Woody Liana is a term for large creepers and the one I am sharing today is found mostly at the foothills of the Himalayas. As far as I know, there are two of them growing in Pune and they seem quite happy in our warmer climate.
In Marathi, Woody Liana is called Maha Vel which literally translates as Massive Creeper. This gives a hint to the size this plant can achieve.
Here is an image of the base of the Bauhinia vahlii creeper of the Caesalpiniaceae family.. You can easily appreciate how big is the actual plant. In Marathi its name is Kanchan Vel.
Also called the Maloo Creeper, it is said to be the biggest liana in India and this image shows how extensively it has grown to cover all the massive trees in the Empress garden. When in bloom (Apr - Jun) the entire canopy is covered with beautiful large flowers. Similar to the other Bauhinias it has two lobed leaves that resemble camels feet.
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| My image doesn't really do justice to the flowers.. but you can get an idea |
It is said that Bauhinia vahlii is an enemy of the plants it grows over.
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| Pretty flowers |
Have you noticed this lovely Liana? Or can it be a tree?
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in.
8 comments:
It would appear Lianas are not hardy anywhere near where I live in the Northeast United States. In some of our southern states, we have a vine called wisteria with a lovely, sweet smelling flower, but which has become a major nuisance.
It looks like a hardy tree with exquisite flowers!
Beautiful, have never seen a creeper like this, remembered empress garden I visited as a child when i came for summer holidays at Gorphuri bazaar...used to have so much fun with my cousins.
@Alana I have seen Wisterias. They are lovely. Can be grown as Bonsai as well. I didn't know they can become troublesome . Happy to have you here. Thanks!
@JoAnna yes!!! Thank you!
@Angela Empress Garden is among the oldest in Pune. So happy that you enjoyed your time there and can recollect the garden now!! Thanks for stopping by!
I have never seen a creeper that's as big as a tree. The sight of this must have been amazing. Thank you for sharing, Archana. I am working on today's post and will be ready in an hour. See you around.
@Parul! Yes it is indeed an amazing sight. Happy to participate in TTL!! Thank you!! :-)
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