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                           Shahtoot / Mulberry  Scientific Name -  Morus Alba  Common Name - Mulberry  Family Name -  Moraceae  Bark -   Dark or medium brown  Rough with shallow vertical features  Becomes accentuated with age  Leaf -  Extremely variable  5- 18cm long  heart -shaped base and pointy tip but some leaves are deeply lobed  3-5veins start from the veins and the edges of the leaf are irregularly toothed  Teeth may be sharp , forward pointing , blunt or rounded  Flowers -   Tiny, greenish, crowded on slender spikes   Male and female are separate but grow on the same tree  Male - Longer and fall off in great quantity  Female - Spikes half as long with individual flowers packed together closely.  Fruit -  Compound , comprising lots of individual berries  Cultivated mulberries are 5cm long while others may be shorter  Fruit can be pink , lavender , violet or nearly black  Range -  C and E China and Japan Cultivated in India since ancient

Franginipani

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Scientific Name - Plumeria rubra /Plumeria obtusa  Common Name - Frangipani / White Frangipani Family Name - Fraginipani Family ( Apocynacae)   Bark -  Frangipani  Thin skin and brown with green in it  Warty at places  White Frangipani  Brown and grey  Thin with outer skin  Warty from scars of fallen branches  Leaves -  Frangipani  Clustered at tips of branches  Upto 55cm  Hairless and smooth when mature  The leaves are darker on top and dull without gloss            White Frangipani Upto 35 cm  Dark green with soft shine on top and paler without gloss  Edges of leaves have tendency to roll under  One variety has nearly parallel sides and is densly hairy below  The common variety is smooth below but you can see hair on the leaf stalks and along the main rib with a hand lens  Flower -     Frangipani  Strongly scented in loose upright clusters from common stalk  Flower turns from pink to deep crimson to white with a gold cen

Trees of Gulmohar Park : Laburnam

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Laburnam Scientific Name - Cassia Fistula  Common Name - Amaltas , Indian Laburnam Family Name - Caesalpiniaceae Bark -   Smooth, yellowish when young  Young , coarsening with age  Becomes ruddy or dark grey and  crusty plates fall off like scabs  Leaf  -  Feather compounded  45 cm long  4-8 pairs of large leaflets  Young leaflets are silvered but faint down  They become smooth and without gloss and they mature  Flower -  Fragrant bright yellow  Drooping yellow sprays up to 60 cm long with oldest flowers first at the base  The intensity of yellow varies   A flowers has 10 stamens of unequal length   Three longer ones are fertile Fruit -  Long cylindrical pipes up to 60 cm long  Seeds are stored inside little compartments encased in a strong - smelling , sweetish pulp  Ripe pods are black and fall whole to the ground .  Range -  Found along base of him alaya   and th Growing Condition -  Scattered tree of both d

Trees of Gulmohar Park- Fish Tail Palm

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                                                                                              Fish Tail Palm Scientific Name  - Caryota urens  Common Name - Jaggery Palm  Family Name - Arecaceae  Bark  -  Grey in color  Has spaced rings for every shed leaf  Leaf -  6m long  Leaf stalk emerges from mass of fibrous leaf sheets at the top of the stem  Individual leaves are shiny and triangular  Has one ragged edge  Flower -  Massed in huge ponytail - like tassels up to 4m long  The flowers are in groups of three  One female is flanked by a male on each side  Males unfurl long stamens when open  Female flowers open at the bottom of the triad and have no stamens  Fruit -  About the size and color of a peepal tree  Under the skin the fruit contains sharp crystals that can cause irritation . Range -  Found in India , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and Malaysia .  Found in the foothills of the Hima

Trees of Gulmohar Park: Bottle Brush

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Bottle  Brush Scientific Name - Callistemon viminali  Common Name -   Weeping Bottlebrush  Family Name - Myrtaceae   Bark -   Dark brown or greyish  Thick, corky and deeply furrowed in the vertical axis  Leaf -  Narrow upto 10cm long , pointed at both ends  New leaves are pale pink or bronzed and downy soft , eventually turning darker  Flower -  Crowded in dense spikes , about 8cm long , commonly scarlet  Petals are tiny and fall off early  Scarlet color is contributed entirely by the long stamens dripped in gold .  Fruit -  Small , woody , cupshaped at the end of the twigs   Unlike other bottlebrush species its seeds are released are before the next flowering season , so old fruit is seen as 'old wood ' Range - NE a Growing Condition Uses Legend Location in Gulmohar Park

Trees in Gulmohar Park - Banyan Tree

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                                      B ANYAN  Scientific Name - Ficus benghalensis  Common Name - Banyan , Bargad Family Name - Moraceae (Fig family) Bark -   Grey or silvery  Relatively smooth and becomes flaky when it grows older  Underbark is pink when exposed  Leaf -  When first emerge shielded by two large leaves  Leaf can be 20 cm long but usually 14 cm Broadly oval with a heart shaped or round base Leaves become firm leathery and smooth when mature   Fig -  More or less spherical  2 cm long  Grows in pairs from leaf axis  Origin - Unknown  Range -   All Indian forests both moist and dry  Growing Condition -  Can grow up to 1300 m in mountainous areas   Grows best in loamy soils but can tolerate a variety of soils and dry conditions  Uses - Latex is applied to bruises and cracked soles and to relieve rheumatic pain   The tree is also used for worship by Hindus 

Trees in Gulmohar Park - Saptiparni/Devil's Tree

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                                                                                                            Saptiparni         Scientific Name - Alistonia Scholaris  Common Name - Saptaparni , Devil's tree  Family Name -  Apocynaceae (  Oleander family )  Bark -  Pale and greyish -brown  Has a distinctive pattern  Trunk releases milky latex when injured  Leaf - Have 4-8 leaflets  Attached to the stem like spokes of a wheel  Leaf is 25 cm long ,dark green and glossy but duller below   Flower -  Small greenish - white  Tightly packed in clusters at end  Strongly scented especially in the evenings  Fruit -  Slim follicles present in pairs   40 cm long    Follicles open to reveal flat seeds with wings to assist them on their       journey  Origin - Sub Himalyan tract and the Western ghats to Malaysia , Indoneshia to Northern Australia  Range - Introduced in metropolitan cities in India s