The Black Ebony Tree

Here is the tree which is described in a perfect manner by its name. The generic name is derived from greek word dios which means ‘divine’, and pyros meaning ‘fruit’, referring to the excellent fruit of the genus. The specific name melanoxylon means ‘dark wood’. The Tendu (Diospyros Melanoxylon/टेंभूर्णी, टेमरू, तेंदू) is medium-sized handsome tree, which is also known as Black Ebony. Its small flowers appear from April to June on new shoots.

Tendu, though a minor forest produce (MFP) in Central India, is very underutilized tree. The most economically significant use of this species is that its leaves are used to roll bidis (an indigenous traditional cigarette, which uses the kendu leaf for rolling instead of paper). The leaves possess unrivalled qualities of flavour, colour, flexible and leathery texture, decay resistance and easy workability, which make them admirably suitable for wrapping bidis.

However, most of the harvest goes waste as the fruit has never been explored for its nutritional aspects. This lesser known fruit is edible & is delicious too! Once fully ripen, the yellow pulp is soft & has a pleasant and sweet taste.

Tendu is a seasonal fruit available mainly in summer. The fruit ripening takes almost a year. These edible fruits are largely eaten & disseminated by birds, notably hornbills. The tree produces good seed in alternate years. The fruits and powdered seeds are sold in local markets and eaten. 

The tree is deciduous or evergreen depending on its habitat. In a dry locality, it is leafless for a short time in the hot weather, regaining its leaves in May-June. In a moist locality, it is evergreen. Though the tree has small flowers, the tree is regularly visited by insects and butterflies. It is the larval host plant for the Symphaedra nais & Spindasis vulcanus butterflies.

The tree has been revered in Ayurvedic medicine. The seeds have been prescribed as a cure for mental disorders, nervous breakdowns and palpitations of the heart. The fruits have a cooling and an astringent effect. Dried flowers are reportedly useful in urinary, skin and blood diseases. The bark is astringent; its decoction is used in diarrhoea. Its regeneration is through seeds, cuttings and root suckers. Soaking seeds for about 12 hours in cold water improves germination. Stump planting has been found to be as good as direct seeding. 

Tendu is the most widely distributed and tolerant species when considered to soil requirements. It grows on poor denuded soils, hot and dry hill slopes, stony soils and also heavy clays. It demands light; it is drought and frost hardy but sensitive to water-logging. It is coppiceable & tolerance to pruning makes it a good fodder tree. The tree also pollards well, although the growth of the pollard shoots is slow. Its cultivation on field boundaries or distributed in field crops, such as oilseed and cereal crops, appears to be a feasible and attractive proposition. Its deep tap-rooting habit would minimize competition with annual crops. It gives good quality charcoal. 

The fruit tree being rich in nutritional, medicinal and processing qualities can play a very significant & vital role in the livelihood security of the rural communities through enhanced household income, employment generation and environmental protection. Tendu fruits have a great potential for commercial cultivation. In fact, plantation of Tendu tree along with other local fruits of our region like Ber, should be done in city gardens and residential areas.

The Yellow Snake Tree

Trumpet flower tree or Padal (Stereospermum Tetragonum/पाडळ) is a moderate sized deciduous tree, often buttressed. Flowers are fragrant, yellow with reddish-purple veins and velvety at the mouth, trumpet shaped in panicles. Flowering occurs during May to July. The fruit is long, curved and brown in colour. This, probably, is the source of its common name, Yellow Snake tree.

Padal is often grown as an ornamental tree, valued for its fragrant flowers. It grows best in a sunny position, tolerating light shade. The tree succeeds in a wide range of well-drained soils. The tree can survive forest fires. It is one of the commonest trees to be seen in the savannah lands of India, apparently able to shoot up yearly in spite of fire, and to grow on into a tree if only a short period of immunity from fire can be obtained. 

The tree can be propagated easily from seeds, cuttings and root-suckers. Its flowers and tender young fruits are known to be edible and eaten as a cooked vegetable. The Padal provides an excellent fuel; the wood also makes a good charcoal.

The tree is associated with the famous Padaleeshwarar temple at Tiruppathiripuliyur (pathiri is tamil name of Padal), Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. It is believed that Goddess Parvathi reached Tiruppathiripuliyur after worship of 1008 Shiva sthalams. She worshipped the Lord Padaleeshwarar installed under a Padal tree. After years of penance, Lord Shiva appeared and he united with the Goddess under the sacred Padal tree, which is now the sthala vruksha (holy tree) of the temple. The tree is associated with the Ekapatala, sister of Goddess Parvathi who took only one Patala leaf for food. The tree is also sacred to the Jains, as the 12th Tirthankara - Bhagwan Vaspujay Ji attained enlightenment under this tree. 

The Padal root is one of the ten ingredients in reputed Dashamula, a popular Ayurvedic formulation for fatigue. Padal is reported to be astringent, cardiotonic, cooling, diuretic and tonic. It relieves the three doshas, overcomes anorexia, difficulty in breathing, oedema, piles, vomiting, hiccough and thirst. Parts from the tree are used as anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatic, antiemetic and febrifuge; also in perfumes and medicines. The flower is used for removing intestinal worms and is also used to treat mental disorders, jaundice and venereal diseases. 

The sacred & hardy tree easily performs well in the urban settlements and grows moderately fast. Its beautiful fragrant flowers add grace to the city gardens. 

The Indian Frankincense Tree

Salai (Boswellia Serrata/सालय, सालई) is a moderate-sized deciduous tree with a light, spreading crown and somewhat drooping branches. The tree has high ornamental value. It is popular for avenue planting in India.

The Salai tree has beautiful flowers. But what is more attractive is its bark or that’s what makes the tree easily identifiable. The bark is very thin, greyish-green, ashy or reddish with a chlorophyll layer beneath the thin outer layer, which peels off in thin, papery flakes. It gives a unique and attractive appearance to the tree. Leaves are alternate, crowded towards the ends of the branches; and very variable in size. 

The tree yields a yellowish-green gum-oleoresin known as ‘salai guggal' from the bark. It is known to be a good substitute for imported Canada balsam. Medicinally, the salai guggal gum is used as a diaphoretic and astringent. It has potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects that can reduce the pain and inflammation of joints. Salai have been clinically studied for osteoarthritis and joint function. It is also tapped for resin which is used as incense, hence is also known as Indian Frankincense tree.

It has been recorded as a new lac host species. It is a suitable species for afforestation on poorer soils in areas of dry sandstone hills which have been denuded of vegetation. Under such circumstances, its ability to withstand the adverse effects of forest fires, its immunity to being browsed or lopped for fodder, and its power of resisting the effects of insolation & drought are great assets. 

Salai can be propagated fairly well from seeds. Mature seeds should be immersed in water before they are sown, to separate out the sterile pyrenes, which float on the surface. Usually seed germination takes a week or two. It also has the remarkable ability to sprout from large branch cuttings or root suckers.

The tree has the ability to thrive in the poorest and the shallowest soils where most of its associates remain stunted. It is characteristically found on the slopes & rocky ridges of hills, as well as on flat terrain, attaining a larger size on fertile soils. It is resistant to drought and resists fire better than other species in its zone of occurrence. It is also frost hardy and serves as a nurse tree for other species.