With the arrival of the New Year, no one in the city can miss the burst of natural colours. Though rapid construction has taken its toll on Bangalore’s green cover, the old parts of the city still boast of green canopies and some amazing trees. Between January and April, the city’s trees begin to bloom, colouring the city’s landscape in hues of purple, pink, violet, red and yellow.
These trees arrived in Bangalore thanks to the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore and a German called Gustav Krumbiegel. The latter even has a road named after him near Lalbagh, the botanical garden that is synonymous with the city.
Some of the trees that grace the city are the Tabebuia (Tree of Gold), the African Tulip, the Bombax Malabaricum, the Pink Tabebuia, the Gulmohur, the Java Cassia and the Butea Frondosa (Flame of the Forest). About half of the city’s trees are exotics, finding their way here from countries like Mexico, Argentina, Myanmar, China and Brazil. The rest are native to the Indian subcontinent.
