Nature’s delights – Page 22

09/03/201521/07/2020

Alice Garden

Pune has many famous gardens (i.e. famous in Pune) but I had never heard of Alice Garden. Being a tree lover, I took it as a personal affront at not knowing where it was located. To add insult to injury, I learnt that the Alice Garden was located inside the premises of the erstwhile Pune University now called the Savitribai Phule Pune Uniiversity which was a place that I had visited often.

When I did finally go there, I would not be wrong in describing the Alice Garden as an urban forest! It did have a proper gate, one ‘proper’ lawn, some dirt tracks to walk around and some swings for kids to play but I am not really sure how many kids come there, located as it is amid an institution of higher studies. I guess children from the staff quarters must be using it….

The main attraction is its huge trees. Easily at a height of five storeys, one can only guess the species based on leaves, fruit, flowers, twigs that had fallen on the ground. However we must thank some one for having thoughtfully labelled the trees which makes the subsequent process easier! The pretty foliage Filicium decipiens (Fern leaf tree) welcomes you and the path immediately splits into two. Choose any and walk around, enjoy the bird sounds and enjoy the earthy smell. I have always visited in the morning or evening but I doubt much sunlight reaches the floor through the thick tree canopy. We spot the Joannesia princeps (Arara Nut tree – indigenous to Brazil) and the Bauhinia vahlii. The joy is doubled as these are not labelled! There is a massive Sapindus emarginatus (Reetha), Caesalpinia coriaria (Divi divi), Guazuma ulimfolia (West Indian Elm) and and Tabebuia species.

There is small pond – an extremely peaceful spot provided one is lathered oneself with mosquito repellants! That is to be expected, really, considering one is amid thick greenery. Possibly a birders delight!

I am told that the Alice Garden is a treasure for those keen to study spiders. In fact, a recently organised Spider Walk at this place was a huge hit!

I notice a few dedicated walkers in this park who had shunned the tarred roads outside for their morning exercise. Other than them, there is some staff in a plant nursery which did not seem to be selling the plants. No other humans are visible.

The University itself is from the period when the British were present in Pune so I guess the garden is about two hundred years old. It is named after Alice Richmans. The Alice Garden has an interesting legend as well. According to some reports, the garden is haunted. Follow this link to read more about these anecdotes.

I leave you to decide.
🙂

26/02/201521/07/2020

See, Touch, Smell…

I have made it a point to visit gardens in every place that I travel to but never bothered to visit those in my own city. No reason really.. The past few days have been a conscientious effort to correct this. The Udan Biodiversity Park is located near Pune’s airport and I usually go to this locality only when travelling. Obviously visiting a park is out of question at that point in time.

Thus I grabbed the opportunity to visit Udan during the Virasat Pune Heritage Festival 2015 as we would have someone from the ‘makers’ of the park to share information with us. Besides the biodiversity element, this park has a sensory garden. That was a major attraction for me. Several years ago, I remember using different textures as part of therapy for special kids. With my new interest in botany, I was fascinated by the idea of using plants to stimulate the sense organs. I must say the creators of this park have succeeded to a large extent and I was quite impressed.

I have seen a sensory garden in the Chicago Botanic Garden but that was at the start of the spring so most of the plants were still dormant. I have heard and read about the Garden of Five Senses in Delhi and I am quite proud that my city too has a sensory garden. This one is is geared for differently-abled kids but everyone can enjoy and learn here.

Leaf imprints at the entrance

This park is spread over 2 acres and uses different plant species and their properties to explore the sense of touch, smell, taste, hearing and vision. Children are bound to find this very interesting as one goes beyond four walls to feel and experience strange wonderful phenomenon. The entrance itself is dramatic with leaf imprints in the cemented pathway. The sign posts are in English and Marathi and in Braille. Visitors are encouraged to pluck a leaf to experience its specific properties. There is the ‘Toothache plant’ whose leaves cause a tingling sensation in the mouth, the ‘Pandanus sp’ which has a distinctive fragrance, the ‘Touch me not’ whose leaves droop at the slightest touch…

Fun with plants

Sign posts in Marathi, English and Braille

Camphor Basil

Cardamom flower

The park has a fountain in the centre and most of the time there was a gentle breeze blowing. They have retained some of the rocks that were found in the original plot of land to create a wonderful waterfall. In my humble opinion there exists scope to create a spot to explore/demonstrate sound of water and the feeling of air movement as well.

I do hope more people especially kids go out and enjoy what this park has to offer. This is a Pune Municipal Corporation Park that has been developed and maintained by the Zensar Foundation. They do give away saplings of their collection if you desire and at no cost! What more can one ask??

Entry to the park is free. There is space for parking.
Tips: Carry a cap/umbrella as there is not much shade. Insect repellent is advisable.

As the name suggests, Udan Park has a biodiversity element too. However I shall talk about it in another post.
Till then, Go on… Enjoy!

15/02/201521/07/2020

Spring is here!

This morning I chose a different route for my morning walk. And lo behold! Spring was evident at everywhere! Vasantrutu (वसंत ऋतु ) is there to be seen and the plants and trees are putting on a flamboyant display. Dont miss this once a year celebration! Here are some images though they do no justice to the real thing.
(Follow the links to learn more about the trees)

Vallaris creeper

A carpet of fragrant Vallaris flowers on the road

The golden Tabebuia makes an appearance

Petrea

The Flame of the Forest

As they say, be humble, look down and the fallen leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs from the trees will tell you something! Look! Listen! Enjoy!

09/02/201521/07/2020

Batting for bats

Bats
are something that usually inspire fear or create revulsion among all (or
most)of us. I did not really spare them much thought except on our long walks
on a disused taxi track where we used to see huge bats (recognisable due to
their typical wings) flying across the runway. More recently a group of bats
relocated to a tree outside my balcony which is when I took a keen interest.
Would they be dangerous? Will they accidentally enter my home? And so on…
Luckily they flew away before I hit the panic button.

Thus, I could not miss on a ‘bat spotting walk’ organised by Virasat Pune conducted
by Dr Vishakha Korade who has done her PhD in Bats! Here is what I
learnt.

A colony of bats seen handing from Kinhai trees

Fruit
bats (aka Flying fox) are vegetarian and this was the species that was near my
home. (This is what I inferred from some of her answers to my queries). They
roost on tall trees with sparse foliage (we saw them hanging upside down on
Eucalyptus and Kinhai trees) and fly out at dusk and return at about 5AM. They
feed on fruits (specially of the Ficus genus) and other plant parts as well except roots and stem. The
digestion process in bats increases the chances of germination of the seeds in
the fruit they eat. These seeds are disbursed in their excreta hence the bats
are an important part of the ecosystem. They also help pollinate some plants
species (about 400 e.g. Kigelia africana, Adansonia
digitata). According to Dr Korade, while many urban people fear bats,
people in villages refer to them as Laxmi (as in the goddess)! I guess they
understand the position of bats in the ecosystem more than us city folk! Fruit
bats have fair vision and find their food etc using their eyesight and
olfaction.Contrary to belief, fruit bats do not use eco-location.

Smaller
insectivorous Evening bats (called पाकोळया
in Marathi) produce twins about thrice a year but they are lost to predation
and the total number often does not increase. These bats look like swifts and
can be seen about 15 minutes after sunset. They may share a shelter with swifts
too. Evening bats use eco-location to find their food.

There is a species called Vampire bats that feed on blood (usually of cattle). They secrete an anticoagulant when they bite the animals and then feed on it. These can also regurgitate the ingested material to feed young ones left behind or those unable to fly out. There is a type of ‘false vampire bat’ that is found in Asia.

Bats
have a weak pelvic girdle and lower limb muscles and do not ‘stand’ on legs like
humans. Being mammals, they give birth to live young ones. Fruit bats produce
one offspring every year (after about a two month gestation). The young ones may be carried on the bellies for some time. Bats are a
reservoir of many types of virus and may be carriers of Rabies, Ebola. They usually
are not dangerous to humans but may spread disease if people consume plant
produce contaminate with bat fluids (e.g. toddy collected from trees). Their
bodies are geared for an upside down life. Here is a link to some info about the bodies of bats.

In
recent times, bats may have gained some popularity due to the popular book
series by Stephenie Meyer. However I was pleasantly surprised at this session to
see kids ask several intelligent questions. I guess India does have a bright
future, provided they stay and work here of course not fly off to foreign
lands…

The number of fruit bats in the colony we saw is dwindling which can be a cause for alarm as an important member of the ecosystem will be lost. Loss of their habitat could be a reason. Indiscrimiate cutting of trees has to be stopped.

Its important to keep learning something new as its a big wide world and we would only have skimmed the surface!

What have you learned recently?

🙂

13/01/201521/07/2020

Glittering (Wordless Wednesdays)

Raindrops

30/12/201421/07/2020

Sunkissed (Wordless Wednesdays)

Cypress Trees Near The Golden Gate Bridge

25/10/201421/07/2020

Roots

The camera has become our constant companion both at home and outside. So whether one is cooking, eating, reading, travelling its easy to capture images to recall and relive memories later. My usual subjects arefriends and family (not surprising), myself (a new addition due to my new toy with a front facing camera!), trees, architecture and so on.

Yet I find that tree roots too have emerged as attention grabbers. Roots are what anchor a tree to the ground, collect water and other nutrients from the soil, at times are modified to breathe/give support as well. I would like to share some of these amazing roots with you.

Enjoy…
These are simply stunning. Tree roots at Angkor Wat. Do they support these ancient structures or do they damage the structure? To me it looks like the former!

Photo Credit: Col (Dr) Ram Athavale, Retd

Photo Credit: Col (Dr) Ram Athavale, Retd

Here is yet another example of roots offering some support… in the form of a bridge! This bridge has been created by living roots of the Ficus tree. Such bridges are seen in North East India. This photo has been sourced from Getty Images

#171760581 / gettyimages.com

Artist Steve Robin has envisaged and created the following bronze sculpture using inspiration of the roots of the large sycamore tree in the St Paul’s Chapel in New York that was damaged due to debris from the 9/11 World Trade Tower collapse. Read more about it here.

‘Trinity Root’ Patinated Bronze by Steve Tobin. Seen at St Paul’s Chapel, New York

Stunning roots of a huge Cupressus macrocarpa. Seen in San Francisco

Roots of this Ficus at Pondicherry have spread out to form columns. This tree is at Auroville, India.
Photo Credit: @puneribaker

Rootage of a 200 year old Silk Cotton Tree seen at the Lal Bagh, Bangalore

Photo Credit: @puneribaker

The vertical Cypress
knees or Pneumatophores of the Taxodium distichum (Bald cypress) jut upwards from the soil. Some theories state they help the tree get oxygen but
some trees have thrived even after the cypress knees were removed. Other
theories propose that they play the role of supporting the tree.

Cypress knees or Pneumatophores of the Taxodium distichum (Bald cypress). This image from South Carolina, USA

Thin delicate aerial roots of the Ficus microcarpa, help distinguish it from other Ficus brethren whose aerial roots may be thicker and coarser. This tree is in Pune, India

This
is mostly of learning value to me as I was under the wrong impression
that only Ficus species produced aerial roots. This tree is the
Metrosideros excelsa (New Zealand Christmas Tree) which belongs to the Myrtaceae family. This tree is from the San Fransisco Botanical Garden

Nebari of my Kamini bonsai!

If you have enjoyed this, you are sure to like my post about amazing barks …

Take care!

07/10/201421/07/2020

Flowers and Leaves (Wordless Wednesdays)

Maple

01/10/201421/07/2020

Wild Guava (Wordless Wednesdays)

Careya arborea (Kumbha)

21/09/201421/07/2020

The Hills Are Alive

My city is blessed to have many hills right within the city limits. Many have flat land at the top and one can walk for a long distance even upto 10 kms (depending on your route). This is especially amazing because this walk gives a feeling of being ‘above’ the city yet a part of it. In the city yet a feeling of being outside.

The hill overlooks Baner and Pashan and one can see the city skyline stretching as far as the eye can see

Any one who has been to these tekdis (hills) will totally agree with me. I had not visited the Baner Tukai tekdi and eagerly took up an opportunity to visit it.

Like most tekdis in Pune, this one too suffered from deforestation and must have been really bare. It has been the ceaseless and untiring efforts of Dr Garudkar and the Clean Earth Movement that is showing its fruits now. Here is a link to their website.The group has been active since 2006.

The almost flat top is perfect for long walks

The Baneshwar caves are located at the foot of the hill. As one ascends the steps one is immediately struck by the extent of the city’s growth, the spread of concrete jungle almost into the hills. Yet, look up and one can see the green flat top of the tekdi as it meanders away into the distance. Get off the steps and follow the foot trails to enjoy the greenery. The tekdi spans a vast area hence has been ‘divided’ into different sectors named after forests of Maharashtra. The naming is purely for the sake of convenience of the activists working there.

These caves are located at the foot of the hill and have a Shiva temple

The ‘map’ of the hill area

The activists have built such tanks to store water for the trees.

Here
are some highlights of the Baner Tukai tekdi. If you happen to live in
the area, do join the group and help nurture the trees, and keep the
‘lungs’ of the city healthy and green!

Dhobi nut tree, Bibba, Pune, Anacardiaceae

This Bibba tree was flowering (Semecarpus anacardium)

Caesalpinia bonduc, Caesalpineaceae, Pune

Sagargota (Caesalpinia bonduc) inflorescence- the tree is armed with thorns on all parts

Pune, trees, Gmelina arborea, Verbenaceae

Shivan (Gmelina arborea) was seen growing at many sites.

Besides these, many other tree species had been planted and seemed to be pretty healthy. Some which I identified were several Ficus species, Neem, Arjun, Laxmi Taru (Simarouba glauca), varieties of Bauhinia, Prajakta, Awala, Waval.

The flowers that grabbed all our attention despite their small size (and by small I mean half a finger nail) were the seasonal herbs. They were in full bloom and created yellow and purple carpets on the hill side, almost reminiscent of the Kas Pathar. We saw Hyptis suaveolens (with Tulsi-like-fragrant leaves), Sida species, Trichodesma sp, Sopubia sp, Alysicarpus sp, Stryka sp, Sonchus sp and many many more that we could not identify. There were some lichens too!

Yellow Tribulus terrestris

A purple-pink carpet of Cyanotis species

The hills in Pune are at their full glory right now. Go enjoy!