Yellow Japanese Lanterns

That is what 18 calls them, and I tend to agree with him. It may be an over-approximation of what we perceive as Japanese but that takes away no beauty from this flower. I couldn't blog about them last summer because I missed the window to take a shot of them at their peak. This time too I have missed the best time by maybe a week. This makes me think about how valuable each day is for flowers; they wait for no one. Most flowers bloom for such a short time that if you don't pay attention you are more likely to miss them than see them. Coincidentally, this morning my neighbour showed me the 'May flower' (looked like a Lily) growing in their balcony. He says they are called thus because they bloom in the month of May and theirs had bloomed last night - in time I would say. I found the whole concept quite surreal. I don't have a record of if this is true for every May flower that has ever bloomed but if it were, then!

In marathi this is called bahava which in my head makes me think of them as the 'Bahamas of the flower-land'. The wiki lists a dozen local names for the flower in various languages, take a look.This is the national flower of Thailand. Also has special importance in Kerala during Vishu.

Name: Cassia fistula
When: Late April and early May.
Where: Several places in Pune (Baner and Aundh is where I see them).

For those whooshing through life too fast, you can still see some of it.
(The full tree pic would have been more impressive if I had taken the pic before the leaves began to show)

White Lilies

One of the more known flowers and seen in plenty, hundreds of variations and my blog is in time for this particular one - Easter Lily. Lots of stories connecting Easter and these pretty while lilies. Also, a great flower to learn flower anatomy, the other being the classic Hibiscus (which my bio teacher at school used to teach us). A short lesson here - Stigma (the entry that leads to the flower bud that contains the egg), the Pistil (the channel through which the pollen travels), Anthers (produce pollen - male), Stamen (provides support). The petals (not marked) for attracting insects to facilitate pollination. Not seen are the Sepals used to protect the flower bud - a simple illustration here.

Name: Lilium longiflorum
When: Feb - March (by early April the ones at home had withered).
Where: Pune, in our home flower pot - this is as local as it can get :-)

The Cinderella flower

This flower's fairy godmother allows her to come out once a year for a couple of hours around midnight. The flower uses this time well and comes out in full glory to literally cast a shadow on pretty much any flower. This is what 'we' call the Brahma Kamal. It took me a while to find an authoritative link on the details of this flower because the real Brahma Kamal is a Himalayan flower that grows at a height of 4500m. The two flowers clearly look different but share the same characteristics with regards to the way they bloom and in size.

It is a rare flower in many aspects. Unlike most plants this one doesn't have a stem - the leaves stem out from other leaves and so does the flower. A leaf can be planted and it will multiply and you will be able to see it bloom the following Jun-Jul (if you are lucky!). The petals do look like the lotus flower and probably the origin of common name. It is a compound flower and seems to contain a flower inside a flower.
An interesting blog post on the flower.

We were lucky to see 5 flowers bloom, 2 on one night and 3 on the following night (even the buds awaiting their night out look fantastic). A sweet fragrance lingered in the room. I spent several minutes (if not hours) staring at the flower :-).

Name: Epiphyllum Oxypetalum, folks closer to sea level call it Brahmakamal
When: Jul - August (just one night, for a few hours)
Where: At home, Pune

Circle of Life

On Saturday afternoon as I was walking on a footpath in Pune I saw Buch flowers at my feet and I said to myself,  "It is that time of the year again!". This morning with my non-spectacled vision I spotted the first two Palash flowers on the tree outside our house - two bright orange flowers against the grey monsoon sky, spectacular.

Going to be an year on my blog. I may neglect my blog but I don't ever not exclaim every time I see a flower - just how wonderful it is.

Have you seen me?

Anybody who is even a mild observer would have seen these tiny flowers. One of the most common wild flowers of India.There are several species of  Lantana. It is known as Raimuniya in hindi. If you know the common name for this flower in other languages, let me know.

Name: Lantana Camara

When: Perennial flower

Where: Everywhere?! (This picture was taken in Bangalore) 

Purple Haze

Name: Jacaranda

A lovely mauv-purple flower tree from Brazil. A tall tree that spreads wide.
Trivia: Pretoria in South Africa is known as the Jacaranda City due to the enormous number of Jacaranda trees planted as street trees and in parks and gardens. These flowers appear in bunches and each flower is oblong.
There are over 40 varieties of the Jacaranda species. The picture above is of  Jacaranda Mimosifolia

When:  March - April (the flowers are in bloom for about a month)
Where: Bangalore, parks and sidewalks

Blushing White

While on the topic of summer and Tabebuias I thought I will finish the trinity. The white flower with a drop of pink in it just fading away.  The flowers like in Tabebuia Rosea have yellow throats. Popularly also known as the White Trumpet Tree or White Ipê or ipê-branco

Name: Tabebuia roseo-alba

Where: Bangalore

When: March  - April