Carry trees you love in your pocket

By Alladi Jayasri

BANGALORE, AUG. 7. Tree-lovers and Bangaloreans will soon be able to ``carry'' the trees that are found in the City -- over 125 species -- in their pockets. Mr. S.G. Neginhal, retired forest officer, who has already authored ``Your Bangalore -- The Trees'', published by the Bangalore Urban Art Commission some years ago, is now putting finishing touches to his latest effort, ``A Handbook of City Trees''.

Mr. Neginhal, who was in the thick of things when the ``Green Belt'' theory and Social Forestry were happening issues in the Eighties, virtually authored the greening of Bangalore by planting 15 lakh tall seedlings from 1982 to 1988, picking up the Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra award for this noble task.

His passion for trees, and wildlife, combined with his other passion, wildlife photography, has resulted in over 20 publications.

In the new book, which he plans to publish himself, Mr. Neginhal has included seven chapters. ``The book is about trees that grow in any city, but it so happens that all the tree species mentioned in it are found in Bangalore,'' Mr. Neginhal told The Hindu.

The book can be carried in the pocket by the inveterate walker or the more serious field-tripper. But thanks to the vivid photographs (from his collection over four decades) that accompany the short description of the trees, it is the armchair tree-lover who benefits the most, and so does the one who loves trees, but can't tell one from the other.

The book begins with the why and how of city trees: why some trees, like the teak, rosewood, sal and eucalyptus, are not suitable for a city at all. It has suggestions on how to choose the right tree. Highways, narrow roads, medium and broad roads can all have trees to suit their size and need. The bottomline, of course, is that Bangalore's roads need every tree that can be planted. Gardens and parks, arboretums or wooded areas, and sacred places have their own kind too, not to mention crematoria and cemeteries.

The old Raj bungalows with sprawling grounds that beckoned the die-hard gardener may be a vanishing species, but homes still need trees. The fourth chapter lists ornamental flowers with exotic names such as Rose of Venezuela, and Splendid Amherstinia, ``the most beautiful flowering tree in the world'', Crepe Myrtle Nightshade and Scarlet Corolia. There are the fragrant trees such as Ashoka, bakul and mehndi, marking-nut tree, nutmeg, soapnut (shikakai) and fruit bearing trees which are ideal for homes.

Clever choice of trees such as Arjuna, babool honge mango, hippe and jamun will help recover marshy places where nothing seems to grow. A whole chapter explains the names of the trees and why they were given those names. Colville's Glory, for instance, is named after Sir Charles Colville, Governor of Mauritius, who was also commander-in-chief of Bombay.

The last two chapters dwell on the importance of maintenance and tree surgery, and the environmental value of trees. ``Just think, a study in a factory in Russia has show that a Green Belt of 500 m. around the factory reduced sulphur dioxide emission by 70 per cent and NOx by 67 per cent,'' Mr. Neginhal says.

The handbook will be as relevant in Karwar and Kumta as it is in Bangalore, with a whole range of trees listed that will thrive in saline soil and humid climate, not to mention trees such as bel, bhendi and Indian laburnum that will grow in hot and arid Bellary.

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