Krishnachura Trees

There are several trees here in Bangladesh that are familiar to me now. But there are 3 that I am positive of on site- mango, jackfruit and krishnachura. And though the fruit/flowers of each are a dead giveaway, I recognize them all now also by foliage and even the bark of the jackfruit tree.

 (above, l/r): jackfruit and mango in Dhaka, (below, both): krishnachura in Dhaka

The krishnachura (pronounced in Bangladesh as keesh-na-sura), delonix regia, is a very beautiful plant. The leaves are dainty, like a locust or mesquite tree, if you're familiar with them. And though I'm a sucker for beautiful foliage, what girl isn't right?, the show they put on during blooming season will knock your socks off.

folliage pic from Wikipedia

The flowers are a vibrant red with orange/yellow stamens. One can see where it gets its common name of Flame or Flamboyant tree. The seed pod that follows the flowers is equally as impressive, growing to lengths of 60 cm long and 5 cm wide, dark brown in color hanging from the branches.

Flamboyant tree, St. Kitts 2002

We saw our first Flamboyant tree in St. Kitts, over 10 years ago and have noticed them in countries since then. It is a tropical tree, so can be seen in many countries now, Guatemala, here, Madagascar, India, to name a few. We have friends heading to Madagascar next year and am sure they will see these beauties along with baobabs and many other amazing species... jealous :)

I learned the name krishnachura from our driver. And I'm sure he's tired of me pointing and saying it daily when we pass them. My Bangla vocabulary is not huge, but repetition is proving productive, adding a few words here and there. The handy men and guards laugh at my repitoire of : "shesh"/done, "donhobad"/thank you, "tik tiki"/gecko, "tikasay"/ok, etc. Let me tell you, I am no where near conversational Bangla, but enough to make locals smile (or just laugh at how simple minded I sound).

Anyway, if you ever get a glimpse, these trees are amazing!