Char - Thy Seed is The King

Without a doubt, the char seed is the most coveted seed in India. Used as garnish and condiment the seed is also called chironji in Hindi. The astringent almond flavor taste acts as a neutralizer in extremely sugary concoctions. It is sprinkled straight or often roasted before use in Kheer, Penda, Halwa, and other Indian sweets. 

The tree (buchnania lanzan) is called char in Hindi and it used to grow widely in the jungles before denudation. I remember the super delicious sweet and sour fruit we used to collect a few kilometers from our residence in Jabalpur. The savory fruit-bearing trees are not available anymore as they have been run down by urbanization, but the flavor remains in my memory bank. 

Like many other fruits from fruit-bearing trees in India, the delicacy was sold in local markets during the ripening season in dry summers. Not anymore, I hardly see them being sold in local bazaars as the production has gone down and now the seed is the most precious commodity described as minor forest produce. Minor Forest Produce usually collected by the forest department is subject to trade in all our reserve forests except the PAs. The locals are employed in the collection of minor forest produce thus according to them with means of sustenance in the remote locations. 

The main beneficiaries are the locals but like the tendu patta or bidi leaf  (melanoxylon dyspros) the availability has become scarce and chironji is one of the most expensive commodities in the country.  The tree belongs to the Mango Family and the fruit is robustly rounded about 10 mm in diameter reddish purple in color. Apart from taste, it should be rich in antioxidants and minerals - to be ascertained.      

Char Trunk

The nearly squarish-shaped extrusions on the trunk make it easy to be identified.

The tree is found in Sal Forests, Dry Deciduous Mixed Forests as an associate and is never abundant as in a grove or forming a canopy. It ranges up to Sub Himalayan Tract and down into Deccan.  It is found in the tiger reserves of Central India as well as the reserve forests.

The fruits ripen in dry summers and the kernel contains seeds which have made it economically viable as an income source for the locals.
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Uday works as a senior naturalist and blogs on tiger conservation wildlife, biodiversity, and the environment.
Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
9755089323

Holy Banyan Tree & The Horn Bill

Of impressive spread a magnificent tree
Of massive girth and grows annually
Shelters one & shelters all
A silent sentinel that stands tall

Day by day it engulfs the host
The very tree that offers support
But that is the nature's design
To life and death all resign

As it grows a crown emerges
All the undergrowth it submerges
From the branches the aerials shoot
Spread around to prop up as roots

Like an umbrella it spreads with age
And begins to appear like an old sage

Banyan

Ungainly shape makes it look untidy
Nevertheless it grows strong and mighty

Banyan tree a regal splendor
Makes us admire in awe & wonder
Lightening storm and thunder
Cannot shake it from under

A lone stranger in the wood
Offers shade with its massive hood
The leaves large and long
Huddled together all along
When the figs ripe in the canopy
Flocks of birds arrive in a jiffy

In a frenzy they devour
Like a true frugivore
As they swallow the delicious feed
The flesh tumble downs along with the seed

Using big down curved bills
The horn bills swallow all the figs
After gorging day and night
Off they fly out of sight

From one canopy to another
The avian fly far asunder
They disperse the undigested seeds
Such that they germinate to prolifically breed

In the tormenting heat unbearable
The banyan saves the parched miserable
The shady tree offers much respite
From the scorching sun flaming bright

Altruism is what the scribes say
When you serve without a pay
The Vedas describe it as a holy tree
The one that nourishes & shelters for free

Live and let live all big and small
Protect & preserve one and all
Rise to occasion at one call
Save trees from axe and fall

Conserve nature's diversity
Sustain the bounty for eternity

By Uday Patel