Golden harvest flowers on Sachivalay Marg near Regional Institute of Education and (below) gulmohar flowers near BDA colony in Chandrasekharpur. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 9: Summer flowers along the avenues have painted the city in bright hues. However, the gulmohar (Krushnachuda in Odia) is not seen in full bloom like previous years.

Golden harvest (Sunari in Odia) and copper pod (Radha chuda in Odia) are the most noticeable ones times time. The yellow copper pod on the treetops and those forming a carpet beneath around the trees are a pretty sight.

The usual summer look with the gulmohar trees is the most noticeable at places along the Airport-Nandankanan road, near the NH-5 flyover at Jaydev Vihar, Acharya Vihar and Sachivalaya Marg. But this year, the usual density of bright blossoms is missing.

Chief horticulturist of Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Ashok N. Dhar told The Telegraph that this was the effect of last year’s Phailin.

“A similar situation was also experienced in Bhubaneswar in 2000 in the wake of the 1999 super cyclone. The strong winds injured the trees and the clyclonic stress brings an overall change in the flowering pattern. The usual flowering pattern is seen after a year,” Dhar said.

Sheela Das, a private company executive who has interest on flowers, said: “Every year around mid-March, the gulmohar plants come up with their distinct flowering pattern that dominates the branches hiding the leaves, but this year on many plants are yet to flower.’’

The city management group (CMG), which is in charge of Bhubaneswar’s overall development, has decided to include particular flowering saplings along an avenue or the median to give a distinct colour pattern to the area in the flowering season.

Divisional forest officer (DFO) Jayanta Kumar Das said: “Already, golden harvest saplings have been added to the median on the Ram Mandir-Master Canteen Square expansion project. Once the trees attain a certain size, the flowers will definitely paint the road yellow.”

Plants like crepe myrtle (patali in Odia) are also blooming in two hues — purple and white. A favoured avenue plantation species, the flowers bring a refreshing look to the area.

Plumeria (katha champa in Odia) is also a common flowering plant that blooms in summer.

“Earlier plumeria used to be a favoured avenue plant, but now it has become a species for plantation inside parks. It also beautifies the environment and has a huge demand as an offering in temples,” Dhar said.