The lovely tabebuia waves that engulfed Bangalore in March, showering the city streets, parks and gardens with pink and yellow trumpet shaped flowers have ebbed; after the summer rains, the bare tabebuia trees are now flush with the tender green leaves. And for April, the city is adorning a new coat of colours weaved from a different set of spectacular flowering trees.

First up, it’s everyone’s favourite, the Gulmohur (Delonix regia), native to Madagascar – this tree has so many names – Flame tree, Firetree, Flamboyant, Royal poinciana – all thanks to the picturesque thick spreading canopy of reddish orange flowers. This is also known as the May flower as it’s peak flowering season is usually May; but in keeping with the changing times, it has also joined widely noticed phenomena of early blooming, thanks to the climate changes. Even though you see it every year, it never ceases to wow, it’s a glorious sight 👉Gulmohar ♥️🌿

The next is a close cousin, sometimes called the Neeli gulmohur (neeli meaning blue in Hindi), but more popularly known as the Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia). It has been in bloom since February 👉 Bangalore’s Jacaranda 🪁 and the flowers show no sign of waning, if anything the violet clusters are becoming fuller !

This show is not complete without what is often called as the Peeli gulmohur (peeli in Hindi meaning yellow) but more widely known as the Copperpod (Peltophorum pterocarpum). And they have been in bloom since March and the ground underneath is seen still seen carpeted with it’s small yellow flowers and plenty more on the trees.

The next is a different flower, a white powder puff from a tree belonging to the Albizia tree family called as the black siris (Albizia odoratissima). The tree commands a long lingering look in the fresh April morning light, flush with new green leaves and white powder puff flowers. This is the second type of Albizia tree I spotted in Bangalore so far; the first was the very popular pink powder puff (Rain tree), Albizia saman 👉Morning at the Kasavanahalli Lake, Bangalore 🌳🌤 (March series Part 𝟙of 𝟛)

The leaves of this Albizia tree are similar to the colourful flowering trees above, twice feathered compound leaves; but a closer looks reveals a fascinating highlight ! The midrib of a leaf usually runs through its center, but in this tree, the mid-rib is running closer to the upper margin of the leaflet👇! The bark has a yellowish, grey tinge. Some of the ripe brown flattish fruit pods are still lingering on the branches, the outline of the seeds within them are visible.

Next up is a special tree, native to India and the flowers are what attracts the attention; the delicate and pretty violet and lilac shaded inflorescence stands tall like a crown atop the tree. The flower is known by names such as Queen’s Flower and Pride of India, a weighty name tag! The other popular names include Jarul and Rose of India. I have seen small trees with these flowers on the outer ring road in Bangalore and have been tempted on several occasions to get out of the car in the standstill traffic, click a pic of this flower and hop back into the car. But it never happened, held back by the thought of what others will think (not safety)!

At the Kasavanahalli lake, I have spotted this tree at two places, one on the eastern side and another on the western side, both with the flowers high up the trees, so I couldn’t get a close up of the flowers. But then, there it was, at a perfect height, standing in the driveway of a neighbouring apartment complex; click 📸

Another widely seen tree in bloom in April and for the past several months has been the Siala (Markhamia lutea). This tree too has trumpet shaped yellow flowers, but not as showy as the yellow tabebuias. The tree remains fully green even with the yellow clusters of flowers. Its fruits are thin long winding pods seen hanging from the tree.

Pick up one of the fallen trumpet shaped yellow flowers and look inside; there are red lines penciled inside the throat of the flower! Even long after the yellow tabebuia has left the scene, these trumpet shaped flowers are still in bloom daily!

April has been a glorious month so far….💛 and the blooming sequence continues…❤️

Till next post, take care !!