City’s own idiosyncratic autumn

Autumn marks the transition to winter, where canopies burst into a riot of colours.
City’s own idiosyncratic autumn

HYDERABAD: Autumn marks the transition to winter, where canopies burst into a riot of colours. Sadly, Hyderabad misses out on this beautiful makeover, for it has its idiosyncratic climate. Here, during autumn, trees get animated in spring-like attire. Shrubs sprout out vibrant off-shoots to prepare us for Bathukamma, and migratory birds from Europe chirp to wake us up to the season

The autumnal equinox begins today. Soon, rains would cease, the sky would resume bright blueness, the sun’s rays would become a little less powerful, and the average temperature would be slightly lower. The autumn weather leads to a subtle yet kaleidoscopic transformation in the city’s treescape, for non-native trees planted in the city’s avenue mistake autumn with spring and bloom.

The city falls under the tropical zone, and trees do not need to wither or change colour to prepare for cold winters. Meteorologists from India Meteorological Department (IMD) say, the temperatures are markedly close to what is seen during the spring. “We don’t get to witness the symbolic autumn represented with the changing colour of leaves and fall as in temperate zones. The temperatures in the city are more or less alike before the transition into winter and winter into summer, so we don’t visibly see any autumn adaptation in the ecosystem,” says K Murali, Meteorologist with IMD.

Some trees like Saptaparni (Alstonia scholaris), planted widely in Raheja Mindspace, Somajiguda Road, Necklace Road, and Road Number 45 Jubilee Hills, go into full bloom. The flowers are dully-coloured, almost camouflaged with leaves but the redolent fragrance could be felt from afar. “From October and onwards, saptaparni’s scent floats on the roads it has been planted. Its sweet smell influences the mood. Likewise is the scent of Akash Malle (Mellingtonia hortensis), which is anaesthetic to a worrying mind.”

The Lake View Park at Tank Bund is lined with Mellingtonia trees —its flowers appear as mini chandeliers on trees, and seem like bunches of stars tied on tree’s branches at night when the fragrance is at it’s peak. “Trees during autumn in Hyderabad wear a high volume canopy which is a thick green. That is because most trees here are non-native and retain chlorophyll until late winter, and then they fall in August,” says C Srinivasulu, professor and researcher, at Osmania University.

Spathodea or African Tulip tree, which is planted widely across the avenues in the city including a tree right in front of the entrance of Chief Minister’s Camp Office in Begumpet, is a classic example of tree which both blooms and retains chlorophyll. One can see that the tree has dark green leaves, with dust suspended upon it amidst flamboyant bloom.

Other trees like Cassia Javanica are burning in pink flames, while Copper Pod, which is a very common tree in the city, is carpeting streets with its yellow flowers. Sandalwood trees too are blooming as if it were spring.

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