Friday, 29 September, 2023
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Soothing summer flowers

Soothing summer flowers
Cannonball (Nagalingam in Bangla) trees are in full blossom on the premises of Dhaka University’s Curzon Hall. The photo was taken on Monday. —Kamrul Islam Ratan

The humidity levels soar along with high temperatures during the summer, making living tough for all. When hot air irritates the body, the season’s amazing flowers bring peace to eyes.

A variety of colourful flowers blossoms in various tall trees in the country during this time of the year.

Among them, the most prominent flowers are Krishnachura (Royal Poinciana), Nagalingam (Cannonball), Radhachura (Peacock flower), Kanakchura (Copperpod), Jarul (Queen Crape Myrtle), Sonalu (Golden Shower), Hijol (Freshwater Mangrove), Bonak, Udla, Ghasful and Jasmine.

While going around the breathtaking flowers, people get fascinated for a while as the flowers provide them with the opportunity to rejoice the blessings of nature.

All the summer flowers are not available in Dhaka owing to the scarcity of free space. Yet a visit to Ramna Park, Dhaka University campus, Chandrima Udyan, the street beside Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, Baldha Garden in Old Dhaka and Botanical Garden in Mirpur would make anyone pleased as different types of summer flowers have already bloomed there.

For the past few years, Krishnachuras in Dhaka have been showing a late bloom - after the first few swathes of rain in monsoon. Following that trend, all the soothing flowers have blossomed after the last couple of days’ rain to captivate city dwellers.

The bloom is still young at Dhaka University, the road by the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban and Chandrima Udyan, but the beauty of the flowers would not fail to fascinate anyone.

Nagalingam blooms mainly in April and May and lives for over two months. The flowers of the tree are seen to sprout from the trunk or body (branch) of a tree, not from the end of branches of the tree. Nagalingam also emits intense scent- a mixed scent of Rose and the Lotus but the fruits of the trees are large, round-shaped like that of hard balls. The flower can be seen in Baldha Garden and Botanical Garden in Dhaka.

Radhachura and Kanakchura are two intimate flowers of summer which are available in Ramna Park. Although they are similar in terms of the formation of leaves, the trees are altogether different.

The tubular golden yellow flowers hang downwards like bells. One part of the petal is upside down, the tip of stamen is blackish. The flowers bloom serially from top to bottom.

With wide, long and deep green leaves and bright violet petals, the blue beauty of Jarul is charming. In Dhaka, it can be seen in front of Rokeya Hall, on the north of VC’s residence of Dhaka University, and in Ramna Park and Suhrawardy Udyan.

Another amazing summer flower is Sonalu. The yellow flower does not grow in large bunches or fill up its entire space. The trick is to look at it from right underneath, for then it becomes a chandelier of many layers, each yellow bud replacing a light.

Seen thus, it is like a precisely beautiful composition. Sonalu flowers are available near the Osmani Memorial Auditorium and in Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area in the capital.