Do you love to see flowering trees in public places? I bet you do. The colors of these trees uplifts the mood and changes the entire landscape of the area. In the sea of green leafy trees, a flowering trees stand out from the rest.
If you’re considering to plant a flowering tree, let’s see what are your options:
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1) Gulmohar / Delonix Regia
Gulmohar tree is the first flowering tree that comes to mind. Mainly because of my childhood memories of using it’s flower buds to stick on the nails for fun and games. Apart from that, this tree looks magnificent with its red flowers.
Gulmohar / Delonix Regia was first discovered in the 19th century in Madagascar by Wensel Bojer (Botanist for USA). This tree grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climate. You mostly find it in countries like India, China, North America, Taiwan and Canary Islands.
Gulmohar is a big full size tree that can grow around 40 feet. And dense canopy like growth of leaves and flowers means that it’s great for shade in summer time.
2) Pride of India
Lagerstroemia Speciosa (no that’s not a Hogwards Spell :P), also known as Pride of India tree is mostly found in tropical regions. This flowering tree bloom beautiful purple flowers during the summer time. It has big 12 inch long leaves that turn red during fall time, just before the winters. It’s a big tree that can go as tall as 50 feet. However, the height can be controlled by trimming regularly.
Apart from its beauty, the bark of it is traded commercially as it’s a high-quality timber. Some people, especially in Philippines use leaves of this tree for medicinal purposes. It is believed to treats diabetes and kidney ailments. In India, the fruits of this tree is used as mouth ulcer medicine. Its roots are effective astringent and the seeds are believed to be narcotic.
3) Golder Rain Tree / Koelreuteria Paniculata
Golden Rain Tree, also known as Flamegold in certain regions is a native flowering tree of China, Taiwan, and Korea. This tree is mostly seen densely covered with rose color capsule. But this is not flower bud. Flowers bloom at the end of summer. They are small, yellow colored and fragrant.
This tree can grow tall at around 40 feet high. It has smooth bark when the tree is young but the bark turns dark as it ages.
4) Silk Cotton Tree
The botanical name of Silk Cotton tree / Red Cotton tree is Bombax Ceiba. It’s a large imposing decidious (sheds leaves annually) tree. The spread of its canopy is quite wide and even the height fully grown tree can be more than 40 feet.
This is often grown as an ornamental tree to enhance the landscape of the area. As the name suggests, it produces fragrant red flowers soon after it sheds its leaves. Due to this it attracts quite a lot of honey bees and squirrels.
This tree produces fruits and cotton during March and April months. The Indian locals use this cotton for filling up pillows and sofas. While the fruit can be cooked as a vegetable or used for pickle.
Red Cotton tree is also highly valued for its medicinal properties. It is believed to help with toothache, fracture, urinary issues, gonorrhea, snakebite, cholera, ulcer, etc.
5) Indian Cork Tree / Neem Chameli / Millingtonia hortensis
Indian Cork tree is grown all over India for its evergreen beauty. This tree is native of Burma and today it’s grown for its ornamental value. Twice a year, right after April and in November, it produces white, bell-shaped, fragrant flowers. These flowers can have a tinge of rosy color streaks. Women in Maharashtra commonly use these flowers to weave into a braid, called Veni.
This tree sheds leaves between January and March, and regrows in April and May. Still, it’s an evergreen tree that almost always has green leaves year-round. The height of this tree can be more than 50 feet but it doesn’t have much spread.
6) Ranawara / Senna Auriculta
Ranawara is a small tree or a shrub that can grow upto 7 meter tall. It produces yellow colored flowers at the end of its branches. This tree is intensively used in Ayurveda to treat eye disease, diabetes, gonorrhoea, Malaria, skin abnormalities, and many other health issues.
In fact, people in Sri-Lanka commonly drink herbal tea made out of boiling flower petals of Ranawara. This tea is called Matara tea locally.
7) Rain Tree / Albizia Saman
Rain Tree is an attractive tree with thin branches, large canopy, and pink flowers. This deciduous (sheds leaves annually) tree grows quite fast. This tree is a native of Central America and was brought down to Sri-Lanka and then to India.
The timber of this tree was known to be a great fuel for railway steam engines. Since it branches wide and low, it’s a great shade tree. The Rain tree flowers twice every year- from March to May and then just before December. The flowers have silk-like thin pink strands that circle around to take flower shape.
Why it’s called a Rain Tree? Well, in Malaysia the drooping of leaves is considered as a sign of arriving rain. This tree also produces fruit pods that are loved by squirrels, cattle and Horses.
8) Blue Jacaranda / Neel Mohar
Neel Mohar is very unique tree with purple color flowers. It’s other names includes, Brazilian Rose Wood, Green Ebony, or Blue Jacaranda. It’s a native of Brazil and widely grown in Peru, USA and India.
It’s often recommended to plant the Neel Mohar tree away from the veranda as quite of bit of flower drop and cover the ground. Add a bit of sunlight of the fallen flowers and it can turn slimy. That’s the reason, you’ll mostly see this tree planted along the road street.
9) Nandi Flame Tree / Spathodea Campanulata
Nandi Flame also called African Tulip Tree globally is native of Kenya, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia. It grows naturally in African forest zones. This tree produces orangish-red flowers and small dark green leaves.
It is a medium size tree that grows in the range of 25 to 35 meter. Nandi Flame tree is know to have medicinal benefits in ailments like Malaria, constipation, skin disease. It’s also used as an antiseptic.
10) Yellow Flame
The botanical name of Yellow Flame Tree is Peltophorum pterocarpum. It’s popular for planting on the roadside as it doesn’t need much water. It has small light green leaves arranged beautifully and produces small yellow flowers. It makes a good umbrella shape crown and therefore great as a shade tree for summers.
After the flowering season, the seed pods takes the place of flowers and remain for several months before it sheds it. This tree attracts quite a lot of birds and butterfly.
11) Kadamba Tree (Neolamarckia cadamba)
Kadamba is a full sized evergreen tree that produces unique flowers / fruits that smells really good. The flowers of this tree are pulpy and edible. It is also used extensively in the perfume industry to produce Kadamba Attars.
Kadamba is know by various other names including laran, Leichhardt pine, Burflower tree, kadam, Chinese anthocephalus, White jabon, and Wild cinchona tree.
This tree is considered to be auspicious, especially in the Hindu culture since it was mentioned frequently in the Lord Krishna stories. Apart for cultural value, it’s also know to benefit in many ailments like muscular pain, poisonous bites, Jaundice, rheumatic pain, Fever, etc.
12) Rosy Trumpet
Like pink flowers? If yes then Rosy Trumpet tree is the one for you. It is a large tropical tree that can grow more than 35 meter in height. Rosy Trumpet tree is also known as Roble de Dabana or Pink Poui. The pink flower starts blooming after around 3 years for planting the tree.
This tree can be found in coffee plantations as it’s often used as shade tree for the coffee plants.
13) Bauhinia (Kachnar Tree)
Kachnar is a deciduous tree that produces purplish flowers in the later months of winter. This tree is indegenous to India, Pakistan and South China. It is a medium sized tree that can grow upto 20 meter tall. Kachnar tree is also called by different names like Camel’s foot, Mountain ebony, orchid tree, Poor man’s Orchid, and Butterfly ash.
The flowers / Buds of Kachnar tree is edible and is a rich source of vitamin C. In Ayurveda, the flowers are used as herb for treating Worm infestation, wounds, Fever, Thyroid, Inflamation, and many other ailments.
14) Champak Tree (Magnolia champaca)
Champak is a full size evergreen tree that can grow as tall as 55 meters. However, it has other varieties also that are shorter in length and reach around 10 meter in height. This tree is native of south east Asia.
It produces yellow / Orange flowers that are fragrant too. The flowers blooms in summer and remain until early autumn.
15) Alexandria Laurel
Alexandria Laurel is an auspicious flowering tree in India. It’s one of the eight flowers that’s offered to lord shiva during morning prayer. The flower it produces is small ball-shaped and white in colour. At full bloom you’ll see the ball opening up to reveal the yellowish centre. It’s a slow growing, medium size tree that grows around 20 meter tall.
Other common names of this tree is Ball Nut, Beauty Leaf, Mastwood, Sultan Champa, Punnai (in Tamil), Indian doomba oil tree, and Punnaga (in Sanskrit).
What are the most common trees in India?
Some popular trees in India include: Bael, Sagwan, Sheesham, Neem, Kadamba, Mango, Banyan, Peepal, Gulmohar, Etc.
Which is the fastest growing tree in India?
Indian Wild Cherry is one of the fastest growing tree in India. Other trees include: Neem, Kapok, Almond, and Ber tree.
Which tree gives Red Flowers?
Silk cotton tree and Nandi Flame tree produces red flowers.