cassia grandis

Coral Shower Tree is native to tropical regions of America. It is a deciduous or semideciduous tree that grows up to 18 m in height and 50 cm d.b.h. The trunk is straight and the spreading crown is high, irregular, and made up of dangling branches. The leaves are paripinnate and made up of 10 to 20 pairs of oblong leaflets that are 3 to 6 cm long and rounded or obtuse at the apex and base. Cassia grandis is used as an ornamental to beautify streets, avenues, parks, and gardens. The sweet tasting and bad smelling pulp of the fruit is edible and is used as a laxative. The wood is hard and heavy; it is used in rural areas for home construction, sheds, and structures for roofs and in cabinet- making. The pink to purple flowers turn salmon-color with time and are arranged in racemes. The species blooms in spring, and fruits (legumes) ripen in summer. Many trees are found in Bangalore and Mysore of Karnataka I took this flower from Lalbagh, Bangalore on 27th May 2012.

Profusely .....

Botanical name: Caesalpinia coriaria

Divi-divi is a leguminous tree or large shrub native to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It grows up to 30 ft tall, often much less. Its shape is very contorted in its native exposed coastal sites. In other environments it grows into a low dome shape with a clear sub canopy space. Leaves are double-compound, with 5-10 pairs of side-stalks, each with 15-25 pairs of leaflets. The individual leaflets are 7 mm long and 2 mm broad. Divi-Divi flowers during the warm weather, but the flowers are not very showy. They are yellow in color. The fruit is a twisted pod 5 cm long. Divi-divi is the national tree of Curaçao and is very popular in Aruba where it is also called "watapana". This photograph was taken from Lalbagh, Bangalore on 27th May, 2012.

Perfuming your way ....

Botanical name: Passiflora vitifolia

Perfumed passion flower or grape leaved passion fruit is a vine, native to Central and South America. The vine has cylindric stems covered in red-brown hairs when young. The leaves are three-lobed, up to 15 cm long and 18 cm broad. The common name and the species name vitifolia is derived from the shape of leaves resembling that of grape leaves. The flowers are stunning, bright red, up to 9 cm diameter. The flowers are fragrant too. This is only one of the many existing red passion-flowers. The fruit is green-yellow, 5 cm long and 3 cm broad, containing numerous seeds, with edible pulp. I took this photograph on 27th May, 2012 at Lal Bagh, Bangalore.

Surprisingly ....

Botanical name: Heliconia rostrata

Of all the Heliconias around you will probably be most familiar with this one. Heliconia rostrata is one of the most recognized and widely grown species, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is still considered one of the most beautiful. Heliconia rostrata has a pendent inflorescence, the bracts are red with greenish yellow edges. Each bract resembles a lobster's claw, hence the common name. It is a very popular species, and one of the more common in cultivation. Heliconia rostrata is one of the most recognized and widely grown species, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is still considered one of the most beautiful. The inflorescence it produces is one of the most colorful one will ever encounter. The mature plant normally starts to flower in the summer. The flowers last a long time and make an excellent cut flower. It is an easy grower in tropical areas but some room is required because the stalks can reach 7 feet in height. This photograph was taken on 27th May 2012 from Lalbagh, Bangalore.

Colour riots ...

In remembering ....

Still waiting ...