A rare find in the Eastern Ghats

Two Madurai Botanists have recorded a rare medicinal tree in the Eastern Ghats for the first time

September 30, 2015 05:06 pm | Updated 06:20 pm IST - MADURAI:

DOCUMENTING PLANT LIFE: R. Kottaimuthu and N. Vasudevan. Photo: Special Arrangement

DOCUMENTING PLANT LIFE: R. Kottaimuthu and N. Vasudevan. Photo: Special Arrangement

For more than eight years R. Kottaimuthu, a botany research scholar, has been visiting the Karandhamalai hill range but little did he know about Maravattai (Chaulmugra) tree and its medicinal qualities. That was till he met an elder in the Malaiyur Village near Kuttupatti, 10 km west of Natham and realised he was the first person to record the presence of Hydnocarpus Pentandrus (chaulmugra) in Eastern Ghats.

“I first visited the range for my post-graduate project on riparian flora of Karandhamalai. Though I saw it before I did not pay attention as it was not part of my project. Also I did not have the expertise to ascertain its rarity in the region. It was later again when he visited for research on legumes of Dindigul district that he realised the significance of the tree and took a sample to his guide N. Vasudevan, Associate Professor, Saraswathi Narayanan College, who confirmed his finding.

The chaulmugra oil extracted from the tree is used in the treatment of leprosy, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, body swellings and other skin diseases. “The seeds are used to catch fish. In earlier days, powdered seed would be strewn in the water body to paralyse the fish,” says Vasudevan.

Kottaimuthu visited the Madras Herbarium at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to verify if he was the first person to sight the tree in Eastern Ghats and read up every literature related to the plant.

“Generally, maravattai tree grows only in thick forest. It needs continuous stretch of minimum two km to grow. But Eastern Ghats is a discontinuous hill range and finding this species in Karandhamalai is phyto-geographically significant,” points out Kottaimuthu.

Maravattai tree is under extreme biotic pressure. Though it is a reserve forest, the area has become a popular tourist spot for the nearby residents. Local pilgrims visit the temple atop the hill posing a threat to the species.

“Brown Palm Civets like to feed on the fruits of the tree during breeding season. Especially female civets frequent this place for food. They also regurgitate the food and play a significant role in seed dispersion. Civets are also in the endangered list as they are poached for punugu oil, a fragrant substance. The numbers of both civet cats and the maravattai trees have drastically come down,” says Kottaimuthu.

There are around 150 to 200 maravattai trees left in the region and they should be protected, feels Vasudevan. Local residents of Malaiyur village have understood the importance of conserving the tree, but tourists and pilgrims are the main culprits.

“Given its high medicinal value, the tree is facing extinction and concerted efforts with local participation are the need of the hour,” he says.

Kottaimuthu’s finding is published in the Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botony , Jodhpur and is also uploaded in the bibliographic database as the first sighting of maravattai tree in Eastern Ghats.

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