I couldn’t resist taking a picture of these beautiful pink flowers just hanging all over
this huge tree on the side of a busy road in Port Edward (South Coast of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, the Eastern Cape Province border).
To my surprise this tree, Latin name: - ‘Bauhinia’, is actually native to India, China, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan, Shri Lanka, basically the East.
The flowers are a valuable herb in Ayurveda – said to reduce growths on the body and for strengthening the glandular system. Fresh flowers are also used in salads
This tropical tree grows to 40 feet and worldwide there are over 300 species in the genus. It produces showy fragrant purple, pink, lavender or white flowers that grow in clusters near the stem tips.
Other names: Orchid tree, butterfly tree, geranium tree.
Sanskrit name: Kanchanar.
This tree is exotic in Australia, China, Philippines and few other places.
Unfortunately, this beautiful tree is considered an 'Alien Tree' in South Africa since it is not native to this country.
It is classified as:
CATEGORY 3: Invader plants, which have amenity value and which may be grown, but not planted, propagated, imported or traded. You may not grow Category 3 plants within 30 metres of watercourses and the Department may instruct you to control Category 3 plants in other areas.
These fiery fruits are native to Mexico and the many different varieties range from mild to very, very hot. India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of chili peppers.
What gives chillies their kick is capsaicin, the active component in the seeds and white fibrous membranes. There are some evidence to suggest that ingesting capsaicin releases our ‘feel good’ hormones, called endorphins, which might be why some think chillies are additive!
I couldn’t resist taking a picture of these beautiful pink flowers just hanging all over
“LIFE UNDER WATER”, it is truly amazing to see how much life exist in the little rock pools, created by Mother Nature. Really fascinating!
“Swim at your own risk” due to the sharks in this area. Well fortunately for us the sharks kept away! Enjoy!
Travelling to Hluleka by motor vehicle is about 510 km from Durban, but took us around 8 hours to get there, due to the winding (tarred) roads and the dusty, bumpy gravel(dirt) roads, major road works along the way and of course our picnicking. But it was indeed worth it.
