A guide to the summer flowers that bloom in Chennai

The Hindu

08-05-2025

Over a month ago, the brown, popcorn-like buds of the copper pod tree popped open for a spectacle. The tree brought us its delightful annual yellow surprise. During the first days of bloom, K Malathy, a conservancy worker in T Nagar, said that she was miffed. Years of sweeping and piling these floral blooms in a tricky little rickly pile, was getting somewhat boring, she said. 'But I have to admit, it is pretty,' she said, when prompted.
The flowers of the chrome copper pods have long carpeted the roads of Chennai, signalling the arrival of summer. If you stand under one of these trees for long enough, the winds will bring you some of its offerings and dot your hair like a dishevelled garland. It is one of the many joys to take you through an otherwise unrelenting summer in the city. The copper pod however, is only one of the many flowering trees that come alive during these months. One can see the red peaks of a gulmohar tree, the orange of the Indian coral tree, the subtle purple of the pride of India tree and the grape-like buds of the Indian laburnum. Each flower demands an incantation from Keats. A thing of beauty is indeed a joy forever.
Pauline Deborah, an associate professor who has been teaching Botany at the Women's Christian College, says that it may seem like some of these trees, like the gulmohar, are Indian. They have after all, been immortalised in Tamil pop culture through songs and stills. The tree's original roots however, are in Madagascar.
She says that Colonial era botanists including Robert Wight, Hugh Cleghorn and Robert Brown imported seeds from various countries and grew them in the Agriculture Horticulture Society on Cathedral Road. Most of these trees with pretty flowers were 'avenue trees' brought in to ensure that the vistas of Madras would replicate a feeling similar to that of their homes in Britain and Scotland. That is when the likes of silver oaks were introduced to India.
Shobha Menon, the founder of Nizhal Trust, an NGO that has been working on urban tree conservation for decades, says that trees like gulmohar, perceived as rain trees in South America, were planted because they grew quickly. 'In the process though, we have lost a lot of our native trees,' she says.
Walking through the Kotturpuram Urban Forest, she picks up a pride of India flower and hands it over. This bloom with its soft lilac petals reminds one of origami paper. Its panicle makes it hard to press in a notebook but the flower is one for keeps. The urban forest, located in the centre of the city is one of the many locations where 1,000 native and naturalised trees and flowers have been attentively planted and tended to. An active effort has been made to bring trees like the Kusum and the fig. 'Both these trees came in a checked in baggage from Delhi. I had gone for a meeting and both these trees were small. I transferred my clothes into my hand luggage and brought the trees home,' she says, pointing to the stumps that have now metamorphosed into their full form.
Native trees do not necessarily have showy flowers. Take the neem for instance with tiny white speckles. Pauline says that trees like the Indian labernum, banyan, peepul, arjun and the pagoda have been actively planted by the Chennai Corporation and the Forest Department over the last 20 years. She helped curate a list that would provide shade, fruits for birds and also be aesthetic. 'A cityscape needs a diverse, good mix,' she said.
N Niresh Kumar, Superintendent of Parks, Chennai Corporation, says that every year, they plant between a lakh and a lakh and a half trees in the city. Some are done in partnership with NGOs, others with companies, but most part of the State Government's Green Tamil Nadu initiative. Since it is summer, they have halted their efforts. However, they will begin again in June, with the planting of small trees like the plumeria alba with white frangipani flowers and flowering shrubs like the bougainvillea in centre medians on busy roads. They will also be taking up planting initiatives at parks, canals, vacant lands, playgrounds and around ponds and lakes.
'We are planning to plant trees including the Spanish cherry (magizham), portia tree (poovarasu) and lebbeck (vaagai) in these locations. Their longevity is fantastic and their roots do minimal damage to sidewalks,' he says. He adds that maintenance is key and have adopted the drip irrigation technique to ensure that the trees are taken care of. 'The key effort is not towards beautification. It is towards urban greenery,' he says.
While people stop to observe and admire a beautiful flower, the years that go into the process of receiving this gift from nature are often not given a second thought. Shoba says that it is imperative to not just say 'wow' during a tree walk and understand the flora around us, but also plant a sapling at home, in an apartment or on the street. 'Even greening your house with small plants will help today,' she says.
Over the next month, go on a walk, pick up your phone, snap a picture of a tree and look at its flower. Press it in a notebook or give it to a loved one. Mostly though, google its name and learn of the life around you. It may ignite the spark to plant that first tree.
Contact Nizhal on their website nizhaltn.org, call at 9840904621 or reach out to them on Instagram @nizhalshade for any tree-related emergencies.