FoI
Heaven Lotus
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Heaven Lotus
ntroduced Photo: Aarti Khale
Common name: Heaven Lotus, Gustavia
Botanical name: Gustavia superba    Family: Lecythidaceae (Brazilnut Family)

Native to Panama, Heaven Lotus is a medium-sized ornamental tree which is rarely seen in India. It has a straight trunk that is often unbranched, with just one cluster of leaves at the top of the trunk. In big trees, though, there are a few large branches, each with a cluster of leaves at the end. Leaves are large, toothed, long, narrow at the base, and broad at the apex. Flowers, few in number, are large, purple, with many stiff stamens arranged upright in a ring. When they are mature, a few flowers can easily be found on ground beneath adult trees. Fruits are round, green, hard, larger and heavier than a baseball. Inside are a few large seeds.

Identification credit: Prashant More
Photographed at Jijamata Udyan, Mumbai.
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