Rediscovering the Green Thumb of India

India is known as the Union of states, each state has its own identity. This is the very reason why every state has its own symbols based on climate, art, culture and vegetation. Fifth of June is celebrated as ‘World Environment Day’ and on this occasion we should invest some time in knowing about our environment. This article will talk about the formation of identities of states based on its surroundings. It also explores the concept of state trees.

State tree is a concept developed in the west circa 1920. In India it became prevalent post 1950s, when the states were getting formed. There are 28 states and 8 Union territories, each of them has unique vegetation, which got translated into State trees. These trees then became the symbols because they are native to that region and higher in numbers. Over the period these vegetation zones became landmarks as people started identifying with them.

One can find their mentions almost everywhere from our cave paintings to scriptures to our holiday photographs. This is our attempt to highlight these trees in this series where we discuss different state trees. The following trees are from the list procured by the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate, India.

Image Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AutumnPorn/comments/ale2a8/nishat_kashmir/

Tree of fire

Tree: Chinar (Platuanus orientalis)

Region: Kashmir

Whoever has visited Kashmir has seen the bright hues of autumn which enhance the landscape of Kashmir. These colours bring the vibrancy to the otherwise snow-covered valley of Kashmir. This is because the mighty Chinar spreads all across the valley. Chinar or the Oriental Eastern (plane) Tree, Platuanus orientalis, the locals call it Buen or Booyn.

This tree is an integral part of Kashmir’s Politics, literature, culture, religion and romance. The royals of the region recognized Chinar as the soul of Kashmir. Buen was declared as the Royal tree around 15th CE and was planted along the important routes. It was considered a criminal offense to cut this tree. Also, chinar marks its presence in the many Mughal parks and gardens. These trees were not the indigenous to the valley but were brought from the land of Persia. These trees are part of the natural heritage of the valley.

The chinar comes from the Plane tree family(Platanaceae). The name chinar derives from a Persian word which literally translates into,” What a fire!” due to its bright hues of warm colours. It has a maple like foliage and a patterned bark.

They are the deciduous trees whose leaves fall around mid to end November and new leaves appear around early to late April. Chinar can grow up to 30 meters in height and it takes 150 years to reach its full maturity. The climatic conditions with high water retention in the valley favour the growth of these trees. Also, due to the vigorous root system they are not planted near the buildings. They have hard wood and are excellent for carving. Therefore, used to make carved doors, furniture, small interior details and small ornamental objects. The tree also has some medicinal properties, it's used in the traditional medicines.

These trees are very much part of the natural and cultural heritage of Kashmir and need to be brought back to life. Unfortunately, this grandeur of a tree is slowly losing its count. The main cause behind the deterioration is illegal felling of trees, plant diseases and infections due to pests. The authorities fail to replant the trees. In excessive stress due to urbanization in the region, reflected via phenomena like concretizing land around the tree, loss of water resources, excessive construction that leads to death of these trees.

Image Source: https://www.123rf.com/photo_119653669_shala-tree-or-sal-tree-shorea-robusta-and-its-fruits.html

Tree of Enlightenment

Tree: Sal (Shorea robusta)

Region: Chhattisgarh

Sal is the tree that is found in the wilder regions, from the southern Himalayas, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and Nepal. In India it is found in the eastern belt of India from Assam, Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and eastern region of Yamuna. It is known by many names in the country, Ral, Salwa,Sakhu,Sakher,Shal,Sal,Kandar and Sakwa. Its scientific name is Shorea robusta.

In many Indian cultures, Sal tree is worshipped and considered to be auspicious.in Hinduism, the tree finds mention in the epic Ramayana, Lord Rama had to pierce through a consecutive row of seven Sal trees in order to prove to the deposed King Sugriva, that he can kill his elder half-brother Vali. In Jainism also it holds an utmost importance because the 24th tirthankara Lord Mahavira attained his enlightenment under a Sal tree. In Buddhism, this tree acts as the symbol of life circle for Lord Buddha. It is believed that queen Maya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha who later came to be called as Buddha while holding on to a branch of a Sal tree. During his last moments, Lord Buddha asked his disciple Ananda to make a bed for him in between two Sal trees. In India, certain tribes believe that there is a goddess of the Sal tree. The goddess is called the Sarna Burhi or the woman of the grove who is associated with the well-being of water and plant life. She is worshipped by the Munda, Kurukh and Oraon tribes of West Bengal and Odisha.

Sal trees also have many advantages in terms of day-to-day activities. From ancient times the usage of Sal in construction activities was so extensive that the tree got its name ‘Sal’ from the Sanskrit word ‘Shala” meaning abode. The Sal tree is a hardwood and a slow growing tree whose bark is light in colour when freshly cut, but turns dark brown on exposure to air. The wood is highly suitable for constructing door frames and window frames. This tree is used to cure ailments, due to its analgesic and astringent properties. In ayurveda, Mixture of honey and Sal tree powder is used for managing the menstrual problems.

This tree is a part of sustainable Indian dining ritual, and the leaves of the Sal tree play an important role in it. They were stitched together to make Leaf plates that are popularly called as “patravali'' and “dona”. These are age-old dinnerware used in various community functions which is biodegradable and also can be eaten by the cattle later.

According to a post published in the World Wildlife Fund website in 1998 stated that about a quarter million of trees were felled in order to sustain the infestation of a bug ‘Sal borer’ whose population multiplied manifold. After 25 years of this incident, there is a high chance that the number of Sal trees might have declined due to rapid expansion and implementation of mega projects like connecting state highways through the jungles.

Image Source: https://www.rachnakar.com/sal-tree-from-enlightenment-to-economy/

The Traveler’s tree, Bread fruit - Lakshadweep

A South East Asian seeded evergreen tropical species which grows along the coast and is a lookalike of Jackfruit is called as breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis). The name breadfruit derived from the flavour that occurred from this fruit after being cooked, is quite similar to that of bread. Nirphanas, Bakri chajja, ulu is a few of the names used across various regions. In southeast Asian countries popularly known as suku. The Breadfruit tree is the state tree of Lakshadweep, a union territory of India.

According to popular mythological stories, Vishwamitra (one of the great sages) created an alternate universe and bread fruit is one of the outcomes. But biologically it is said that it is a multi-muted fruit which travels Worldwide. The spread of this plant happened during the era of colonization. Western part of the world discovered Breadfruit in the year 1769 and then they sent troops for a breadfruit gathering expedition. This tree is related to the story of slavery, especially along the Caribbean coast. Colonists used to feed slaves this Breadfruit because of its complex carbohydrate and high protein content.

It is a pear-shaped fruit which is green and smooth on the exterior and white on the interior. The fruit is available in hot and humid climatic regions from June to September. This is a slow growing but multipurpose fruit tree which gives 25 fruits in a peak season. Leaves of breadfruit appear in mixed shades of green and yellow, having a hairy texture on the backside. These leaves were used raw, roasted and also in the form of paste due to its great medicinal quotient.

The wood obtained from this tree is light, highly durable and termite-resistant, which makes the wood good for construction purposes. In many tribal cultures along the coast of the Indian subcontinent, traditional clothes made out of fibrous parts of this tree are popular. Apart from the former mention, it also holds culinary importance in many coastal countries. The conservation of the whole Indian breadfruit is on a much better level as it has a better adaptability to the environment because of its high adaptability and higher reproductive potential with community support.

Image Source: https://www.plantsguru.com/breadfruit

It is clear from the above-mentioned trees that they have played a significant role in nurturing human life, therefore you find their mention in religious scriptures or in our traditions. But the sad part is that we as humans instead of nurturing them back have taken them for granted which, as a result we are facing the repercussions in the form of oxygen shortage and increase in pollution.

Deforestation is a major concern that cannot be taken lightly by anyone including the authorities. Due to this, many natural calamities like landslides, floods, global warming etc. are occurring which is harmful to the human population. Let us know your views and tell us about that special tree in your region. To know more about such trees, stay tuned till the next article.

Reference:

List of states and union territories along with their state symbols

http://wiienvis.nic.in/KidsCentre/state_symbols_india_8411.aspx

Chinar

https://www.thehindu.com/thread/reflections/article7892357.ece

https://explearth.org/save-the-chinar-kashmir/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30864112/#:~:text=Chinar%20(Platanus%20orientalis%20L.)%20is%20used%20in%20folk%20medicine,liver%20and%20kidney%20are%20unknown.

Sal

https://namesoftrees.blogspot.com/2020/09/shorea-robusta.html

https://www.rachnakar.com/sal-tree-from-enlightenment-to-economy/

https://wwf.panda.org/?1829/saving-indias-sal-trees

Indian breadfruit

https://www.agrifarming.in/breadfruit-farming

https://www.aditiprabhu.com/ingredients/all-about-breadfruit-nirphanas-origin-history-and-usage/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/breadfruit-tree-is-not-only-attractive-but-remarkably-useful/articleshow/8789500.cms

https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/breadfruit.html

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/523