COMMON TREES OF INDIA-

BY: PIPPA MUKHARJEE (PG.NO-18)

GULMOHAR
Leguminosae Delonix (or Poinciana) regia

Often called Flamboyant, Royal Peacock flower, Royal Gold Mohur or Fire tree. The Hindi
name is Gul Mohur. Mayaram in Tamil, Shima Sankesula in Telugu and Gulmohr in Marathi.

WHERE IT GROWS: Its home is Madagascar. It came to India from Mauritius many years
ago. It is a very popular roadside tree because of its shape and the beauty of its flowers. It grows
in many tropical conditions and is quite hardy but prefers dry areas near the sea.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: It is a medium sized deciduous tree, very fast growing, with a
straight slender trunk and smooth ash-grey bark. It has shallow roots which spread out around the
tree and do not allow many other plants to grow nearby. The branches are brittle and easily
broken. They often get damaged in storms.

LEAVES: These are shed usually in autumn or winter but sometimes soon after the monsoon.
Then the tree remains bare until May or June. It has feathery looking leaves like many other
ornamental trees belonging to the Pea Family.

FLOWERS: These begin to bloom in the hot season from April onwards. At first a few open
and then they cover the whole tree in orange, bright red, and maroon. Four of the petals are
orange red, the fifth is larger with several shades of white and yellow and bands of red.Christians
sometimes call this tree the Pentecost tree or Holy Ghost tree as it flowers at the time of
Pentecost, fifty days after Easter.

FRUIT: The long broad seed-cases which are green in colour at first gradually become hard and
black. They remain on the tree for many months, and look very prominent after the leaves have
fallen. The seeds are often soaked in hot water before planting to help soften the outer case and
help them grow more easily.
USES: It is a tree that is largely grown for its beauty. The wood which is white and soft is used
for making ornaments, and can be very highly polished. The flowers and buds are used (as a
herb) for flavouring food.
COMMON TREES:

BY:- DR.H.SANTAPAU (PG.NO- 21)

13. GUL MOHUR DELONIX REGIA Raf.

(Family: Caesalpiniaceae) DURING THE hotter part of the year immediately preceding the
monsoon, many of our city streets seem to be on fire with masses of flowers of the Gul Mohur;
this is one of the most showy and common roadside and avenue trees all over peninsular India.

NAMES

The scientific name of the tree is Dehnix regia in some older books it goes under the name of
Poinciana regia Boj. Dehnix means “with a clear claw or nail”, with reference to the shape of the
petals, particularly of the larger or fifth petal. In Hindi the tree is known as Gul Mohur; Gul
means rose or flower; Mor is the common name for the peacock; it has been suggested that the
name is a corruption of Gulmor, the peacock rose or peacock flower. In English the tree is
variously known as Flamboyant, Royal Gold Mohur, Royal Peacock Flower, Fire Tree ; among
Bombay Christians it is often referred to as the Pentecost Tree or the Holy Ghost Tree, with
reference to the fact that its peak flowering occurs about the feast of Pentecost, 50 days after
Easter.

ORIGIN

The tree seems to be a native of Madagascar; at the beginning of the 19th century it was taken to
Mauritius, and this is why at times it is said lo be a native of Mauritius”. It is not clear when the
tree was introduced into India. Voigt in 1845 mentions it in his catalogue of the Royal Botanic
Garden of Calcutta with the simple indication that it flowers in the rainy season; there are records
that about 1850 the tree was growing in Bombay. It has now become one of the commonest trees
in many of the urban parts of India.

CULTIVATION

This is a middle-sized tree, 5-10 m. tall, its size depending on its age and on the type of soil on
which it grows. The Gul Mohur is well adapted to a variety of soil and climatic conditions; it can
thrive near the sea, but it also does very well in the drier parts of the country. The roots are
shallow and spreading, and hence the tree may not be suitable for gardens, for little else will
grow in the neighbourhood of the tree; on the other hand it can do well on a rocky soil. One
difficulty, however, is that on account of its shallow roots, the tree may be blown down during
the stormy weather of the monsoon. The Gul Mohur is a fast grower, and produces a spreading,
umbrella-like head, and this makes the tree very suitable for avenues where both flowers and
shade are desired.
DESCRIPTION

The leaves are feathery and very elegant; the colour is light green of a very pleasant hue. Each
leaf may reach up to 50 cm. in length the leaves are compound, that is to say, they consist of
1020 pairs of pinna or smaller leaves on” a fine midrib; each pinna bears 20-30 pairs of small,
light-green leaflets. All the leaves fall off just before the flowering season, about the middle of
February or the beginning of March or sometimes a little later; when the tree is completely bare
of leaves, flowers come out in large numbers, and then the whole tree is aptly called The Fire
Tree. Flowers are arranged in very large racemes at the ends of the branches. Each flower may
reach 10 or 12 cm. across, and consists of 4 bright scarlet petals, with a fifth, the standard,
slightly larger in size and variegated red and yellow in colour. Petals are spoon-shaped, with
beautiful crinkled margins; the base is narrow and long, and suggests some sort of a claw, hence
the scientific name of the tree. Before the opening of the flowers, the calyx encloses the petals,
and is pure light green; after the opening of the flowers, the inside of the calyx is bright scarlet.
There are ten stamens of varying length, consisting of a slender bright red filament and a yellow
or yellowish anther. The fruit is a large pod, which at first is green and rather soft; in time the
fruit turns deep brown and very hard, up to 50 cm. long, 5—8 cm. broad, and about 1—1.5 cm.
thick. The seeds are oblong and mottled. The wood is white and light, and takes a fine polish.
 FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS IN INDIA.

BY : D.V.COWEN (PG,NO- 4)

GUL MOHR

DELONIX REGIA

Syn. Poinciana regia

DELONIX REGIA Syn. Poinciana regia Fam. Leguminosae. Sub fam. Coesalpineae (which
consists almost entirely of trees, shrubs and climbers native to warm countries and contains some
of the most beautiful trees in the world). Gul Mohr (Hindi); Rakta chura (Beng) Mayarum
(Tam):Alasippu (Mal): Shima sankesula (Tel): mal Mara (Sinh): Boj (Malay): Gul Mohr,
Peacock Flower, Flamboyant (Eng) THE Gul Mohr is one of our most striking ornamental trees
and each April one cannot help but wonder how a bare, gaunt tree, standing in dry, hard earth (.in
produce such a wealth of glorious bloom. Within a week of the first blossom appearing the
whole tree is sparkling with vivid splashes of crimson and orange. In May the pale, rich green of
the new foliage unfolds and the tree develops a feathery grace. Bare. grey branches and long
ugly, black pods are all hidden and the spreading canopy ot green lace and scarlet blossoms is at
its loveliest. There is a wealth of variety in the shades of crimson and scarlet, some trees being
almost orange and others a deep, deep red. Each has its admirers.

DELONIX REGIA

The large flower-spravs bear numerous, intermingling blooms and roundish nodding buds.
Individually each flower will be seen.
The large flower-spravs bear numerous, intermingling blooms and roundish nodding buds.
Individually each flower will be seen to be about 12.5 cm. across. Five thick crimson sepals
curve back to display their lime-green lining and bright yellow rims From the spaces between
them, radiate the five spoon-shaped, wavy and crinkle-edged petals; one of them is larger, its-
white or yellow centre streaked and splashed with scarlet. Ten long stamens spread and curve
from the centre. After the fall of the flowers the soft, green pods make their appearance; soon
they become hard and black – long ugly straps hanging amongst the leaves. They remain there
throughout the season — even until the flowers of the following year appear. The long, bipinnate
leaves are not unlike those of several other trees — each pinna bearing from twenty to thirty tiny,
oblong leaflets, giving a graceful feathery aspect to the tree. Even when the Gul Mohr is
flowerless it can easily be recognised by the smooth, grey limbs and the characteristic formation
of outward spreading branches and leaves. There is no depth to the foliage; from below there
seems to be but one layer of leaves — an umbrella of lace. Gul Mohrs make excellent light-shade
trees, are quick growing up .to about 12 m. and are frequently planted in avenues, where, if every
tree is about the same height, they form a splendid vista. During the first weeks of flowering
such an avenue is a joy to behold, but after some weeks we turn our eyes in relief to the softer
pastel shades of the Queens Tree and the Jacaranda. The strident scarlet has begun to pall! There
is some controversy over the meaning of the name of this popular tree. There are those who say
the word is Mohr, meaning “peacock”, while Gul is a flower. Others claim that the word is
Mohur, a coin. But it is generally agreed that the name Gold Mohur is incorrect. Perhaps the
most attractive of its names are those given by the French—feur de Paradis and Flamboyant. The
botanical appellation is in honour oi M de Poinci, 17th Century Governor of the Antilles in the
West Indies, but the tree is a native of Madagascar, from where trees were taken to Mauritius
about 1824. Seeds from these trees were then taken to England and now it is to be found in most
tropical countries. It grows readily from seed, although they often take a long time to germinate.
As a garden tree its only disadvantages are that the limbs break easily in strong winds and that
grass and other plants do not grow well beneath it. Self-sown seedlings can be transplanted
easily, even when 2.4 or 3 m. high. In some countries, such as Jamaica and Australia, it has
become naturalised and grows well amongst the local flora. The timber is soft and light and has
no other uses than for firewood. Another species, Delonix elata, syn. Poindana elata, is
sometimes cultivated in India with flowers similar to those of the Gul Mohr but white or cream
coloured. There art1 fine plantations of it in Saurashtra. Delonix is from the Greek word delos,
meaning “evident” and onux, “a claw” in allusion to the shape of the petals. Regia is Latin for
“royal”.
100 BEAUTIFUL TREES OF INDIA -

BY: CHARLES McCANN (PG.NO-67)