Take a look around: Mumbai is in bloom!

As summer sets in, it’s time to step out, brave the sun, and enjoy Mumbai’s flora, which is in full bloom this time of year.

As summer sets in, it’s time to step out, brave the sun, and enjoy Mumbai’s flora, which is in full bloom this time of year. You could take a walk around the high court and university precinct, where Karanj trees (Pongamia pinnata) are flowering, their pinkish-white flowers attracting butterflies.

You could rest for a while under the wide, inviting canopy of the rain tree. An exotic plant that is a native of the southern hemisphere, it towers at 80-100 feet. You could take a breather on the bed of pink flowers that is likely to be strewn around the base, this time of year.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/4/Summer1.jpg

Copper pod (Peltiflora), an evergreen tree with spikes of yellow flowers, is seen around areas like Andheri east, Sundernagar and Goregaon west. (Vidya Subramanian/HT photo)

With its shock of saffron-yellow flowers and its gnarled trunk, the Palas tree – aptly called the Flame of the Forest– is arguably the most glorious of all local flora you are likely to encounter. The tree, Butea monosperma, rarely rises beyond six metres in height. Biju Augustine, environmentalist and tree enthusiast, said, “The flowers appear on the tree between February and April, when it has no leaves. It is found at the Borivli national park.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/4/Summer2.jpg

Flame of the forest (butea monosperma), also known as Palas, is found in most parts of Mumbai. (Vidya Subramanian/HT photo)

Not just flowers; trees like the mango and jackfruit are also bearing fruit. “The mango tree and the jackfruit are two examples of fruiting trees growing in abundance in the city now,” added Augustine. Both trees are found at the Borivli national park, Tungareshwar, Hindu Colony and other old colonies in Mumbai.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/4/Summer3.jpg

Amaltas Tree (Cassia fistula Linn), also called the Indian Laburnum, is one of the most beautiful of India's indigenous trees whose cluster of golden blooms adds colour to the hills during the drier and hotter parts of summer. In Mumbai, Laburnum Road was so named because of the double row of the Amaltas trees planted along the street. (Vidya Subramanian/HT photo)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/4/Summer4.jpg

Karanj trees (Pongamia pinnata), found near Bombay high court and the University of Mumbai, are flowering at the moment. (Vidya Subramanian/HT photo)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2015/4/Summer5.jpg

Red Silk cotton tree (Bombax malabaricum), also known as 'semul' in Hindi, is found near areas like Seven Bungalows, Andheri, Jogeshwari and Versova. (Vidya Subramanian/HT photo)