Specially Written for Vikalp Sangam

‘It is Amaltas season’, a denizen of the elite Lodhi Road in Delhi exclaimed as we were gazing at
the chandelier of the hanging clusters of bright yellow flowers of Amaltas (Cassia fistula) tree,
mesmerised by its captivating beauty. Indeed, it is aptly named as the Golden shower tree for its
profuse and vibrant yellow flowering during the summer (April – early June).

While we took our moment from the daily hustle and bustle of the mechanical city life to cherish
the nature around us, we noticed the small ecosystem flourished around this individual tree.
Nectaring species like emigrant butterfly and Purple Sunbird were busy visiting the flowers,
while a couple of Green Bee-eaters perched on the top branches, looking out to prey on the bees
that were also after the flowers. Down in the soil, centipedes and black ant were living among
the fallen flowers and leaves, taking part in decomposing the litter and returning the nutrients
back to the soil.

Amaltas, a tree native to the South and Southeast Asia, is one of the favourites for landscape
planners – be it Old Airport Road in Bangalore, Southern Avenue in Kolkata, or Lodhi Road in
Delhi. In this era of social media, flocking these green avenues by the netizens to showcase the
‘natural’ beauty of their cities is commonplace now. City planners these days seem to be more
mindful of planting aesthetically’ appealing plants, such as Tabebuia aurea (Silver trumpet),
Cassia alata, and Erythrina variegata (Indian coral tree) while developing streets and pavements
largely attributed to ‘streetscapes’.

Additionally, medium and big corporate houses are joining hands with government bodies for
such initiatives by providing regular maintenance of these urban landscapes. Such endeavours
not only improve their CSR and ESG metrics, but also help to paint a positive note among its
consumers. One such recent noteworthy addition in this list is the announcement made by
entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath (co-founder of Zerodha) and his friends that they are planning to
plant 10,000 cherry blossom trees across Bengaluru. Though it sounds extravagant, all is not well
behind this visually charming veil.

What’s the problem with that?

What If someone serves you ‘Bhature with palak paneer’ or Biriyani with dal tadka? The
combination may not look displeasing and also taste good as separate dishes, but the
combination won’t suit our taste buds. Such is the case when planting cherry blossoms in
Bangalore or other exotic species like Tabebuia rosea (Rosy trumpet tree), Bougainvillea glabra
that are often found in India. Well, the context for the ‘aesthetic’ social media picture, the
beautiful paved urban landscape covered with pink flowers, might fetch more attention, but it
won’t fetch much solution to biodiversity crisis and climate change issues rather, it might
exacerbate it. Exotic species often lead to shifts in the community dynamics of the local
ecosystem – they might lead to reduction and even local extinction of native species. Lantana sp.
can be a prominent example in this case, as how it has grown as a menace across the protected
areas of India, leading to loss of native grassland impacting the local herbivore population. This
particular attitude towards promoting non-native tree species across the urban landscape will not
only have ecological impact but also economical, such as reduction of pollinators (i.e. bees and
butterflies) which is an integral part for the natural production of food systems.

Status of native trees in India

“Recently, there has been an increased thrust for restoration efforts in India and also in other
South-Asian countries. This prioritises a renewed focus on the native vegetation”, asserts Dr
Shyam Phartyal, Associate Professor at Nalanda University. In a recent study titled ‘Regional
assessment of diversity and distribution of native tree species in South Asia’, Dr Phartyal along
with his associates, found that South Asia is home to 3172 native species, of which India is home
to 2613 species with 651 species being endemic. Interestingly, the research team has found that
45% of the native tree species in India are unique, as they are not yet recorded anywhere in
South Asia. The scientists reiterated that restoration and afforestation programmes should
consider the diverse pool of native species rather than fast-growing, commercially-valued, or
visually pleasing non-native/exotic trees.

When narrowed down to the urban areas, the study reflects that only 10% of the endemic species
are found in urban setup, constituting only 6% of the threatened native tree species as per the IUCN red list category. It calls for meticulously choosing trees for urban landscape design by
providing an opportunity to even threatened species, to cope up with the urban expansion and
enriching the local biodiversity. “Conservation of species is possible in the cities too only if we
are careful enough in doing the science and then reaching out to the government bodies and
corporate houses to inform that science. The urban sprawl will probably peak to new heights in
future leading to less space available in protected areas. In this case, we should make attempts to
help threatened species adjust their microhabitat conditions in urban areas as well. Otherwise,
they will only be restricted to botanic gardens and seed banks with reduced native ranges”,
mentions Harsh Yadav who is lead author of the paper and also a research scholar at the
Yokohama National University, Japan.

They emphasised that the endemic species should be promoted as a national pride since they are
not found anywhere. The international team of researchers in collaboration with Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, published a ‘State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2023’ and coined the phrase
“Championing Unique Plant Species” to campaign for the promotion of endemic species.

How can we change it?

By changing perception! Yes, the perception of ‘aesthetic’ needs to be redefined in this case. Full
bloom of Palash (Butea monosperma) or White Cheesewood (Alstonia scholaris) is nothing less
beautiful than any exotic species mentioned earlier. Dr. Phartyal underpins, “we need to promote
local and native species” as Japan did for Cherry Blossom – to a level to be adopted worldwide.
Naturally, growing native species need to be carefully judged by their ecological importance and
maintained thereafter, rather than clearing them as weeds. Amaltas or Palash are still local tree
species that are favourites of horticulturists. However, there are many plants, such as Smithia
sensitiva, Bahunia acuminate, that are ecologically sound but somehow not picked up by the
horticulturists and got branded as weeds. Simple promotion of such native plants as ‘butterfly-
friendly’ or some other characteristics (depending on its ecology) can change the perception of
aesthetics.

Additionally, at the institutional level, the newly launched Green Credit Programme (GCP) can
be a yardstick for future planning by urban bodies and corporations for urban greening. The GCP has recently tweaked its methodology and advocated that restoration and afforestation projects
should be aligned with local vegetation and biogeographical requirements. Such inclusion in the
policy is a big step as it speaks for science, the next big leap would be implementing the same –
be it at our backyard, or at the expanse of our cities – ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’
after all.

Contact the authors Arkajyoti Shome and Abhijit Dey.