Thiruvananthapuram city is full of surprises for a discerning naturalist. It may appear unexpectedly before you as an endemic, endangered rainforest tree, a migrant bird that has flown miles to your tiny wild garden, a group of dragonflies on their annual migration trail, a tree full of fruits that is food for a voracious caterpillar of a rare butterfly…. you have to align your eyes, ears and, most often, olfactory nerves to sense this hidden biodiversity treat.

The other day I was lucky to see a lanky tree laden with fruits eaten by caterpillar of a butterfly species - Cornellian. A few phone calls with a plastic surgeon and a budding botanist took me to the crowded road leading to the quaint Raj Bhavan Post office near Vellayambalam where this small tree has been growing silently for years. The tree belonging to the genus Sapindus is commonly called Soapnut due to its lathering nature.

The Soapnut tree   | Photo Credit: Suresh Elamon

Some spaces in the city are special as they have a unique combination of trees and thus become a refuge that attract many birds and butterflies. The Thycaud area is one such green corridor in the city. With campuses like that of Government Guest House, Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School, Government Arts College, Gandhi Bhavan and Sri Swathi Thirunal College of Music having some of the tallest trees in the city — Myrobalan, Mahogany, Champak, Indian Bullet Wood, Red Lucky Seed tree, Banyan and the Cannon Ball tree — this segment is a virtual natural oxygen kiosk where you can take a deep breath. A walk from Model School to Music College will make you heave a sigh of relief as the temperature is three to four degrees lesser than that of the rest of the city.

Cannonball tree   | Photo Credit: Veena m

A few years ago a friend noticed a tree laden with elliptical green fruits growing on the NORKA campus. This tall, green presence turned out to be a relative of Madhuca or Mahua (Ilippa in Malayalam) from which the liquor Mahua is produced. It was amazing how this tree, frequently found in the deciduous forests of Central and North India with distribution in mixed evergreen forests of South India, found a place in our crowded, growing city. Thanks to the intervention of a sensitive engineer, the wall of NORKA was structured in such a way to retain this rare tree. The flowers and leaves of this tree are used all over the tribal belt of Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh and is considered part of their cultural heritage and festivities.

The extravagant flowering of the Cat’s Claw vine with its golden showers on huge trees found on the campus of the primary section of Model School creates a festive mood. The Cannonball trees in that segment welcome you with their exotic looking flowers and seeds that hold spiritual value.

Green space

The Guest House campus has the making of a green lung of the city. The sighting of yet another huge tree on the campus came as no surprise for us. The tree takes one back to the edge of a rainforest in the Western Ghats with its wild, endemic look and emergent nature.

Akil tree on the campus of Government Guest House, Thycaud   | Photo Credit: Bijukumar KN

With the ability to produce an aromatic resin (oodh) following infestation by a mould, this tree, known as agar or akil (Malayalam), has been listed in Appendix II (potentially threatened species) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. An inhabitant of the evergreen forests of South East Asia with a canopy that covers a large area, it is indeed our fortune that we have a single specimen that should be protected and exhibited as a learning space for youngsters.

Honeytree   | Photo Credit: Suresh Elamon

This slice of rare and unique biodiversity gives one a glimpse of the heritage of the city. The trees are one of the main reasons why clean air, clear skies and breathing open spaces are available for the city dweller.

The author is an ecologist and coordinator Of Tree Walk

(Join Tree Walk on a walk on February 24 to see two rare trees in the city. It begins from Government Guest House Junction, Thycaud, at 7 am. Contact: 9447078113)