Watch out for this cannon ball tree and this is in Sikkim!!

A few months back, I read an article on a cannonball tree in a Science Reporter magazine and came across something like that in front of me. I had never expected it to happen so soon. I was off to the jungle of Chisopani, Singtam, along with my father and Naresh, a helper, to repair our household water pipes.

As usual, my camera was with me. I carried my camera along with me. Who knows what awaits you? All the way, with a nip of moments, I was clicking off photographs of the wild nature. Our small self-made water tank lies near the stream that flows all from Saang. I was clearing off the dry leaves and the dead twigs that had fallen into the tank. My father and Naresh were working on the other side of the water pipes.

Suddenly, I was attracted by the broken cup-shaped fruits on the ground and some pieces scattered over the tank. As I looked up at the nearby trees, I was spellbound. I could see a few more round structures attached to the tree trunk. As I moved to the other side of the rock, I could see more round things connected to the trunk.

When I got closer to it, I wondered if this was the cannonball tree I had read earlier. As I approached it, my small brain was filled with thoughts. Nevertheless, I decided to search the internet for information about this tree. I clicked a few photographs. I believe there were around 50-60 round brown fruits.

Back home, I searched the internet for a ‘cannon ball tree’. Though there are similarities with those found on the other side of the world, this one was slightly different. Locally, this plant is called 'Gantey' in the Nepali language. The local expert extracts edible oil from its fruits. I did not see any flowers on the tree, and most of the cannonball fruits had dried up.

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