Few Of Its Kind (ThursdayTreeLove)

 Today's tree is yet another one that I found via our WhatsApp Tree groups. 

Its a native but very few of them grow in Pune. Usually such one of kind trees grow in inaccessible places that need a lot of determination to reach.

Gathering loads of that I drove to the place, using the shared location. 

As it happened, I could see the tree from afar and its silhoutte could easily be mistaken for a Ficus. It grew on an (apparent) barren area filled with construction debris and ofcouse plastic. Some really determined tree lover had identified the species so now we all know of it and can keep track of its health.

Without much ado, here is the Shrebera swietenioides aka Mokha in marathi of the Oleaceae family. 

Lady Luck was with me, so I found parking space and scrambled over the mounds to reach the tree. 

 

Lucky Find (ThursdayTreeLove)

 As is my habbit, I always look at trees, shrubs and other plants that grow in everyplace we visit. 

(Sometimes even at the cost of not hearing what our toursit guide has to say much to his or her chagrin!!)

Jokes apart, I came across this tree with pretty orange yellow flowers at Siem Reap. Just as we were near our bus parking outside Banteay Srei. Obviously none of the shop owners could tell me its name and I turned to Google Lens for possible IDs.

As it turns out I had gotten lucky. This was the Rumduol or Sphaerocoryne affinis of the Annonaceae family. Romdoul is the national flower of Cambodia and I felt happy and honoured to have seen it.

Some species of Annonaceae like Custard Apple and Hirwa Chafa are very common in Pune hence the flower looked familiar. (I dont take any credit for the ID)

Later, I cross checked with our guide and he was happy to confirm that this indeed was the Romdoul.

Its flowers are said to be very fragrant especially in the evenings and night (we visited in the morning hence I could not notice this) and fruits are said to be very fragrant as well. These edible fruits are said to be used to make lipstick and used in aromatherapy among many other uses. You can read more about it here. 

Magnificent (ThursdayTreeLove)

These trees have always fascinated me. In fact they have been on my blog earlier. 

I always thought these were all Ficus species that have taken over the centuries old temples at Siem Reap.

I was wrong. 

Not all the trees are Ficus.

Yes I am referring to the temples in Cambodia specifically the so called TreeTemple or Ta Phrom.

The first sight is this ... almost as if the tree is growing out of the top of the structure. Its very high so one cannot appreciate ths thickness of the trunk but its certainly daunting.

As one walks closer and around the structure, the magnificiet tree reveals itself. Rather its trunk and roots do.

                          

Its obviously not a Ficus... the tree was in flower and the inflorescence could be seen on the bare branches. Our guide told us it is the Tetrameles nudiflora of the Tetramelaceae family. He called it the Spung tree which is its local name.

The Ta Phrom complex has many more such daunting massive trees that makes one wonder if its the trees that have retained the structures or the other way around. The ASI has helped in the restoration of this important site.

This temple was built by King Jayavarman VII originally called Rajvihara. More details about the temple complex are available online. Those who have seen the movie Lara Croft : Tomb Raider may remember this temple. 

Either way, visiting Angkor Wat and some of the temples around it was a long awaited trip. Several trees in bloom and I could not identify all.. I think a dedicated botanical visit is required!! ;-) 

Of course, I hope to share some of my finds here on TTL!

Here are more images for this glorious tree.

Fallen inflorescence

Poster at the entrance of the Ta Phrom temple complex

I am joining Parul in her  ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

Revisit Finds (ThursdayTreeLove)

 Visiting the over 100 year old Empress Garden in Pune, is always amazing. Everytime I see something new.

It is spread over 45 acres and i haven't visited all parts as yet. It's not a Garden in the true sense of the word with lawns and flower beds but is a botanical garden home to very old trees. 

Recently i visited a part of the garden I had not explored before. Here is one of the predominant tree I saw there.

Several Sterculia foetida or Jungli Badam of Sterculiaceae had a home there. Stately tall and growing almost straight up the lofty trees were atleast 5 storys high. And blooming!  Most of them bore flowers and fruits. 

Here they are

Flower

The pinkish looking structure are actually sepals! And the flowers have an unpleasant smell which possibly explains the botanical name. 

These relatively small blooms grow into large fruit , seeds of which are said to be edible. 

The top image is the fruit..and lower one is part of the fruit. Seed is visible. 

The same place has massive Dhawda Anogeissus latifolia trees as well. 

My visit just reiterated that it's good to revisit any location. You never know which 'tree'sure you may find!

I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Do head over to see fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in.