People in Basavanagudi are likely to have noticed bright red flowers blooming in a nursery maintained by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. These are flowers of Illawarra Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), which is native to Australia.

According to tree lovers, this is the only tree in Bengaluru in full bloom for the first time. Tree lovers are now researching more on the tree and sharing the data with their Australian counterparts to trace the tree’s journey to Bengaluru.

Some of them have taken the seeds and sown them at different places to study their growth. There is another tree of the same species at Indiranagar 12th main, but it is not in bloom, environmentalists say.