Cannon Ball Tree

Couroupita guianensis

Hindi/Beng: Shivalingam/Nagalingam

A large deciduous tree with a stout straight trunk and brownish-grey bark, long narrow pointed leaves that are widest near tip and taper to a short stalk. For most of the time cannon ball like fruits and/or large flowers with maroon/cream combination dangle from branches or trunk itself.

Bark: very rough, brownish grey.

Leaf: 5-6’’ long, clustered towards end of the branches, widest near tip, with a pointed tip & taper to a short stalk

Flower: Large (3’’ dia), on short leafless twig that emerges often directly from the trunk with 6 concave petals that are white, yellow and pink outside and deep maroon inside. The stamens that bear the pollen are grouped on the lower side of a fleshy band, or ladle-like appendage, which rises from one side of the flower within the petals and curves back over the ovary and style. (this structure leads to the nagalingam name)

Fruit: Brown almost perfect sphere slightly smaller than a coconut dangling drown the trunk in a leafless twig

Season: New leaves are produced in March and April but are shed and renewed several time in a year. Flowers are produced almost throughout the hot season and peak in rains.

Range/habitat: Originally from tropical Latin America including Amazonian rainforest. Introduced in India in late 19th century.

Trivia and notes: Flowers are extremely sweet scenting (sometimes to the point of creating nausea!) especially at night and early morning.

The flower is not used in worships which is one hint that the tree is of recent foreign origin (apart from the fact it did not find a place in landmark book - The Flora of British India, 1875)

Where to Find: (In Rabindra sarovar, Kolkata) One mature labeled tree in north eastern section of the lake, some 85 m from the gate number 1 (Dhakuria/buddha gate) GPS: 22.5110N, 88.36418E