Sausage Tree

Flowers and fruits of a common avenue tree, the Sausage Tree or Kigelia pinnata photographed in Besant Nagar. This tree belongs to the Bignoniaceae family and is native to Africa. Its English name refers to the long, pendulous, sausage-like fruits. The tree is widely grown as an ornamental tree in tropical regions.The tree grows up to a height of 20 metres. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, 30 to 50 cm long, pinnate, with six to ten oval leaflets up to 20 cm long and 6 cm broad; the terminal leaflet may or may not be present.

Sausage Tree Flowers

The flowers and later the fruits hang down from branches on long flexible stems which may be as long as 6 metres. The 10 cm wide, bell-shaped flowers are produced in panicles. The flowers are reddish-orange or purplish green. The scent of the flowers is strongest at night as these flowers are pollinated by bats, which visit them for pollen and nectar.

The fruit is a woody berry from 30 to 100 cm long and up to 18 cm broad and it weighs between 5 to 10 kg. The fibrous fruit pulp contains numerous seeds.

Fruits of the Sausage Tree

Crown-of-Thorns

Crown-of-thorns, Euphorbia milii

Photographed this Crown-of-thorns plant, Euphorbia milii in Besant Nagar. This plant is familiar to me from my childhood days in Delhi. We had several plants growing in a corner of our home garden. I remember these hardy plants always having a few flowers open throughout the year. It is a woody, succulent species of belonging to the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. It is native to Madagascar. The species name commemorates Baron Milius who introduced the species to France in 1821.

It is a succulent climbing shrub growing up to 2 metres tall, with densely spiny stems, the straight, slender spines up to 3 cm long. The spiny stems help it scramble over other plants. The leaves are found mainly on new growth, and are obovate, up to 3.5 cm long and 1.5 cm broad. The flowers are small, subtended by a pair of conspicuous petal-like bracts, coloured red, pink or white, up to 12 mm broad. The milky sap is moderately poisonous. Many cultivars are now available with much larger leaves and bracts.

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.

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.

The Indian Tulip Tree

Fresh flower of the Indian Tulip tree, Thespesia populnea

Photographed this fairly common tree, the Indian Tulip tree, Thespesia populnea near my home. It is an evergreen bushy tree, belonging to the Malvaceae family, which grows to a height of about 12 metres with a crown diameter of 3-6 metres. It has heart-shaped leaves and beautiful cup-shaped flowers that are produced all through the year. The flowers look very similar to other flowers belonging to the Malvaceae family and closely resembles the flower of the ‘Lady’s fingers’ plant, Abelmoschus esculentus.

Faded purple flower of Thespesia populnea

Interestingly, the fresh flowers open rather late in the day and in the early morning, one can only spot faded flowers which are a light purple in colour. The flowers are followed by small apple-shaped fruit which dries on the tree. The tree is also known as the Portia tree. In Tamil, it is called poovarasu or the ‘king of flowers’ an apt name for a tree which bears very pretty flowers abundantly.

The Sacred Fig Tree

Young leaves of the Sacred Fig tree, Ficus religiosa

Young leaves of the Sacred Fig tree, Ficus religiosa photographed in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. This is a species of banyan fig native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southwest China and Indochina. It is also known as the Peepal tree of Bo-tree. This tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, and hence the name ‘Sacred Fig’. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been sitting underneath a Sacred Fig tree when he was enlightened (Bodhi), or ‘awakened’ (Buddha).

It is a large deciduous tree with leathery leaves 10-20 cm long by 7.50-12.75 cm wide with a typical heart-shape. A prominent drip-tip is present at the apex of the leaf. The young leaves are frequently pink, change to copper and finally to green. As in other fig trees, minute flowers are borne in a syconium. The ripe fruits are eagerly eaten by a variety of birds including barbets and orioles.

The Pongam Tree

Flowering Pongam tree, Millettia pinnata

I photographed this flowering Pongam tree, Millettia pinnata in Besant Nagar. This is a fast-growing tree belonging to the Fabaceae family. It grows to about 15-25 metres in height, with an equally large canopy.

The leaves are a soft, glossy burgundy in early summer and mature to a shiny, deep green as the season progresses. Mature leaves usually exhibit leaf galls as well as extensive damage by leaf mining insects. Small clusters of white, purple, and pink flowers blossom on their branches throughout the year, maturing into brown seed pods. 25-40% of the seed weight comprises of fats, of which nearly 50% is oleic acid. The oil from the seeds is used in soap making and as a lubricant. There is considerable work being done in India and elsewhere  to explore the use of the pongam tree as a commercially viable source of biofuel.

The Bell Weed

Flower of the Bell Weed, Dipteracanthus prostratus

The Bell Weed, Dipteracanthus prostratus (Syn. Ruellia prostrata) belonging to the Acanthaceae family is another weed found quite commonly in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. Dipteracanthus prostratus is a prostrate perennial herb with the stem often rooting at the nodes. The ovate green leaves are 2 to 10 cm long with noticeably paler lower surface. This weed is often confused with the Minnie Root, R. tuberosa which is a taller plant with larger flowers and less widely separated overlapping petals. R. tuberosa also has characteristic exploding seedpods.

Solitary violet-coloured or occasionally white flowers occur in the leaf axils. The flowers are 2.4 to 3.2 cm long with deeply notched fused petals. The capsules containing the grainy seeds are club-shaped, 1.5-2 cm long and densely covered with fine hairs. The plant is believed to have anti-cancer properties and is used in herbal medicine.

Minnie Root

Flower of Ruellia tuberosa photographed in Theosophical Society Gardens

Minnie Root, Ruellia tuberosa photographed in Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. This is a tropical perennial plant belonging to Acanthaceae family. It is native to the West Indies. It has a hairy stem and grows to a height of 16 cm. The simple light green leaves are opposite and elliptic.

The plant flowers after the start of the rainy season. The big bisexual flowers are funnel-shaped and blue to violet in colour with some white at the base. The roots form tubers which can grow deep into the ground making it very difficult to pull out the plants completely. The plant forms longish, thin seedpods which when moistened explode and disperse the small grainy seeds.

This plant is often confused with Asystasia gangetica and Dipteracanthus prostratus both belonging to the same family and having similar violet coloured flowers.

The Grand Crinum Lily

Grand Crinum Lily, Crinum asiaticum

Grand Crinum Lily, Crinum asiaticum (belonging to the Amaryllidaceae family) photographed in the Adyar Theosophical Society Gardens. Other common names include the ‘Poison Bulb’ and ‘Spider Lily’. This is a large-sized lily with dark green strap-like leaves which may be more than 3 feet long by 4 inches wide.

Flowers are shaped like tubes that flare open into a crown of narrow petals. The flowers are white and are arranged in clusters on top of thick, succulent stems. Stamens are purple in color.