Need Help in identifying this Plant

I have little knowledge of Currect Bonsai Material and subsequent training of the same.
Need help in identifying the Plant and ascertaining whether this would be a right buy for a Dumb Bonsai Lover.
Please guide.......


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initially I thought it was a Privet (Ligustrum), even down to the bark. It seems to have two types of foliage? The close shot of the leaf shape looks a bit like Cretan Maple ( Acer Sempervirens) but not sure.

It would be good to know where it is. India is a large place If it is tropical, it looks like one of the Premna's, fairly large family. Do the leaves have a strong aroma? Wood

Sorry, did'nt realise you were in India. Leaf also looks like a Verbena

will baddeley wrote:Sorry, did'nt realise you were in India. Leaf also looks like a Verbena

I have searched for pics on Verbena and other name you suggested. But it didn't match
The Owner of the Nursery doesn't know the name even.
I dont want to loose this to someone else if this is really a good bonsai material.

GaryWood wrote:It would be good to know where it is. India is a large place If it is tropical, it looks like one of the Premna's, fairly large family. Do the leaves have a strong aroma? Wood

the leaf doesn't have aroma... so far even the nursery guy is not able to give any detail.
I want to know whether this is a right Bonsai so that I can do justice to the little sun lit area reserved in my apartment for Bonsai. Your comment on the Bonsai Charactar of this plant will help me in deciding whether to buy or not.
regards,
Yogi

Most trees are suitable for bonsai and I would say this tree fits the criteria. It has small leaves and buds on the branches(back budding). The trunk does'nt look very interesting though. It could do with cutting back and then let it fatten up for a few years, in the same pot.

Does it fruit, flower, or change colors?



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What is that one? It has a nice thick trunk it seems. Might be worth looking at.

Joe Hatfield wrote:Does it fruit, flower, or change colors?



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What is that one? It has a nice thick trunk it seems. Might be worth looking at.

the one you pointed out is an India Banyan ( Grand Banyan ) . This Epic Tree can cover acers at times. It has large leaves and difficult to reduce to smaller ones.

This is a Gmellina Eliptica. Years ago, it was a popular bonsai subject in Indonesia and Thailand.

will baddeley wrote:Most trees are suitable for bonsai and I would say this tree fits the criteria. It has small leaves and buds on the branches(back budding). The trunk does'nt look very interesting though. It could do with cutting back and then let it fatten up for a few years, in the same pot.

Thanks Will,
I have finally brought it home. Just wondering when to report so that I can seperate the siblings ( as appear to me). If it is only one plant that I should cut the smaller one coming out of the base.
This plant has BUGed me a lot in sleep. now I have adopted it whether good or bad.
thanks again , but still searching for its family history to understand how to take care of it at its new home.

While this species probably is as good for bonsai as any other, this specimen doesn't seem to have a lot of potential. Yes, you could chop and wait and chop again, etc. but I have discovered (often painfully) that if you can wait until you find a plant that cries out "Bonsai!" to you, it will save you a lot of misery and work. If the nursery has one of these, maybe it has others that don't have all those minor root-sprout trunks and long bare stretches of trunk.

Anyway, I'd look for something else.

yog wrote: but still searching for its family history to understand how to take care of it at its new home.

If you Google on Gmelina elliptica you will get tons of information. It does belong to the Verbena family, like Bahama berry & Lantana. It is listed as a pest in Queensland, which bodes well for its use as a bonsai. But as to this particular specimen, Jim may well be right.
Iris