Indian Trees

Indian trees are grouped into gardening trees, timber trees, medicinal trees, evergreen trees, deciduous trees, etc. Different species of trees are used for different purposes.

Classification of Indian Trees
Indian Trees can be classified in different ways. These trees are categorized according to their valuable properties and usages into decorative or gardening trees, timber trees, medicinal trees, etc. Indian medicinal trees have valuable medicinal properties and they are commonly used in the traditional treatment methods like Ayurvedic, Homoeopathic and Unani treatments. Indian Trees can also be classified according to the duration of leaf on the tree. Such trees are evergreen trees and deciduous trees. Evergreen trees have leaves throughout the year, whereas deciduous trees shed their leaves and turn dormant in winter. India has flowering trees as well as flowerless trees. Indian trees can also be grouped as coastal trees that grow in the coastal regions of India.

Karnikar Tree: Pterospermum acerifolium, the bayur tree or karnikara tree, is a flowering plant indigenous to Southeast Asia, from India to Burma. It is most likely to grow naturally along forested stream banks. The best growing conditions are a seasonally moist then dry climate with access to full sunlight. Pterospermum acerifolium is an angiosperm that is traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae; however, it is grouped in the expanded family Malvaceae as well. The classification Pterospermum is based on two Greek words, Pteron and Sperma, meaning “winged seed” and the species name acerifolium indicates leaves shaped like a maple's. There is an array of common names for Pterospermum acerifolium, depending on the region where it is grown. It is commonly referred to as Kanak Champa, Muchakunda or Karnikar Tree within its native range.

Deciduous Trees of India: The Indian Subcontinent provides suitable conditions for the growth and development of various kinds of trees in India. Deciduous trees are no exception in this regard. These trees shed their leaves and turn dormant in the winter. Teak Tree, Indian Coral Tree and Indian Beech Tree are the deciduous trees which have been recorded in India. These trees are described below.

·         Teak Tree: Teak, (genus Tectona grandis), large deciduous tree of the family Verbenaceae, or its wood, one of the most valuable timbers. Teak has been widely used in India for more than 2,000 years. The name teak is from the Malayalam word tēkka.

·         India Coral Tree: Erythrina variegata, commonly known as tiger's claw or Indian coral tree,is a species of Erythrina native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to Fiji.

·         Indian Beech Tree: Pongamia pinnata is a legume tree that grows to about 15–25 m (50–80 ft) in height with a large canopy that spreads equally wide. It may be deciduous for short periods. It has a straight or crooked trunk, 50–80 cm (20–30 in) in diameter, with grey-brown bark, which is smooth or vertically fissured. Its wood is white colored. Branches are glabrous with pale stipulate scars. The imparipinnate leaves of the tree alternate and are short-stalked, rounded, or cuneate at the base, ovate or oblong along the length, obtuse-acuminate at the apex, and not toothed on the edges. They are a soft, shiny burgundy when young, and mature to a glossy, deep green as the season progresses, with prominent veins underneath.

Golden Dewdrops Tree: Duranta erecta is a species of flowering shrub in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical gardens throughout the world, and has become naturalized in many places. Common names include golden dewdrop, pigeon berry, and skyflower.

Devil`s Tree: Saptaparna means a plant which bears leaves in clusters of 4-7 leaves. The other synonyms of Saptaparna in Sanskrit are Saptaparni, Sarada, Vishalalvaka, Vishamachhda, Ayugmaparna, Gandhiparna, Payasya, Jivani, Kshalrya, Madagandha, Grahashi and Grahanashana.The vernacular names are Chatiar (Assamese), Chhatim (Bengali), Chatian, SaIni chatian (Hindi) Saptaparna, Maddale, Kodale, Elele kale, Janthalla Hale (Kannada), Ezhilampala, Mukkampala, Pala (Malayalam), Salvin (Marathi), Satona (Punjabi), Elilaipillai (Tamil) Eda kula, Pala garuda (Telegu). In English, it is known as the Indian Devil Tree, Scholar’s tree, Devil tree, Blackboard tree, Dita bark, Milkwood pine and White cheesewood. The botanical name is Alstonia scholaris and belongs to the family of Apocynaceae (Nerium family).

Madre Tree: Gliricidia sepium, often simply referred to as its genus name Gliricidia, is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae. Common names include quickstick, mata ratón; cacao de nance, cachanance; balo in Panama; piñon Cubano in the Dominican Republic; madreado in Honduras; kakawate in the Philippines; madre xacao, madre cacao, or madre de cacao in the Philippines and Guatemala; madero negro in Nicaragua; undirmari in Marathi; pathal or semmakonna in Malayalam and wetahiriya in Sinhala). It is an important multi-purpose legume tree, with a native range from Mexico to Colombia, but now widely introduced to other tropical zones.

Paper Chase Tree: Being named as 'Mussanda Clabrata' in science, the 'Paper Chase Tree' is very common all over India. The tree came from the family of 'Rubiaceae'. It is called as 'Lanchut' or 'Sarvad' in Hindi. It is named as 'Vellaiyilai' in Tamil and in Malayalam, it is known as 'Vellila'. The tree is called as 'Dhoby Tree' in English.

Jambu Tree: Syzygium cumini, commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Andaman Islands. It can reach heights of up to 30 metres (98 ft) and can live more than 100 years. A rapidly growing plant, it is considered an invasive species in many world regions.

Trees In Indian Mythology and Folklore: Trees in Indian mythology and folklore bear spiritual importance. They are part of Indian legends and history. The Vedas, Puranas and Epics have special references to mythological trees. These trees are worshipped across India, alongside the respective Gods and Goddesses, even in the present times. Some of these trees are described below.

Banyan Tree: A banyan, also spelled "banian" (/ˈbænjən/ BAN-yən),is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as an epiphyte, i.e. a plant that grows on another plant, when its seed germinates in a crack or crevice of a host tree or edifice. "Banyan" often specifically denotes Ficus benghalensis (the "Indian banyan"), which is the national tree of India,though the name has also been generalized to denominate all figs that share a common life cycle and used systematically in taxonomy to denominate the subgenus Urostigma.

Bodhi Tree: The Bodhi Tree ("tree of awakening"), also called the Mahabodhi Tree, Bo Tree, is a large sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa) located in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India. Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher who became known as the Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment or buddhahood circa 500 BCE under this tree. In religious iconography, the Bodhi Tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed.

Coconut Tree: The coconut tree (Cocos nucifera) is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus Cocos. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which botanically is a drupe, not a nut. The name comes from the old Portuguese word coco, meaning "head" or "skull", after the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features. They are ubiquitous in coastal tropical regions and are a cultural icon of the tropics.

Bael Tree: Bael (Aegle marmelos L. Corrêa) is an economically valuable tree species in South Asia. The ripen bael fruits are popular among people because of the delicious fruit pulp, which is ideal for making jam, syrup, and pudding. Bael possesses many medicinal values and therefore used as an ingredient in ayurvedic herbal medical preparations. The fruits, bark, leaves, seeds, and roots of bael contain bioactive compounds such as coumarin, xanthotoxol, imperatorin, aegeline, and marmeline.

Ashoka Tree: Saraca asoca, commonly known as the Ashoka tree (lit. "sorrow-less"), is a plant belonging to the Detarioideae subfamily of the legume family. It is an important tree in the cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent and adjacent areas. It is sometimes incorrectly known as Saraca indica. The flower of Ashoka tree is the state flower of Indian state of Odisha.The ashoka is a rain-forest tree. Its original distribution was in the central areas of the Deccan plateau, as well as the middle section of the Western Ghats in the western coastal zone of the Indian subcontinent.