Along a 300-metre stretch of Thaiyur lake, stand screw-pine trees resembling footballers forming a wall position during a free kick. Found on the outer side of the lake bund, these trees, locally known as thaazham poo maram , form a second line of defence. A resident of Thaiyur points out that these trees can check the advance of a lake that has breached its bunds. The land along this section of Thaiyur lake is said to be low-lying, and so, it certainly needs this additional bulwark.
From the floods in 2015, IT companies on Old Mahabalipuram Road know that bund-breaking lakes can throw their schedules into disarray. Ahead of the North-East monsoon, efforts are under way to improve lakes in this region, and this includes strengthening their bunds. While planning any bund work, the fact that screw-pine as well as palm trees can make a strong barrier around lakes should be taken into consideration. They can also be promoted along the coast.
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Such an exercise is not going to be difficult, for pandanus odoratissimus , as the screw-pine tree speciesfound locally is called, belongs in both these places.
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“Screw-pine trees are a coastal as well as swamp vegetation and make a great shelter belt. They have weight-bearing stilt roots that help them establish themselves in swampy conditions, as well as stand strong during windy conditions. They can provide a protective line along the coast, and are particularly effective in checking erosion. As swamp vegetation, they grow naturally around lakes,” says D Narasimhan, a retired botany professor.
Besides, the leaves, flowers and stilt-roots of screw-pine trees have many uses.
“There will be abundant thaazham poo blooms on these trees from mid-January to mid-April,” says 72-year-old C Murugesan, a resident of Thaiyur from his cradle.
With high ornamental value, thaazham poo flowers have been popularised in Tamil film songs, the most notable one being ‘Kondayil Thaazham Poo’, sung by S P Balasubrahmanyam and K S Chithra in Annamalai, that had Rajini and Kushboo in the lead roles.
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“The leaves and stilt-roots are high in fibre and can be used in making baskets, mats and ropes,” says Narasimhan. Murugesan has watched the process of making ropes for construction work, with the stilt-roots of screw-pine trees. With such uses, should these trees be ignored? NGOs and resident and corporate groups that carry out lake volunteering work should consider planting screw-pine and palm trees along lake bunds soon.
