UDUPI: If you want to see a Shree Taale (talipot palm) tree flowering — which happens once in its lifetime — head to Athrady near Udupi. According to residents, the age of the 30-ft tall tree is likely to be 60. Director of Oriental Archives Research Centre, Udupi, S A Krishnaiah has now decided to collect its seeds in order to ensure the preservation of the rare species.
Drought connection?
Called ‘Avinashi’ in Sanskrit, Krishnaiah said some people believe that the flowering of the tree will result in severe drought. Hence, people usually cut it down before they flower. As a result, the number of trees of this particular species has come down drastically.Krishnaiah said he had recorded about the flowering of this tree in a forest in Polali (Dakshina Kannada) in 2007. Two years back, a talipot palm tree had flowered near Padupanambur and about 30,000 seeds were collected in a systematic manner as a single tree yields more than 250 kg of seeds, he said.
Scientifically called Corypha umbraculifera, the species is native to the Western Ghats, especially in the forests of Savalaklu, Tenginmudi, Yana and Gersoppa in Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts.The Kerala coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also home to this species.The talipot palm flowers only once in its lifetime and the flowers remain for about eight months and later the seeds will also be there in the tree for about eight months.
Once the seeds fall, the tree also dies. It flowers when the tree crosses 50 or 60 years.Krishnaiah said that this tree in Athrady should not fall prey to the superstitious belief. He said he will safeguard it with the help of local residents like Ganesh Raj Saralebettu and Dinesh Poojari.