Flower of the Cannonball Tree

Cannon-ball Tree (Couroupita guianensis) as it is commonly know due the woody fruits it bears that look like cannonballs. It is an evergreen tree allied to the Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa). The Indians call it the Nagalingam Tree. It grows to 30-35m tall, with leaves in whorls on the ends of the shoots. The flowers, which are borne only on special stems on the main trunk, are orange, scarlet or pink forming racemes up to 3m long. They mature into large spherical woody fruit 15-24 cm diameter, containing numerous (200-300) seeds. The pulp of the fruits oxidizes bluish, and has an unpleasant smell.

The flower is what attacts one's attention. The flowers are heavily scented and appear in a riot of colour — red, yellow, pink, cream, and white. The six, thick petals are concave and within them lies a circle of barren stamens without pollen and fertile stamens with pollen. This odd arrangement ensures self-pollination if insect pollination fails.