Tree Walk @ MCC

All ears... to the Voice of Nature...

"There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it," goes a famous axiom. Indeed, all our hearts were quietly attentive to the music of the trees, in the sylvan surroundings of Asia's second largest scrub jungle - MCC, on a vivacious weekend. The occasion was the much awaited Tree walk, that got off to a grand start this morning at the boxing ring at 8.15 am. Students and nature lovers alike joined in the walk which was an enlightenment cum eco-entertainment of sorts. Dr.K.Ganesh welcomed the gathering and introduced our guide to the fellow participants.

Dr.D.Narasimhan, (D.N) Professor of Botany, was our guide all the way through, whose lively illustrations and commentaries were appealing, entertaining and ennobling at the same time, making our "tree-walk-the-talk" a memorable one by all means.

Tracing the history of planting trees at MCC post 1937, Dr.D.N said that much of the greenery that we find today in Campus was a result of the planned efforts of illustrious nature lovers, apart from the enormous "tree-contributions" from birds and bats. Most of the trees in Campus today owe their existence to the first curator of the campus Prof. Edward Barnes, who took upon himself the noble task of planting trees and maintaining the biodiversity in campus, which happens to host the second largest scrub jungle in Asia. He is therefore rightly called the green visionary (or the green architect) of the campus. Under his stewardship, the entire campus was fenced to avoid cattle grazing and firewood cutting. More a Botanist than a chemist, he planted trees and also made a record of them systematically. Thus, MCC was able to contribute to the Chennai botanical directory, 36 new species of plants which were hitherto not recorded in the archives. Moreover, Dr.D.N added that, our forest type at MCC is unique because it is a tropical dry evergreen forest in a region where we get 1000 to 1200 mm of rainfall per annum.

Birds and bats brought along and broadcast the seeds for our benefit today. So, the trees that we see today are a result of a seventy year growth," he said. Further, we had selective tree plantations, based on their ability to withstand cyclones, and their economic viability also. He therefore eulogised the early curators' vision of bringing in plants that suit the soil. Also, native trees (trees that are native to this soil) were found to be more cyclone resistant, and grew faster, than non-native trees. Thus, the stress was more on native trees or endemic trees. 

The tree walk had its first stop at the Red Sanders, a tree that's around 30 years old, near the boxing ring. This tree is a native tree found in the Nallamala to Tirupathi range of the Eastern Ghats, and is unique only to Southern India. Contrary to popular opinion, it is Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) and not Red Sandal, for it has got nothing to do with sandalwood. The tree is named so, because the cut wood is reddish in colour. Inspite of its dwindling numbers, this wood is in great demand in Japan, where it is used in the making of a three-stringed musical instrument called the shamisen.

He pointed out that, an appreciation and evaluation of the various tree forms, sizes and shapes is essential before tree plantings are done.

The Tree walk entourage next had a stopover at the nuna tree or manjarathi in Tamil. Its botanical name is morinda citrifolia. It has a beautiful bark pattern, similar to a crocodile’s, and has been gaining wider recognition in the commercial market today. The wonder drug noli, which is priced at Rs.700 per litre, is extracted from the nice, small edible fruit of this tree. Its wood is yellow in colour, has anti-oxidant properties, and is also used in agricultural implements. Most native trees grow slowly, and such is the case with this tree too. 

The next tree was the tree with yellow blossoms, also known as the Copper Pod tree, yellow gulmohar etc. These trees are found all over Chennai, and they flower profusely. Bright yellow and red are the two prominent colours that dominate Chennai’s skyline, thanks to yellow blossoms. The flowering season for this tree is ideally between February and April. The pods remain on the trees and turn copper in colour, and hence the name. They are very efficient in trapping dust particles from the atmosphere. It’s called ‘ayalvaagai’ in Tamil, as it is not a native to India, but brought to us from neighbouring Sri Lanka. Apart from its various medicinal properties, the tree propagates quite easily. 

The Rosy Trumpet tree was our next destination. The rose flowers of this tree resemble a trumpet in appearance, and hence the name. Called senguzhal poo maram in Tamil, these trees form a nice avenue, like the ones that are found arrayed along the stretch leading towards the Principal’s residence. They were planted in the 1960s, by Prof.Venkatasubbu. They are quick-growing, are gigantic, and the preferred tree form in the old settlements of Chennai. However, they are prone to being easily knocked off by cyclones. They bloom between February and March, and are found in the Tropical American region, below Mexico and above Chile. It is a native tree to many countries of that region. 

Dr.DN next enlightened the group about the unsuitability of non-native trees for local planting. Pointing at a tree that had fallen due to the recent winds, he said that, non-native trees cannot withstand our soil and winds, and the huge crown of this tree can be pushed quite effortlessly. They add colour and aesthetic beauty to the city skyline in summer. When in full bloom, the flowers cover the whole tree, revealing only a few leaves here and there. The petals of this flower have a nice sour taste, and it is supposed to have a lot of anti-oxidant properties. A cut branch, when put in a pot, sprouts easily. This tree, popularly known as the gulmohar, is native to Madagascar, and grows to a maximum of 30-40 feet, and its leaves fold up during the evenings. It is grown in India mainly for its ornamental appeal and for its shade.


Appreciating the native wisdom in the naming of trees such as Neruppu Kondrai, because they are red in colour, Dr.DN said that, we should not lose this native flavour in transliteration.

Coming to the Tamarind tree, he said that, it was an Arabic name as they equated this fruit with their date fruit, mistaking it as dates from India. It's not a native tree, but one of the oldest trees introduced into India. It should either be from Africa or from Malaysia through the east. One can never find these trees in the forests (ghats), as it is found only in places of human habitations. It is always nurtured. "Decades ago, these trees were planted along the roadside out of wisdom, which is lacking today," he quipped. As a result, today we have tamarind plantations, resulting in higher price for the produce. In many parts of India, especially in AP, every part of this tree is made useful. In places like Trinelveli, the quality of the tamarind fruit is estimated just by looking at its seed shape and size. Since tamilians do not prefer sweet variety tamarind, we cut them in preference for the sour variety, and now, we import the sweet variety from places like Malaysia. 

The 'elephant apple tree' was our next destination, called thus because of the fact that elephants love to feast on them. They produce beautiful white flowers which are nicely shaped. In Bengal, they use it for certain curries on special occasions. Hence they are sold in the markets in Bengal and in Orissa, he said.


Dr.DN next took us to the kadamba dynasty's official tree, which is known for its whitish wood - the Venkadambu. Fr.Mathews, a botanist from Loyola planted it at MCC around 12 years ago, and it has grown to lofty heights, he added. The beauty of the tree lies in its umbrella-like canopy when viewed from a distance.


to be contd...

The Tree walk was jointly organised by the Scrub Society, MCC, Prakriti Foundation, and the Department of English.