A VISIT to the Penang Botanical Gardens usually entails an itinerary that includes monkey viewing, strolling through the gardens and picnicking by a gentle stream. For some visitors, the main highlights for the day include an opportunity to see the cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) in its full glory – a definite eye catcher.

The tree got its name from the large fruit it bears, so large that they look like cannonballs, and after ripening make a similar cracking explosion when they hit the ground. Thus, it is best to avoid standing directly under them during the fruiting season.

This large evergreen tree is native to the southern Caribbean, the tropical northern parts of South America and, though much disputed among academic and scientific circles, India. The use of the tree is remarkably diverse. The bark, flower and fruit have been accorded with many medicinal properties including anti-microbial and anti-fungal activity and are ingested and used extensively by shamans and indigenous people. The wood can be used to make furniture, and the shell of the fruit containers and utensils.

The tree is something of an oddity because its large brown fruit seems to be growing en masse from the trunk of the tree, and its vividly coloured flowers possesses a wonderful scent – unlike the edible fruit which emits an unpleasant aroma when exposed to air.

Another odd feature, the flowers have no nectar and so depend on bees in search of pollen. Thus, the majority of these trees found outside their natural environment have been planted as nothing more than a botanical curiosity!

However, this tree also retains a religious significance in Asia. In India, it is revered as a sacred tree because the petals of the flower resemble the hood of the Naga, a sacred snake, protecting a Shiva Lingam, the stigma. Though it has been confused with another sacred tree, the sala, the cannonball tree is also often planted at Buddhist temples because according to Buddhist scriptures it was under such a tree which Buddha Vessabhu gained enlightenment.

References:

• The Encyclopedia of Earth
• Flowers of India
• Environmental Graffiti

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