Mumbaikars get a glimpse of pink beauty, pictures of pink trumpet trees go viral on social media

Mumbaikars are treating their eyes to clusters of pink beauties. Tabebuia trees, also known as pink trumpet trees, have flowered. Pictures of the pink-blossomed trees planted along several stretches across Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, have gone viral on social media.

The trees, which are native to America, are around 25 to 30-feet tall. One of the best places to take a good look at the flowers is near Vikroli on the Eastern Express Highway, as there are several trees planted along that road. Individual trees and tree clusters can also be spotted in Borivali, Powai, Sion, and other areas including Nerul and Belapur.

As per Jitendra Pardeshi, Superintendent, Gardens, these plants flower between December and February, in Mumbai these have flowered in March. The flowers are pink with a yellow neck and are in the shape of trumpets, from which the tree gets its name. “Mumbai has a total of 29.75 lakh trees, of which 6,580 are pink trumpets,” he said.

“A lot of people mistake these for cherry trees, which also have pink blossoms. We have been seeing these trees in Mumbai for years now, but its interesting to see the sudden interest that people have developed in them in the past few years,” said a botanist associated with a government-aided college.

Sanjay Sengupta, a third year botany student, said that the BMC should use social media to share more information about such flowering trees. "In fact, in every garden setup by the BMC, there should be boards with information about flowering plants and the season of flowering, so that people can enjoy seeing them in full bloom," he said.