The Fragrant Manjack Tree

Flowers of the Fragrant Manjack, Cordia dichotoma

I recently photographed the pretty flowers of the Fragrant Manjack, Cordia dichotoma in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. The Fragrant Manjack belonging to the Boraginaceae family is a small to moderate-sized deciduous tree with a short bole and spreading crown. The stem bark is greyish brown, smooth or longitudinally wrinkled. Flowers are short-stalked, bisexual and white or cream in colour. The fruit is yellow or pinkish-yellow and turns black on ripening. In the ripe fruit, the pulp gets viscid.

Fruits of the Fragrant Manjack, Cordia dichotoma

The sticky fruits of the Fragrant Manjack has given rise to many common names including snotty gobbles, glue berry and bird lime tree. In Tamil, children are very fond of referring to it as mookkuchali pazham. In Taiwan and Thailand, the immature fruits are pickled and eaten. The leaves are also edible.

Spotted Dove

Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis roosting on an Acacia leucophloea branch

Photographed this pretty specimen of the Spotted Dove, Streptopelia chinensis (Spilopelia chinensis is a synonym) in the Reserved Forest area adjoining our farm near Thirupporur. S. chinensis is a member of the Columbidae family which includes pigeons and doves.

The Spotted Dove is a long-tailed, slim pigeon, ranging in length from 28 to 32 centimetres. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown, heavily spotted with buff. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults often lacking the patchy neckband when very immature. The head and underparts are pinkish, shading to pale grey on the face and lower belly. There is a black neck patch finely spotted with white.

The call is a low and gentle coo-coo-croo, with the emphasis on the last note. These birds are quite vocal and therefore easy to spot. They are, however, difficult to photograph as the birds in the Reserved Forest area, unlike the ones in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens, are very shy and invariably took off as soon as they spotted me. Spotted Doves eat grass, seeds, grains, other vegetation and small insects. The birds build a rather untidy twig nest in a tree. Two white eggs, as for all pigeons and doves, are laid in this nest.

Common Gull Butterfly

Common Gull Butterfly, Cepora nerissa

Another common butterfly, the Common Gull, Cepora nerissa photographed in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. This is a small to medium-sized butterfly, native to India which belongs to the Pieridae family (Yellows and Whites).

The Common Gull is white on the upperside with black wing margins and yellow with black markings on the underside. The colours are bright in the wet season form and dull in the dry season form. Please check out Dr. K. Saji’s remarkable series of photographs showing this butterfly’s life cycle.

The Firecracker or Coral Plant

Flowers of the Firecracker or Coral Plant, Russelia equisetiformis

Another common garden plant, the Firecracker or Coral Plant, Russelia equisetiformis photographed in Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. The common name alludes to the scarlet, long, tubular flowers which resemble red-coloured firecrackers. The name Coral plant again refers to the abundant red flowers borne by the plant. These red flowers are very attractive to butterflies and sunbirds.

This is a multi-branched weeping shrub with slender, rushlike stems that are angled with ridges and much-reduced scaly leaves. The specific name equisetiformis refers to the resemblance of the plant to the Horsetail plant, belonging to the Equisetum genus. The wiry branches start out erect and then fall over in cascade down in lengths as long as 1 to 1.5 metres.