India GOTrees and flowers of Pune
Maharashtra's state flower is jarul, called tamhan in Marathi: a tree that turns pink-purple around the start of the monsoon. The state tree is the mango. In the hills around the city grows karvy, a shrub that flowers en masse only once in seven or eight years. Below: the six plants worth knowing, when they flower and where in the city to see old trees.
Karvy
Karvy is the plant that explains why Western Ghats hillsides occasionally turn blue overnight in September. Between flowerings it is a plain woody thicket, and the honey collected in a flowering year is sold as a separate product.
Strobilanthes callosa
Jarul (pride of India)
The state flower of Maharashtra, tamhan. It comes into flower just as the monsoon reaches the Ghats, which is how the season is remembered around Pune.
Lagerstroemia speciosa
Mango
The state tree of Maharashtra. The Empress Botanical Garden, laid out in the 1830s, holds mango and other old plantings that predate most of the modern city.
Mangifera indica
Tamarind
Tamarind pulp is the sourness in sambar, rasam and chutney across India. Old tamarinds are common village landmarks and are seldom cut.
Tamarindus indica
Banyan
The banyan is worshipped on Vat Savitri, when married women tie thread around the trunk. Village assemblies and markets traditionally met under one.
Ficus benghalensis
Teak
Teak built the ships of the Indian Ocean trade, and crushed young leaves give a blood-red dye.
Tectona grandis
Six plants to know
The list on this page comes from the India GO base; here is what to look for in each.
Jarul, tamhan (Lagerstroemia speciosa)
The state flower of Maharashtra, also called pride of India or queen's crepe myrtle. A deciduous tree up to about 15 m with upright sprays of pink to light purple flowers; the main flowering is April to June, with a second flush in July and August. Around Pune its bloom is remembered as the sign that the monsoon is reaching the Ghats. Its timber is rated next only to teak. Jarul
Karvy (Strobilanthes callosa)
A tall shrub of the Western Ghats hills, karvi in Marathi. It turns green every monsoon and looks dry and dead for the rest of the year; after seven years of this it flowers all at once in the eighth, covering whole hillsides in purple-blue between July and September. Wild-bee honey from a flowering year is sold as a separate, darker and thicker karvi honey. Karvy
Mango (Mangifera indica)
The state tree of Maharashtra. Empress Botanical Garden holds mango among its old plantings. Mango
Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)
Worshipped on Vat Savitri, when married women tie thread around the trunk; village assemblies and markets traditionally met under one. Empress Botanical Garden has a banyan it dates at 250 to 300 years. Banyan
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
The sourness in sambar, rasam and chutney across India. Old tamarinds are village landmarks and are seldom cut. Tamarind
Teak (Tectona grandis)
The timber of the Indian Ocean trade ships; crushed young leaves give a blood-red dye. Teak
Where to see trees in the city
Empress Botanical Garden, near the Race Course, is the place for old trees: 39 acres and, by the garden's own count, about 180 tree species. Among them are white siris, a baobab, the cannonball tree (kailaspati), Brownea and the 250-to-300-year-old banyan, plus giant climbers such as the malu vine (Bauhinia vahlii) and garambi (Entada rheedii), which has some of the largest pods and seeds of any plant. It has been run since 1892 by the Agri-Horticultural Society of Western India, founded in 1830, and entry costs a nominal amount.
Saras Baug is a 25-acre garden at the foot of Parvati Hill, laid out on the bed of an 18th-century Peshwa lake. Osho Teerth Park in Koregaon Park is twelve acres of bamboo groves, lawns and running water, free to enter, with fixed morning and afternoon hours and silence as the rule. P.L. Deshpande Garden is a Japanese garden modelled on the Korakuen Garden in Okayama. For trees on a wild hill rather than in a garden, the red-earth trails of Vetal Tekdi start from Law College Road, Senapati Bapat Road, Kothrud and Pashan. More in parks of Pune.
What flowers when
April to June: jarul is in its main bloom, and the trees along roads and in gardens turn pink and lilac; a smaller second flowering follows in July and August.
June to September: the monsoon turns the Sahyadri hills west of the city green. In a karvy year the slopes flower purple-blue between July and September; in other years the shrub is simply green.
Winter: Empress Botanical Garden holds its yearly fruit, flower and vegetable show, usually around Republic Day week in late January, with stalls selling saplings, seeds and garden tools. October to February is also the most comfortable time to walk the gardens: see best time to visit Pune.
Buying flowers
For cut flowers and garlands the old-city answer is Mahatma Phule Mandai, the Gothic market hall of 1882–86 in Shukrawar Peth, where fruit, vegetable and flower sellers trade under one roof; it is fullest at dawn. Wildlife in the same gardens and hills is covered in birds of Pune and butterflies.
FAQ
What is the most famous flower in Maharashtra?
Jarul, tamhan in Marathi (Lagerstroemia speciosa), the state flower. It flowers pink to light purple, mainly from April to June.
What is the state tree of Maharashtra?
The mango (Mangifera indica).
What are some common trees found in Pune?
Jarul, mango, tamarind, banyan and teak, with karvy as the typical shrub of the surrounding hills. Empress Botanical Garden alone has about 180 tree species.
Where can I see flowers in Pune?
Empress Botanical Garden near the Race Course, especially at its yearly flower show in late January, and Saras Baug; cut flowers are sold at Mahatma Phule Mandai.
When does karvy bloom near Pune?
Only in its flowering year, once every seven or eight years, between July and September. In other years the shrub is green in the monsoon and dry the rest of the time.
Sources (7)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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