1

HERITAGE TREE OF KODAIKANAL

Kodaikanal has many ancient monuments and structures to speak of its glorious past.
Now a grand old tree has been identified to add value to its natural heritage. This is the 500
year old Eugenia arnottiana (Malai Naval, Naval, Nagay in Tamil) found in Bombay Shola
Reserved Forest (RF) of Kodaikanal Forest Division. Syzygium arnottianum, Syzygium
benthamianum and Syzygium densiflorum are the other names of the same species. This
belongs to the Myrtaceae family. This is endemic to India. This is one of the Red listed
threatened species according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This
tree is found in shola forests of Nilgiris, Anamalais, Palnis and Travancore above 1219
meters. This is a dominant shola tree. It may be considered the most representative shola
species of the Upper Palnis. This is a densely foliaceous evergreen tree with round crown and
new foliage red in colour. The flowers are cream in colour during March to May and dark
purple fruits ripen between July and August.

V. SUNDARARAJU

500 YEAR OLD MALAI NAVAL (EUGENIA ARNOTTIANA)

The girth of the tree at breast height is 15.2 meters with buttresses and the height is 21
meters. Because of its ancientness, the tree has become a tourist attraction. The entire
Bombay Shola RF is fenced and the grand old tree is treated as a monument by Forest
Department. This is considered as a Heritage Tree of Kodaikanal.
 2

This Living Monument not only brings joy and happiness to the onlookers but also acts as a
source of inspiration. This kind of age-old and heritage trees need to be preserved not only for
prosperity but also for posterity.

TRIBAL CULTURE AND TREE GUARDING: There are different tribal communities such as
Todas, Kurumbas and Kotas in Nilgiris. Out of these, the Toda people are a small pastoral
community who live here.

Generally all the tribes have great respect for nature. The Todas have much more veneration

and affection towards nature especially the trees. The following ceremony followed by them
proves their reverence for trees.

When a woman becomes pregnant, she has to perform a bow and arrow ceremony during
the seventh month of her pregnancy. She and her husband go to the shola forest near the
mand (a place where Todas live), cut a triangular niche in a Malai naval (Eugenia arnottiana)
tree and place a lighted lamp in it. The couple makes a bow of Malai avarai (Sophora glauca)
wood and fit it with an arrow made up of grass (Andropogon schaenanthus). The couple
returns to the tree and after paying respect to each other and to their relations, the husband
hands over the bow to his wife symbolizing his commitment to protect the child to be born.
She holds it until the light goes out. They cook food, eat with all their relations and stay that
night in the shola forest. Only during the first pregnancy, this ceremony is performed.
(Source: Madras District Gazetteers, The Nilgiris by W. Francis - 1908).

The dark purple juice of the fruit of this tree is used by Toda women for painting beauty spots
on their faces.

Vattakanal Conservation Trust (V.C.T) formed by Londoners Robert W. Stewart and Tanya
Balcar has been doing a wonderful job of filling the gaps in shola forests of Kodaikanal with
well established and taller saplings of shola species. It is really heartening to see that many of
such saplings planted in Bombay Shola R.F have established well.

In addition to two nurseries formed to raise shola saplings, they have three more green
houses for raising rare, endangered and threatened species and ornamental exotics. More than
100 varieties of cacti have been assembled here. Rare carnivorous plant species of Nepenthes
khasiana (Pitcher plant) also find place in one such green house.
 3

ONE OF THE SHOLA NURSERIES RAISED BY V.C.T AT KODAIKANAL

(The Author is at the left side in the photo)

V. SUNDARARAJU

TANYA BALCAR & ROBERT W. STEWART IN A GREEN HOUSE

V. SUNDARARAJU NEPENTHES KHASIANA (PITCHER PLANT)

 4

Indian Pitcher Plant is a carnivorous plant endemic to the Khasi hills of Meghalaya. The
species is critically endangered. The flowers have the shape of long vessel with a lid on top.
When any insect goes inside, the lid closes and the insect is finally digested.

V.Sundararaju, Former IFS Officer,

SOFCON,
Mail id: sundarifs.raju@gmail.com
www.sofcon.org
Mobile:9443170366.