Tag: Travel Bug

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Towering (#ThursdayTreeLove)

Posting a little late but still… 




I had only read about this tree and for a long time, it remained just that.. a tree that would need a special effort to see… Finally it was a trip to (hopefully) see tigers, that let me see and admire the Sal. Its botanical name is Shorea robusta and belongs to the Diptocarpaceae family. Special effort because the Sal only grows in northern parts of India.



I saw the Sal forest during my trip to the Corbett National Park. In fact, the road to the Dhikala guest house is dramatic as it passes through these towering trees. It was early summer, and the time was right for fresh foliage to break out. Clothed in glorious shades of green, the Sal lived up to the image that was created in my mind. 


 An indigenous species, it is a handsome tree and the canopy casts dense cooling shadows. 

Sal canopy

Sal Flowering. Image Credit Rahul Rao

The Sal does face some threats, forest fires being a major one. Natural events like lightening too can damage trees. Infact there is landmark in the Dhikala zone called Mota Sal, which is the remant stump of a Sal that was struck down by lightening during a major storm… The stump still is quite awesome and my image does not do justice to its size…




Have you seen the Sal? Do make it a point to admire this glorious species whenever you get the opportunity!


I am participating in Parul’s photo initiative #ThurdayTreeLove. This is my contribution to #ThursdayTreeLove22


And before I forget, yes, we did see Tigers on that visit!!

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Baobab (#ThursdayTreeLove)

Baobab, Wai, Adansonia digitata



This massive apparently dry tree is none other than the Baobab (Adansonia digitata) of the Bombacaceae family. It simply demanded attention and the three of us holding hands together to form a chain could not completely encircle its girth!  


Its startling feature is a thick trunk and combined with the palmate leaves, identification is fairly simple. The trunk stores water and the tree loses all its leaves during the dry seasons. The flowers are white and bell shaped and bloom at night. They are most likely to be bat-pollinated.  


Baobabs are found in several parts of the world. I have spotted three in Pune but the photo above is from a place called Menavali near Wai in Maharashtra. 

The tree can grow to be really really old and the hollow massive trunk of one such tree in Zimbabwe is said to be able to shelter 40 people! Whoa!! 


In his book ‘Videshi Vruksha’, Prof SD Mahajan mentions a Baobab in Hyderabad that has a diameter of 5 m and is referred to as ‘हाथियों का पेड”. There is grove of several  Baobab trees near Mandu in Madhya Pradesh as well.


In fact, the Baobab finds a mention in the list of Baobab species in the Landmark Trees of India. Though an introduced species in our country, it seems to have flourished here to the extent that it seems like an indigenous species. 


Here is an image of an old Baobab in Pune that grows in the Savitribai Phule Pune University. The tree had collapsed since the trunk was hollowed by some infestion but as you can see, it had not died… The image is not very clear, but it does give a general idea.

Pune, Baobab



Have you seen a Baobab tree? Is there one growing in your city? 


I am participating in Parul’s photo initiative #ThurdayTreeLove. This is my contribution to #ThursdayTreeLove20 

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