The Spectacular Tree!

The Kydia (Kydia Calycina/वारंग, वरंग, रानभेंडी) is rapidly growing, deciduous tree. This beautiful tree flowers when very few native trees are in bloom, that is after rains. And after flowering season also, it continues to look attractive for many months while it’s the rusty fruit ripen and dry out. 

The tree flowers profusely with small flowers which occur in axillary or terminal panicles. Flowers are fragrant and creamish white, greenish white or pink coloured which itself is a delight to watch.

Kydia grows on wide range of habitats, including arid regions. It is often grown as an ornamental species. It is a small to moderate sized deciduous tree. Though deciduous, one may hardly notice a leaf-less tree. Dark green foliage is present throughout the year giving dense shade. The leaf blade is nearly round, usually palmate 3-5-lobed. 

It is propagated by seeds, root suckers or cuttings. It coppices well. Leaves can be used as fodder. The wood is used as fuel and for making charcoal. The tree is valued for the leaves which are lopped for fodder. In the wild, leaves are eaten by the elephants, sambar, deer and bison. The wood is a good source of commercial potash. The young bark is mucilaginous and cold infusion of it is used for clarifying sugarcane juice. The tree is harvested from the wild for its fibre, which is used locally to make coarse ropes. Due to profuse flowering, Kydia flowers during September-October. It attracts number of bees, butterflies, insects and birds during this period having a significant role to play in Apiculture. Bees visiting the tree tend to produce thick and sweet honey. 

Medicinally, the parts of Kydia tree are known to have the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is often utilised as shade tree or windbreak. The tree is also valued for erosion control. Being such a spectacular tree, it should be planted in gardens, along the roads and societies due its ornamental properties. 

The Yellow Teak

Haldu (Haldina Cordifolia/हळदू, हेदू, गिरिकदंब) is a deciduous tall tree with a large crown and is the sole species in the genus Haldina. The tree has long, straight, clean bole and is often buttressed & fluted at the base. The buttresses are sometimes of irregular and fantastic shapes. When growing in more isolated positions it produces a thick bole and massive branches with a large spreading crown.

Leaves are opposite, broadly ovate, heart shaped glossy green in colour. Flowers are tiny, yellow, in globose pedunculate heads and fragrant with protruding stigmas. The new leaves give a magnificent look, followed by creamy yellow flowers. The tree attracts lots of bees and insects and subsequently birds. The grey or light-black bark is startling yellow when freshly cut but turns pale red-brown on exposure. Hence the name Turmeric wood or Yellow teak. 

Haldu has a striking similarity with Kaim (Mitragyna Parvifolia/कळम) as the flowers and leaves appears almost same. But the leaves of Haldu are nearly circular, heart-shaped at base and with a pointy tip. Also there is difference in the stigma of flowers, if closely admired!

Natural regeneration of this species is difficult as the tiny seeds as well as young seedlings in forests are easily washed away. The proportion of seedlings which survive and establish themselves in forests is relatively very small. Further available trees are cut due to demand for its wood, which is reported to be acid-resistant, making it suitable for use as laboratory bench tops etc. 

Haldu is propagated by seeds. Seed is very small and so should only just be covered with soil. The seed is best sown in a seed-box that is placed in light shade and protected from heavy rain. It should be watered carefully with a very fine spray. Germination ordinarily takes place in about 20 - 40 days. Young seedlings grow very slowly in their first year and are very susceptible to being washed away or beaten down with rain at this time. Plants develop a thin but long tap root in their first year, this thickens and develops considerably in the second year. Growth is faster in the second year and onward.

Young trees prefer a position in light to moderate shade, but become more light demanding as they grow older. It succeeds in most of the soils but well-drained soil, growing best in deep, fairly fertile conditions. For instance, on lower slopes of hills among boulders. Usually growing along rivers or transitional areas between swampy wetlands and dry loamy areas, which are flooded for short periods. The tree has a massive tap-root system in proportion to its size, which makes it very resistant to drought. The tree can tolerate temperatures within the range of 5°- 47°C. 

The Yellow Teak is also harvested for local medicinal use. It pacifies vitiated pitta and known to be useful in inflammation, urinary retention, wounds and ulcers, skin diseases, biliary colic, infection, dysentery, fever and burning sensation.

Haldu is often planted as ornamental, avenue tree and even for its shade. But the tree is potentially great agroforestry species too! The tree produces fuel wood and fodder for livestock. It can be coppiced within limits. It provides good amount of green manure. It yields a yellow dye, which was used for dyeing wool and linen. In some parts of India, the tree has a religious significance in Hindu marriage rituals.

What would happen if all the trees were destroyed?

We love trees and the fauna associated with trees. But there are some self-centred individuals who find trees full of leafy trash and insects.

"What difference will a tree sapling will make?", is what few say.

Well... We are not merely planting a tree-sapling. We believe, we are planting a hope...as I said in the beginning of this initiative.

And here is an eye-opener !

If all the forests were destroyed the world would practically be destroyed because if there are no trees there will be no humans and no humans is no world.

The removal of all the trees on earth would be a disaster. Whole ecosystems would collapse and many, many species of animals would disappear for lack of food, shelter, cover, nest sites and a host of other critical elements to their existence. Certainly other plants (mostly invasive weeds) would fill in behind the trees, but if the trees go, life as we know it will disappear and something else will have to take its place.

Trees carry out a very important function. They remove Carbon dioxide from the air when they grow! If trees are destroyed, then eventually there would be less plants to trap this CO2 in their growth. Without trees, the CO2 level would rise very quickly and as CO2 is a green-house gas then the temperature on Earth would rise as well leading to super global warming! CO2 is also acidic and the amount of CO2 in the ocean would also rise making the oceans acidify and killing many if not most of the animal species and plant species in the oceans of the world. The main concern with Climate Change is the melting of polar ice caps. This would release huge amounts of water into the worlds oceans raising sea levels & coastal flooding but most importantly totally changing the worlds weather system by increasing the amount of water in the atmosphere as well leading to extreme weather conditions. Signs of this are already happening due to the release of CO2 from industries. If the Arctic ice cap melts at a continuing rate then a period of global warming will lead to a very quick change to global freezing. The snow would reflect the sun's rays away. There you go... After a brief period of global warming ruining the animal species then we would very quickly revert to a period of rapid cooling and maybe even an ice age..!

We can avoid this... by simple act of planting a tree and reducing the usage of wood. Single native tree...if planted by each one, there will be hope for our existence on the planet & our future. Trees are living solutions for our people in need of food, water, clean air and environment protection in the face of increasing climatic instability!

Today is 9th anniversary of Gifting Trees. May there be green everywhere in urban settlements. 
Let there be Native trees...everywhere!