It’s another stifling, humid Chennai afternoon: summer is clearly on her way. The street outside Kotturpuram Tree Park looks deserted; people prefer the shaded shelter of shops, offices, temples or tea stalls. Anything with walls and a roof to shut out the glowering sun. But inside the park, the elements seem to be at peace.
Joggers in track suits set a brisk pace in surprisingly pleasant weather, doing two, even three rounds of the park under a mild, shaded version of the 4 pm sun. They throw warm smiles towards naturalist Shobha Menon as she gives me a tour of the park, introducing me to its green inhabitants. There are those that can be commonly found around the city, such as the sarakondrai or the golden-flowered Indian laburnum tree, and the pungam or Pongamia pinnata. And then, there are other trees, also indigenous to the land, that are slowly dying out.
“When you use the term ‘indigenous’, people talk about species like neem and say that they are planting it. But there are other species which are a little harder to find today, and because of that extra bit of effort needed, we hardly see them around the city,” says Menon, who along with a small group of people from Nizhal, created this oasis on a barren plot of land over the past few years.
TUTICORIN, TAMIL NADU, 26/04/2015: The bunch of Cassia Fistula or Golden Shower tree (Konnappoo) in Tuticorin-Madurai Road on April 26, 2015. Photo: N. Rajesh
She points out the more rare trees as we pass them, listing out their significance. The bark of the Arjuna tree ( Terminalia arjuna ) is used in medicine. The veppalai ( Wrightia tinctoria ) is also called dyer’s oleander, because its leaves yield a blue dye called pala indigo. Flowers of the vengai (Pterocarpus marsupium) or Indian kino, reminscent of a tiger’s hide, find space in Tamil folklore and poems of yore. Its bark, she says, is used in Ayurveda.
But it isn’t just about what the trees mean to us: they have a larger role to play in the ecology as well. Pauline Deborah, assistant professor, Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Women’s Christian College, talks of the palash (Butea Frondosa) or flame of the forest and the mahizham (M imusops elengi ). “ Mimusops elengi , Butea frondosa , Cassia fistula and Azadirachta indica are good native trees suitable for our landscape,” she says, “Scorching summers, severe water crisis and human health can be easily handled with greening, post planting care and managing the environment. Environmental health is the key indicator to a healthy community.”
Peacock Flower & Butterfly
But that doesn’t mean that one can pick up any native species to plant — ones that give us dye and timber might not be good at providing shade, or could be a strain on the water table. “Planting right species at the right places will facilitate percolation of rain water and help in groundwater recharge. Cutting down of mature trees for infrastructure development should be replaced by planting of trees in the same vicinity to alleviate heat, noise, pollution and to serve as carbon sinks.” Deborah has a few tips for those who want to look at planting trees seriously. “Smaller trees for small roads (powder puff, peacock flower, yellow bells) and larger trees for wide trees (neem, Spanish cherry, ficus, red bead tree etc),” she lists out, adding, “Saplings need to have breathing space; they are not to be choked with trenches and concrete.”
What both Menon and Deborah concur on, is that no sapling should be planted during the summer. Wait for it to rain, so they can quench their thirst. And give them space where they can breathe.
Local varieties can be picked up from Kotturpuram Tree Park.
