Indian trees
Indian trees are grouped into gardening trees, timber trees, medicinal trees, evergreen trees, deciduous trees, etc. Different species of trees are used for different purposes.
Classification of Indian Trees
Indian Trees can be classified in different ways. These trees are categorized according to their valuable properties and usages into decorative or gardening trees, timber trees, medicinal trees, etc. Indian medicinal trees have valuable medicinal properties and they are commonly used in the traditional treatment methods like Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic and Unani treatments. Indian Trees can also be classified according to the duration of leaf on the tree. Such trees are evergreen trees and deciduous trees. Evergreen trees have leaves throughout the year, whereas deciduous trees shed their leaves and turn dormant in winter. India has flowering trees as well as flowerless trees. Indian trees can also be grouped as coastal trees that grow in the coastal regions of India.
Cannon Ball Tree: Cannonball tree, (Couroupita guianensis), tall, soft-wooded tree, of the family Lecythidaceae, native to northeastern South America and notable for its large, spherical woody fruit, which resembles a rusty cannonball. The tree is also cultivated in the southern regions of North America. The leaves are oval, oblong, or broadly lance shaped; the leaf margins are smooth or finely toothed. The showy flowers, borne in racemes 60–90 cm (2–3 feet) long, grow straight from the trunk and have concave petals about 5 cm (2 inches) long. They are yellow or red on the outside and crimson or lilac on the inside. The fruit, which grows to 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter, is pulpy on the inside and contains many seeds. The hard shell is used locally to make utensils.
Curry Tree: The curry tree, Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii, is a tropical and sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae (the rue family, which includes rue, citrus, and satinwood), native to Asia. The plant is also sometimes called sweet neem, though M. koenigii is in a different family to neem, Azadirachta indica, which is in the related family Meliaceae. The word curry derives from Tamil word kari, the name of the plant associated with the perceived blackness of the tree leaves.The records of the leaves being utilized are found in Tamil literature dating back to the 1st and 4th centuries CE. Britain had spice trades with the ancient Tamil region. It was introduced to England in the late 16th century[citation needed].
Jack Fruit Tree: Jackfruit, (Artocarpus heterophyllus), evergreen tree (family Moraceae) native to tropical Asia and widely grown throughout the wetland tropics for its large fruits and durable wood. The greenish unripe fruit is cooked as a vegetable, and the brown ripened fruit is eaten fresh for the sweetly acid but insipid pulp surrounding the seeds. The seeds are cooked and eaten locally. Jackfruit is considered a staple food crop in Bangladesh and other areas in South and Southeast Asia. Canned or processed jackfruit has gained popularity as a meat substitute in some places.
Royal Palm Tree: Roystonea regia, commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted throughout the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental tree. Although it is sometimes called R. elata, the conserved name R. regia is now the correct name for the species. The royal palm reaches heights from 50 to over 80 feet tall. Populations in Cuba and Florida were long seen as separate species, but are now considered a single species.
Umbrella Tree: The umbrella plant is a multi-trunk tree that can grow over 15 meters tall outdoors and has to be pruned and topped at some point to keep its size manageable within a home. There is also a dwarf schefflera variety if you need something smaller. Its close relative, Schefflera Actinophylla, has to be carefully planted because of its invasive nature and is seen as a weed in certain places.
Coral Tree: Indian Coral Tree is a showy, spreading tree legume with brilliant red or white blossoms. This highly valued ornamental has been described as one of the gems of the floral world. It is a picturesque, broad and spreading, deciduous tree that can get 60-80 ft tall and spread 20-40 ft It has many stout branches that are armed with black tiger’s claw spines. There are curved spines (really more like prickles) on the long leaf stalks too. The leaves are compound, with three diamond shaped leaflets, each about 6 in long. Before the leaves come out in late winter or early spring, coral tree puts on a spectacular show with bright crimson flowers 2-3 in long in dense terminal clusters. It may flower a little during the summer, too. The beanlike pods that follow the flowers are cylindrical, about 15 in long, and constricted between the reddish brown seeds.
Bougainvillea, (genus Bougainvillea), genus of about 18 species of shrubs, vines, or small trees, belonging to the four-o’clock family (Nyctaginaceae), native to South America. Many species are thorny. Only the woody vines have attained wide popularity; several species have produced very showy cultivated varieties, which are often grown indoors and in conservatories.
Cork Tree: Cork tree, (genus Phellodendron), genus of several eastern Asian trees in the rue family (Rutaceae) usually having corklike bark. The Amur, or Japanese, cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) is useful as a lawn and shade tree and is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions. Cork trees are deciduous with dark green pinnately divided leaves that turn yellow in fall. Small greenish yellow flowers appear in summer. Female trees bear small grapelike clusters of black drupes that are attractive to birds and other wildlife.
Tulip Tree: The tulip tree occurs in mixed-hardwood stands in eastern North America. It is taller than all other eastern broad-leaved trees, and its trunk often has a diameter greater than 2 metres (7 feet). The tulip tree can attain a height of 60 metres (197 feet). Its long-stemmed bright green leaves are bilaterally two- to four-lobed, with tips that are straight-edged or broadly notched. They turn golden yellow in the fall and have large appendages (stipules) at the base of the leafstalks; the stipule scars encircle the twigs. The large yellowish green tuliplike flowers have six petals, orange at the base, and three bright green sepals. Other characteristics include conelike clusters of terminally winged fruits, aromatic purplish brown twigs with winter buds resembling a duck’s bill, and a straight trunk with an oblong crown. A tulip tree reaches its full stature in approximately 200 years.
