Bengaluru

Lalbagh Botanical Garden

Lalbagh

About 232 old tree species that were listed in the book (Plant Wealth of Lalbagh) by MH Marigowda and M Krishnaswamy in 1968 cannot be found. Some new ones have been added Ravikumar Kaliamoorthy, the lead taxonomist

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Saraca

Jawaharlal Nehru

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By Akhila DamodaranThat’s trees, lining its roads and lanes, are disappearing due to the wilful felling of them is common knowledge. But what is strange and just being discovered is that trees have disappeared from theas well. A team of four taxonomists (plant taxonomists study, classify and catalog plant species) led by Dr Ravikumar Kaliamoorthy from Foundation of Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) has surveyed theBotanical garden and found that around 500 species are missing. These species found a mention in the book ‘Plant Wealth of Lalbagh’ by MH Marigowda and M Krishnaswamy in 1968. But today, out of the 1,303 species including trees, herbs, shrubs and climbers listed in 1968, only 760 are seen.The reasons for the missing trees are many. Ravikumar Kaliamoorthy says one of the reasons could be the death of trees. “They could have fallen off. Many names of the species have been modified or merged under the new classification of plants. So, that could also be a reason why some are missing. Earlier, the experts relied on books. If the books are wrong, they would have identified them wrongly. Weeds which were once listed have been removed now. These are the reasons for the reduction in the number of species,” he says.The taxonomists say native species such as Borassus flabellifer (Asian palmyra palm which gives palm jaggery), Garcinia gummi-gutta, Garcinia morella (called kudampuli and used in fish curries ) and Radermachera xylocarpa with medicinal uses, are missing. In 1968, 606 trees were listed and now only 510 trees are found. “About 232 old tree species that were listed in the book by Marigowda cannot be found. Some new ones are added,” says Ravikumar. Also, of the 29 species of Acacia, only 10 species can be found now, he adds.The team says 70 to 75 per cent of the species in Lalbagh are of foreign origin. They say about 20 species in the garden have wrong labels. “For example, Enterolobium contortisiliquum has been labelled as Albizia richardiana and Schotia brachypetala has been calledcalifori,” he shares. The report of the survey, that started in August last year, will be submitted by the end of the year. It will be submitted in two parts - trees of Lalbagh and plant wealth of Lalbagh. The team appreciates the way the garden has been planned and divided into 18 parts such as Economic garden, Dhanvantari garden, Lotus Pond, Arboretum and VIP lawn where VIPs such asand Queen Victoria had planted some plants.The horticulture department says the survey of the botanical garden is being conducted for the first time after 60 years. M Jagadish, department’s Joint Director for Horticulture and Parks, Lalbagh, says, “The scientific name of some species changes constantly and hence it is important to update them. Only taxonomists would be experts in identifying the species.” He adds that the team will be also provide common names of the species, its uses, origin and photograph them. These details will be compiled and documented into a book, called Plant Wealth of Lalbagh which will be released later. It will include all species in the garden in alphabetical order, along with all the details such as their common names, scientific names, features and their uses unlike Marigowda’s book which only listed the common and scientific names and the origin of the species. He says about 500 of them that are important and unique species will be coded by the department to provide all information to the public, so that they can learn about them, without depending on an expert. “The visitors can scan the code and get all details on their own,” he says, adding that the technology part will be worked on after the survey report is out by the year end.The taxanomists also blame a series of film shoots for the damage suffered by the trees. “For long, Lalbagh has been a favourite spot for film directors. Not just Kannada films, but many Indian movies have been shot here. Earlier, film shoots were also allowed inside the garden. That might have also damaged the trees,”says Ravikumar, adding that since majority of the species were foreign, they wouldn’t have survived the temperature or climate change in the city.