The

Jungle Trees
of

Central India
a field guide

Pradip Krishen

CONTENTS

tree guide

Introduction

182

Preface
What is a Tree?
Tree Names
The Parts of a Tree
How to Use This Book
The Leaf Scheme
Central India as a Habitat for Trees
Central Indias Natural Ecology
Central Indias Natural Habitats
What exactly Defines Central India?
Central India Over the Years
British India
Deforestation of Central India
Tree-Spotting in Central India

12
17
26
28
34
41
45
56
60
63
74
77
81
83

Flower Key
Fruit Key
Bark Key

9
9
9

1. Simple Untoothed Leaf

2. Simple Toothed Leaf
3. Lobed Leaf
4. Digitate Leaf
5. Pinnate Leaf
6. Bipinnate Leaf

15
15
15
15
15
15

Back of the Book

Index

23
23

back of the book

Relating to the Character, Uses or Distribution of Trees
Relating to the Identity, Taxonomy or Name of a Tree
Name of a Tree
Family Names
List of Species
Index

15
15
15
15
15
15

183

Leaves unipi n n at e c o m p o un d

the jungl e trees of c entral india

unipinnate leaves

widest near the middle

The first rains in the jungle spark off a few frenetic

weeks when hill people collect ripe mangoes for sale
to the pickling industry. Bears, monkeys and flying
foxes compete with humans for the fruit. In traditional
systems of medicine, the unripe fruit (roasted, pulverized,
shredded) is credited with curintomach ailments, heatcoarse-grained and difficult tents.

kuda 45-50 cm
apex blunt

kari 45-50 cm
amaltas 45-50 cm
dhaman 45-50 cm
10 stamens
shorter than
petals

bharanga 45-50 cm

kuda 45-50 cm

dhaman 45-50 cm

dhaman 45-50 cm

kari 45-50 cm

amaltas 45-50 cm

bharanga 45-50 cm

kuda 45-50 cm

dhaman 45-50 cm

kuda 45-50 cm

amaltas 45-50 cm

midrib divides
leaflet unequally

bharanga 45-50 cm

bhirra 45-50 cm

182

bhirra 45-50 cm

bhirra 45-50 cm

183

Si mple TOOTHE D LE A VE S

kahua

uses

KH-oo-ah

kahu kooa aajan arjun | tropical/malabar almond arjun

Terminalia arjuna

315

Combretaceae - Terminalia family

SEASONs : Leaves are evergreen
in damp places, otherwise are shed
in March or early April and then
quickly renewed. Flowers in AprilMay, appearing soon after the new
leaves. Fruit ripen between March
and May, nearly a full year after the
flowers have been fertilized

ahua trees grow majestically tall along riverbanks in C India,

with characteristically pale, smooth bark and handsome
crowns with long, drooping extremities. The bases of their
massive, bony trunks are often buttressed. Along with two
species of jamuns, this is the classic riverside tree of the region,
with a spreading root system superbly fitted to survive turbulent
inundations in the rainy season. Because they nearly always
grow close to water, kahuas dont need to shed their leaves for
any length of time. Another effect of being riverside trees is that
their range is not limited in C India by rainfall regime or climate.
Outside our region, kahua is found naturally east to Myanmar
and southwards through the peninsula into Sri Lanka.
apex blunt or
only slightly
pointed

Kahua trees are highly rated

as medicinal factories. Their
astringent bark in particular
is rich in tannins, glycosides,
flavonoids and minerals and is
used in powdered form in the
treatment of cardio-vascular
ailments including ischaemic
heart disease, angina and
hypertension. It is also used to
treat dysentery, venereal and
urogenital complaints, earaches,
asthma and disorders of the
bile duct. Kahua bark extract
is employed to alleviate the
pain of scorpion stings and as
an aphrodisiac. The bark is also
a source of a traditional khaki
dye and tanning agent. Tussar
silkworms are reared on a diet
of kahua leaves. The heartwood
is dark brown and streaked but
the wood is not considered very
useful because of its tendency to
split during seasoning.

5 longer stamens
alternate with 5
shorter ones

cup-shaped
calyx has 5
pointy lobes

leaves more or less

in opposite pairs
bark smooth, green when freshly exposed, becoming
pale grey or pinkish-brown, flaking off in thin patches
leaves are leathery and more or less smooth when

mature, up to 22cm long on short stalks; base shallowly

heart-shaped, margins sometimes very finely toothed; 2
glands on the underside, near the top of the leaf-stalk

flowers are yellowish, cup-shaped, only about 4mm

wide, arranged in crowded spikes about 8cm long; no

petals; 10 stamens arising from a densely hairy disc

kahua is specially adapted to grow along riverbanks

fruit is a brown woody nut about 5cm long, with 5-7

broad wings marked with close-set veins

wings are marked

with close-set veins
bark (LEFT) flaking off to reveal green underbark
Knob-shaped glands (BELOW LEFT) near the top of the leaf-stalk. If you look
closely at the leaf margin (BELOW RIGHT), you can see tiny, rounded teeth

216

217

si mple unto o t he d l e a ve s

kair

jungl e trees of c entral india

thhaur

kerr

kareel kareer dhalu

Capparis decidua

THH-awr

thhavar sehra kangali katmauli | roxburghs bauhinia

315

Capparaceae - Caper family

SEASONs : Leaves absent most
of the time. New leaves appear
only fleetingly in March or April.
Flowers in late March, usually
once more after the rains in AugustSeptember. Fruit ripen quickly after
flowering, usually in April-May and
again in October-November

ou are much more likely to see kair as a stiff, spiny bush

but it sometimes grows into a distinctive small tree with
a characteristic mop of trailing green, leafless branchlets. It
has beautiful orange-red flowers and bright pink fruit that are
pickled, cooked as a vegetable and used medicinally. In C India,
kair is found only in the W and NW fringe where it colonises
dry, exposed, rocky hillsides that other plants avoid. It is
much more at home in the western desert regions of India and
Pakistan, stretching across the arid lands in the west to the sandy
wastes of N Africa. Kair owes its success in arid environments
to a formidable root system that reaches deep down in search of
moisture. It is equally at home in rocky terraces and deep sand.

kairs astringent fruit are cooked or pickled and are

also collected and dried for their medicinal value

Kair in flower in August

Bauhinia roxburghiana

315

Caesalpinioideae - Cassia subfamily

SEASONs : LEAVES begin to blacken
and fall late in March but trees are
never quite leafless. New leaves
emerge in May, resplendent by June.
FLOWERS in October-November.
FRUIT pods form quickly, becoming
pink and then a deeper colour as they
ripen in March or early April

hhaur is among the most beautiful jungle trees especially

when it renews its lovely foliage before the rains and again
when its canopy looks dusted with a myriad small white flowers
in October. Thhaur has a limited distribution in our region and is
prominent in the hills of the Banjar Valley in and around Kanha
Tiger Reserve. It shows a distinct preference for well-drained
sites with plenty of moisture but curiously is absent from the W
Satpuras which meets this requirement. It is more common in
high-rainfall areas to the W and S of C India, suggesting that the
Kanha landscape lies at the cusp of its distribution in this part
of the subcontinent. It is also found all across the base of the
Himalaya from Pakistan to Bengal. It is not much used.

Flowers in ample, terminal clusters towards the top

slight
notch at
apex

pointy at
both ends

ovary at the
end of a stalk

thhaur can grow to about 10 or 12m high

(Below) Note the bonnet-like outer sepal

of the flower and the long red filaments

purple veins
fleshy leaves are less than 15mm long
and deeply grooved along the midrib
bark grey-brown or pale brown,
deeply furrowed and corky
SPINES in pairs, short, slightly
curved, yellowish or red

bark dark with a rusty tinge, lifting off in thin strips;

usually but not always fissured

LEAVES on young shoots only for a

short time; small, narrow and fleshy

leaves distinctive, blade about 12cm long, usually

flowers in lovely clusters, pink,

brick-red or orange-brown; sepals

unequal, 4 narrow petals; the green
ovary protrudes beyond the stamens
at the end of a long stalk

fruit pink or tinged purple, slightly

smaller than a grape, with a grapelike bloom on the skin that rubs off

174

broader than long, with 9-11 nerves starting from a

shallowly heart-shaped base; blunt or only slightly
notched at the apex; leaf-stalks long

flowers about 24mm wide, in large, loose clusters at

the ends of twigs mostly towards the top of the tree;

petals 5, white or creamish with veins pricked out in
dark purple; only 3 perfect stamens

fruit about 14cm long, flat, hard, usually broader

towards the apex; rich, fulvous red-brown when ripe

si mple unto o t he d l e a ve s

mahua

MH-wah

mahula maul mohu irku | mowra buttertree honey tree

Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia

Sapotaceae Chikoo family

315

SEASONs : LEAVES begin to go

yellow and fall late in February. New

leaves emerge after the flowers, dusty
pink at first, usually in April or, in
dry areas, in June. FLOWERS for
about 3 weeks between late February
and end-April. FRUIT ripen between
June and August

velvety calyx

f theres a single emblematic tree of C Indias jungles then it is

surely this one! Even when jungle is cleared for farming, you
will see mahuas as the only trees left standing because they are
far too precious to be felled. Their value chiefly lies in the juicy,
creamy-white flowers that drop from the tree before dawn and
are gathered up and fermented to make a popular country liquor
but also as food. Mahua trees look loveliest when their leaves
emerge dusty pink and then slowly turn through tints of red and
brown before settling into midnight green. Mahuas are a little
thin in the drier, NW part of C India but define the landscape as
one approaches the Vindhyan and Satpura hills. They extend a
short way into Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

bark medium brown with shallow

wrinkles and fissures, exuding milky sap
if scored or injured; older trees may have
distinctly scabby bark
leaves 13-25cm long, clustered at the

ends of twigs and arranged more or less in

a spiral; tips broadly rounded with a short
point and narrow base; softly woolly and
deep pink at first, becoming dark, firm
and smooth; leaf-stalks 2-4cm long

flowers creamy white in dense clusters

at the ends of twigs, on stalks about 3cm

long; the petals are fused to form a fleshy,
succulent tube; about 25 stamens on the
inside of the petals; a long style protrudes
through the mouth of the tube; flowers
have a distinctive, nutty smell

fruit up to 5cm long, fleshy, green with

Mahua trees will grow on stony ground but do best on deep, loamy soils
with good drainage where they can grow to 18m or even more

a velvety coat when young, ripening rusty

or orange; 1-4 seeds inside; the long, thin
style usually persists at the apex

uses
The mahua tree is a critically
important source of nutrition
for millions of Indias poorest
tribal people. A mature tree can
produce up to 300kg of flowers
in a season. Individual jungle
trees known to be bountiful
are staked out and claimed
by tying a piece of cloth to one
of their branches. The flowers
begin to drop just before
dawn in March and April and
are gathered off the ground
with intense competition
from jungle creatures. The
flowers are eaten raw or after
sun-drying and most rural
households squirrel away a
cache of flowers which are
fermented to make a coarse,
strong-smelling country liquor.
Seeds from the fruit yield a
clear, greenish-yellow oil used
for cooking and lighting in oillamps and also reputed to cure
rheumatism and skin ailments.
The oil-cake left behind is
used as a detergent, manure,
vermicide and to poison
fish. The dark reddish-brown
heartwood is extremely hard,
handsome and much prized but
mahua trees are too valuable to
be felled for their timber.

style

Dried mahua flowers on sale in a village market

remains of
the style

Fused petals form a succulent tube that

falls off the twig, leaving the style behind
the Leaves (LEFT) tend to be prominently
clustered at the ends of twigs
Collecting mahua flowers at dawn

118

119

si mple unto o t he d l e a ve s

jungl e trees of c entral india

mahua reds

I could think of no way of depicting the subtle shades of mahuas

new foliage in the compass of a single spread. Here is a sampling
palette of the russet tones of this most beautiful of trees.

IMAGE MISSING

121

si mple unto o t he d l e a ve s

jungl e trees of c entral india

son pakhad

sohn PAH-khd

katbar katbaddh chitakar | donkeys banyan

Ficus mollis

315

Moraceae - Fig family

SEASONs : Leaves are reported to
be evergreen but the tree is not seen to
behave like this in our region. It starts
to shed leaves by December and is
usually bare by the end of March.
Leaves are renewed in late May. figs
ripen in March and May, so there
may be two or more flushes

ike gadasi, son pakhad is a fig-tree that colonizes bare rock

with remarkable aplomb. Its pale, smooth trunk and the
rusty woolliness on the undersides of its leaves and twigs are
useful clues to its identity. Son pakhad can grow impressively
large with a broad, shady crown but you can also encounter it
as a self-effacing, small tree. It sports small aerial roots which
seldom reach the ground and sends an array of surface-roots
ranging far from its base searching for moisture. Son pakhad
inhabits dry sites and seems to tolerate drier conditions than
gadasi does. It is more common in the drier, western part of
our region, in Bundelkhand and on south-facing slopes of the
Satpuras. Its range extends into the Deccan and Sri Lanka.

uses
Son pakhads figs are reported
to be edible and are greedily
eaten by monkeys, sloth
bears, cheetal and birds like
barbets and hornbills. I found
no instances of any part of
this tree figuring among folk
remedies but there is recent
pharmacological interest in its
leaves which are thought to
have properties which prevent
damage to the liver.
The ability of its versatile roots to wander over rock and find purchase in the soil
are the secret of son pakhads success in colonizing rocky areas

(ABOVE LEFT) Look for a prominent, smooth, green gland on the undersurface, at
the junction of the principal nerves. (RIGHT) The pale rusty hairs on the underside
of new leaves probably give the son (golden) pakhad its name
leaf-buds protect the young leaf
and fall off when the leaf unfurls.
Son pakhads leaf-buds have
unusually long, rusty hairs

leaf-bud

lobes of base
very tight,
sometimes
overlapping

apical scales

(ABOVE LEFT) You are most likely to find a son pakhad

growing on exposed rocky terraces. (ABOVE RIGHT) The
surface roots look like they have been poured onto the
rocks. (LEFT) The leaves are darker on their upper surface
and more or less heart-shaped at base
bark pale grey or bony white but also tinged rusty-purple at
certain times; white lenticel dots in horizontal arrays
leaves variable in size, usually about 12cm long, more or

less egg-shaped with a slight or pronouncedly heart-shaped

base; felted-hairy on top at first, later smoother and leathery;
densely woolly-hairy underneath and specially the leaf-buds,
leaf-stalk and twigs; like the baddh leaf, there is a pale green
gland underneath, just above the top of the leaf-stalk

figs are small, without stalks, in pairs or tightly clustered

at the ends of twigs; densely woolly-hairy with prominent

protruding apical scales

112

113

Pradip Krishen, is an Indian lmmaker and environmentalist. He

has directed three lms, Massey Sahib in 1985, In Which Annie Gives
It Those Ones in 1989 and Electric Moon for Channel 4, UK in 1991.
His lms have won signicant Indian and international awards, and
In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones acquired cult status in the years
after it was made.
He subsequently gave up lmmaking, and since 1995, has worked as
a naturalist and environmentalist.

This is an uncorrected proof copy and is not for sale. All

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Jungle Trees of India
Pradip Krishen
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