Last week I gave my readers a peek into Binsar, a small wildlife sanctuary nestled in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
One of the nicest sights in the Himalayas is the multitude of flowers that dot the vast landscape. Beginning from the month of March, when the snow at the high altitudes begins to melt, a kaleidoscope of colours begin to appear here.
On the ground, many small flowers of different colours begin to bloom and up on the trees, flowers pepper the trees’ canopy.
One of my favourite flowers, the rhododendron, appears on a short tree in the months of March and April.
The rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum) is a small tree that normally grows to 10 or 15 feet.
It has a cluster of dark green, lance-shaped leaves. During the flowering season, a cluster of 10 to 15 bell shaped flowers sit on top of the leaves of the tree.
These flowers are mostly bright red, but can be pink and white and even purple. In the month of March, many hill slopes in the Himalayas are dotted with these colours. Many rhododendron trees flower at the same time, and the result of this mass flowering is simply spectacular.
Looking at the slopes from a distance, it seems someone has painted a landscape with a variety of vibrant hues. There are many different species of rhododendron that can be found throughout the Himalayas.
These trees only grow in the mountains and cannot be seen on the plains. In the western Himalayas, the rhododendron is called ‘Burans’ by the locals, and has many uses. Rhododendron flowers are used to make jams and squashes. Its tender leaves are cooked and eaten as vegetables by locals. Rhododendron flowers are often offered to deities in hill temples. Wood from the tree is used for firewood. The importance of rhododendron is such that it is the state tree of Uttarakhand.
During the flowering season, these trees buzz with activity; birds, mammals and insects make the tree their home. Many birds and animals feed on the rhododendrons. Birds like black bulbuls, and mammals like the rhesus macaque (monkeys) love to feed on its flowers or tender buds. Insects visit the flower to feed on its nectar, and help pollinate it at the same time.
Despite the splendour and importance of this tree, there are concerns about its exploitation. In many areas, the fresh flowers of rhododendron are plucked from the trees for squashes and jams.
Plucking fresh flowers means that seeds from that flower cannot be formed. If rhododendron is over-exploited, the seeds available for dispersal, and growing of new trees in the wild reduce. It would be a shame if the beautiful Burans failed to colour our Himalayan hill slopes in the decades to come.