A walk in the neighbourhood

Every now and then my mother notices some unusual plants and trees while on her walks around the neighbourhood and then takes me along.

The first tree that we looked at was the Datura suaveolens - Angels Trumpet. Beautiful white flowers hung all over the tree.

 

This house had interesting looking flowers that resembled the bougainvillea but were not quite the same.

This one of course deserves a mention for how the house has been built around the coconut tree. If only everyone would care so much about the trees. 

And finally the garden we've admired for the last two years.. above all for the beautiful bougainvillea above the portico and the mysore clock vine (Thunbergia mysorensis) hanging in the car park.

We passed many beautiful flowers as well.. here are some.

The red ginger (Alpinia purpurata)

A powderpuff (caliandra) variety

Hampi -- of trees, flowers and birds

Hampi is a spectacular place to visit, a veritable treasure for lovers of architecture and history. While I have tons of pictures of the architectural wonders of the place, here i'll share only the nature related ones.

Temple trees were of course, in plenty. This one was at the wonderful Vittala complex.

The landscape was rocky and arid, but that did not stop the locals from growing sugarcane. The resort we stayed at was set amidst sugarcane fields, lined with coconut trees and all enclosed by huge boulders. It was quite a site.

 

There were many banana plantations as well. One of the places we had dinner at , the Mango Tree , was in fact set within a banana plantation. 

The rest of the area was dry and arid. Cacti like succulent plants were everywhere. This is from the area leading up to the Vittala complex.

The lions ear (leonotis nepetiifolia) - common on roadsides and in degraded land.

and this is from near the Krishna temple.

And finally, this pretty little flower was everywhere..

 

 And this bird was around the pushkarni tank at the Vittala complex.

Walking around in Pondicherry

This was on saturday, Feb 12th. We headed out to tour the area on foot..

The promenade by the beach was rather sparcely populated, thanks due to the piercing heat.

Interesting trees, the beach and interesting buildings ... the perfect combination

Flowers near the aurobindo ashram

Sunday, Feb 13th was the day of the run - the Auroville 10K! I loved the route through Auroville.

Later that evening we headed out again to see the sights.

The clock tower whose time was way off.

The beautiful temples

Colonial buildings by the beach

The two most ubiquitous of plant life in tamilnadu - the bougainvilla..

... and the coconut tree (at le cafe by the beach)

More buildings

Up close and personal with the coconut

Tree tuesday - more coconuts

from around the city.

I realise that i have seldom seen a straight coconut tree. They all have trunks that are a little curved - even the ones in places with little other competition for the overhead sun. Is it the weight of all those nuts and huge leaves that makes the tree bent? I wonder..
The neigbour's coconut tree

Palm Sunday - Coconut palm

Chennai is FULL of palms. I see them everywhere - coconut palms in the backyards of old houses laden with fruit, king palms along the walls of the newer houses providing privacy from the oh-so-close next door neighbour. Little palms in pots in office rooms, huge palms forming terrace gardens on the roof. A picture of the Fish Tail Palm a.k.a Caryota Urens/ Jaggery Palm that I took at the horticultural gardens a while back prompted my interest in these tropical trees - so here goes.

So i start of with the 'king' of the palms - well, atleast in this part of the world - the Coconut tree. The coconut is used in south indian cooking quite a bit and is found towering over everything else in almost every garden. Coconuts are used in temples for just about every occassion - hence also their high demand. They are well suited to the region, requiring sandy soils, high temperatures and high humidity. India is the third largest producer of coconuts, after the Philippines and Indonesia.

Every part of the coconut tree is used for something. There are ropes, mats, roofs, hair oils, cooking oils, cosmetics, potting soils and a million other things that are made of parts of the coconut tree. The nut, when broken, reveals a white hard edible flesh that is used in cooking in various forms (it isn't very good for your cholestrol though). If broken when it is young the flesh inside is soft and the nut is full of coconut water - a refreshing drink that is much sought after in the scorching heat. The beaches of the south all have a vendor or two with a cart full of tender coconuts - a hole is made after you've paid up and a straw inserted and your drink is ready. Done with the drink? Return to the cart and the guy will cut open the nut for you and hand you a plastic spoon - the tender flesh inside makes for a quick snack.


Here is what wiki has to say: The name for the coconut palm in Sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, which translates as "the tree which provides all the necessities of life". In Malay, the coconut is known as pokok seribu guna, "the tree of a thousand uses". In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life". That probably explains why the coconut found its way into every home in southern india in older times.