This one is Sterculia urens. The peeling flaky white bark clearly seen in the third pic being one of the main distinguishing characteristic. Rakesh ji the person who informed you of three different flowers probably made the common mistake of mistaking the velvety purple fruits as flowers. The beautifdul leaves too can look as fowers from afar.
regards, Rashida. Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:18:12 +0530 Subject: Re: [efloraofindia:29552] Elephant rope tree - Sterculia Villosa From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected] Thanks a lot Raghu Ji for these fantastic travellogues. I noticed this tree very recently in Kanha National park as well, although it was pointed out to be Sterculia Urens by the forest guide who also added that this tree has 3 different flowers in 3 seasons. Now I am confused if Sterculia Urens actually can look like this in a different season. Would be grateful to learn from the experts. regards, rakesh On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 9:35 AM, raghu ananth <[email protected]> wrote: Sterculia Villosa, Elephant rope tree, Fibre used as elephant rope Dhoni forest, Palakkad, Kerala, Western ghats Date: 07 Dec 2009 Excerpt from our travelogue ------------------------------------- We walked along the wide forest path framed by tall trees on either side. The weather was pleasant accompanied by a soft breeze now and then. We continued on our journey and we noticed that the straight path now began to incline upwards and we had to slow our pace a bit. Now, when we stopped to catch our breath, we noticed that few trees sported name plates - Datiscaceae, Sterculiaceae, Ficus Caremosa and many other such unpronounceable names. Felt a little better when our tribal forest staff perceived us mentally on those tree use and we learnt- some trees were used to make canoes, some to make ropes for elephants and some had medicinal uses. Small waterfalls bisected our paths, every few meters. So we soldiered on with the sunlight at times piercing the thick tree canopy. We walked on and then our guide pointed out to a few purple flowers, which looked similar to the Kurinji blossoms but which were not fussy about appearing once in 12 years. We carried on noticing how the strangler figs were choking the life out of the host trees. Even the plant world has its share of uninvited guests! Regards Sunita / Raghu The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en. _________________________________________________________________ Green cities and the melting world http://green.in.msn.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
