Beta

Nature Note From Mhow: Have you ever eaten the Jungle Jalebi?

Mhow, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Nature Note From Mhow: Have you ever eaten the Jungle Jalebi?

Photographs taken from March to May 2008.

Camera: SONY DSC H9.

Taxonomic Name: Pithecellobium dulce
Common Names: Madras Thorn, Manila Tamarind, Monkeypod, Guamachili, Kamatsile (Filipino), Opiuma (Hawaiian).

According to the Wikipedia article on this tree it is a native of Central and Northern South America.

Besides the common names given above Pradip Krishen's Trees Of Delhi, a copy of      which is always on my study table, gives me the names Vilaiti Imli and Dakhani Babool for this tree in Hindi.

The jungle jalebi was a childhood favourite during the years I spent in Mhow in the late sixties and early seventies. Every summer we had to break a few by throwing stones and then fight for the tasty fruit when they fell to the ground.

We have a tree in our house now. It is the rejuvented part of an older tree and is doing well.


These pictures are taken over a period of almost two months as the flowers became fruits which in turn ripened.