Mhow, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Nature Note From Mhow: Have you ever eaten t...
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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.
The large leaves one can see to the left in the pic above are those of the lantana.
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Hi maddss.. great seeing you here... glad that these pictures reminded you of your childhood... thanks for the visit and the comment. .dev
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Hello Vasudevan!
Nice photographs ! If you ask my generation ,everyone would have tasted it. Yes as children it was past time to pluck them and eat them.
regards
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Hi Kalyanee .. Am glad I could introduce you to the jungle jalebi.. thanks for the visit and the comment... regards.. Dev
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Dev Kumar.
Dats a different tree....din'd know abt it.
Lucky u to have all these lovely trees in ur garden.
Kalyanee
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Hi PF... it is only when I started writing the text for this post that i came to know that this tree is not native to India.. .but it has become part of local culture wherever it grows... am glad you liked this post... regards.. Dev
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Hi seeingeye.. thanks for the visit, the comment and the appreciation... being a cantonment kid yourself you may well have tasted the jungli jalebi in your childhood...
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Hullo, Dev!
what patience you have....you remind me of the photographers on National Geographic.....may be in your spare time you could oblige the channel???
I like the way the strange flowers metamorphosed into the well-recognizable imli (call it what you may!!)
a faint memory comes to mind of plucking and eating, but I cant swear to it...I think I was afraid of accidental poisoning!!!
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Hello Dev,
This tree has such fundoo names...loved them all!
Amazing pictures you've clicked...the imli looks soooooo inviting!
Ahh...the camera has so beautifully captured the warmth of India's dil!
Grand!
PF
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Hi mrs muffet... welcome to Nature Note From Mhow... yes the fruit is edible and it has a delicious fragrance when it is ripe... thanks for the visit, the comment and the appreciation.. .Dev
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Hi aruna... yes this tree grows well in gujarat too... glad u liked the post.. thanks for the visit and the comment... dev
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