BANGALORE: With temperatures soaring higher than ever due to global warming and urbanisation, our city has borne the biggest brunt and its reputation as 'Pensioner's Paradise' has taken a major beating. With Metro and flyover construction dawning the whole city, Bangalore looks more of a construction hub than the garden city it was once known as. However, there is still a silver lining, which gives us some content. With summer we witness various colours of flower trees in the streets of Bangalore. The city's landscape are huge canopies of many old trees. City Express takes a look at each kind.‘Tree of Gold’ or TabebuiaThis tree with bright yellow flowers is basically from northern Mexico and southern Florida. Their presence is seen in parts both southern and northern Argentina, including the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba. They are common to tropical America and usally found in South India. One can witness these flower tree in the streets of Bangalore and especially in the stretch of Vidhana Soudha Road.Gliricidia SepiumThis tree has its origin from pacific coast of Mexico and Central America. Mostly prevalent during the seasons of March and April, they are pale pink in colour. The flowers are barely 2 cm long and are said to attract a lot of bees. One can find several of these trees in Cubbon Park and Lalbagh.African Tulip treeThe African Tulip Tree is a tall tree, growing more than 75 feet (30 m) tall. These red flower trees are a feast to the eyes and one can find its presence in almost all the streets of Bangalore. From Jayanagar to Lalbagh, and from Vidhan Soudha route leading towards Hebbal.Plumeria/FrangipaniPlumeria or Frangipani tree was a regular sight at the Racecourse Road and on the stretch of CMH Road. But urbanisation has led to the extinction of plumeria in many areas of the city. However, still we can get a few glimpse of plumeria at Lalbagh Botanical Garden and a few streets of Bangalore. Bauhinia Purpurea Bauhinia Purpurea tree is native to India and are seen mostly from February to October. This exotic purple tropical tree is not only beautiful but also has a attractive fragrance and creates an astonishing landscape image. Bauhinia Purpurea can reach up to 20 feet tall and has a 25 foot crown.Bombax Malabaricum treeThis flower tree is also commonly known as red silk cotton. The flowering season is from January to March. The visits of birds to this tree vary depending upon the growth of the tree. One of the most important things associated with this flower is that, it has great medicinal value attached to it. They are present in Lalbagh near West Gate, Banshankiari 2nd Stage and many streets of Bangalore.Pink LapachoPink Lapacho can sometimes reach 8 diameter width and 30metre height. This pink flower tree is common to the natives of Argentina's northeastern region as well as southeastern Bolivia. The wood is of a pleasant yellowish colour and rich in tannins (astringent), hence has a very good resistance to weather and sun. This flower is also said to attract a lot of birds, which unfortunately our city has lost over the years.Noted environmentalist Yellappa Reddy says, "Normally every city prefers ornamental tress which adds colour and fragrance. In Bangalore city we have about 50 per cent exotics (brought from abroad) and 50 per cent from local origins. The trees with local origin have adopted well. Even the exotics have adopted to the nature of Indian soil. However, due to the extensive mismanagement of trees the numbers have come down drastically."Due to the gracious rulers that Bangalore has had since the ancient era, we are still fortunate to witness some most diversified collection of trees in the world. The biggest initiative has been taken by Lalbagh where even today we witness varieties like Araucarias from South America, rain trees from the Caribbean, cypresses from Mexico.
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