Colville's glory

Colvillea racemosa

No Indian name

A close cousin of more familiar Gulmohur or Krisnachura with similar twice feathered compound leaves with a much taller and less spready crown. Trunk with coppery tone and small corky knobs. Produces dull orange grape-like flowers in pinecone like formation in September

Bark: brownish grey with a pinkish or coppery tone, studded with numerous small corky knobs

Leaf: Twice feathered, very similar to Gulmohur, slightly longer, pinna is more numerous, and the leaflets are larger than Gulmohur

Flower: Borne in dense cone-like spikes n clusters from the tips of the upper branches. Individual flowers are dull orange grape-shaped with stamens protruding out

Fruit: Pods, roundish in cross section (need to check if it fruits in Rabindra sarobar)

Season: The leaves fall in the early part of hot season and are replaced by new leaves in May. The flowers appear at the end of August and last throughout most of September.

Range/habitat: Like gulmohur, this tree is also native of Madagascar (and probably east Africa) where it primarily grows in lowland forest and savannah areas. Introduced all over the tropics.

Trivia and notes:

a) Growth habit is tall and slender (not spreading like Gulmohur, with which it is frequently confused)

b) Name after Sir Charles Colville who was 3rd Governor of Mauritius (1830’s) where this tree was widely cultivated

Where To Find: In Rabindra Sarobar some 50 feet inside from Gate No 7. GPS Location: 22.51050, 88.35322