Holding orange fire in its heart

A lone tree grows by a lake near Navilu Kaadu. As the dry summer heat bakes the earth to a biscotti brown, the tree sheds its leaves entirely, and by early April, enrobes itself in resplendent orange-vermillion blooms — the Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma) — a knockout tree that adorns the arid plains of the Indian subcontinent. This medium-sized, slow-growing deciduous tree from the Fabaceae or pea family is lyrically named Mutthugada mara in Kannada. It also goes by Palash, Dhak and Bengal Kino.

A forest dotted with Mutthuga trees in bloom appears to be up in flames when seen from afar, giving the tree its charming name, the Flame of the Forest. The brilliant orange hue of its flower was honoured as ‘Indian Orange’ by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Come summer, the magnificent Mutthuga throws the poshest pollination party in the plains, drawing birds, three-striped squirrels (Funambulus tristiatus), bees and butterflies. The five-petalled Mutthuga blossom is a ballad in tangerine with a downward curled base petal, a pair of wing petals and a pair of veined, upright keel petals resembling a parakeet’s full, arced beak, inspiring the moniker, the Parrot Tree.

The Palash flower conceals nectar in the moss green calyx at the base of its keel petals, with the pollen-laden stamen and the ovary-bearing pistil, ensconced within the pair of petals. The exquisite flowers, though, aren’t for plebeian pollinators. The jewel-toned purple sunbird (Nectarinia asiatica) with its slender, curved beak, and the aforementioned squirrel, legitimately access its nectar by prying open the keel petals to draw nectar from the calyx, gathering and depositing pollen in the process.

Birds like the oriental white-eye and the red-vented bulbul, both lacking suitable beak adaptations, toss decorum to the wind and brazenly crash the party. They poke a hole in the calyx to steal nectar, while plunderous parakeets tear at the petals to get to the nectar, all without pollinating the flowers. Bees sup on residual nectar through the calyx hole poked by the birds, offering no pollination benefits either. (Tandon et al., Annals of Botany, November 2003).

The squirrels, despite playing by the Mutthuga’s rule book, forage only among flowers of a single tree, triggering geitonogamy — self-pollination among the inflorescences of the same tree, with slim chances of seed production. The purple sunbird, therefore, is the only pollinator of the Mutthuga, and this makes the tree ornithophilous — pollinated exclusively by birds. The tree supports the life cycles of butterfly species such as the Jungle Queen, the Common Crow, the Common Mormon and the Tawny Coaster.

The Flame of the Forest has held sway over the Indian subcontinent culturally, agriculturally, ecologically, medicinally, economically and historically, since the days of yore.

The flowers are turned into natural colours for Holi festivities in the tribal regions of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The latter has deservedly elevated the Palash as its state flower. The leathery, disc-shaped leaves are sewn together to make eco-friendly dinner plates.

The Palash tree hosts the lac insect (Kerria lacca), which, when feeding on the tree sap, secretes lac, a resinous material used in the production of shellac, with wide-ranging applications. Lacquer derived from lac lends lustre to the exquisitely carved and vividly coloured, GI-tagged wooden toys of Channapatna. The leguminous Mutthuga helps with nutrient recycling, fixing atmospheric nitrogen and enhancing soil fertility. Rhizobia bacteria that dwell in the tree’s root nodules convert inert atmospheric nitrogen into biologically beneficial ammonia and nitrates, benefiting the vegetation in its vicinity.

The Palash is carved into the annals of Indian history, lending its name to a seminal battle in June 1757, in the vicinity of a village called Palashi, after the profusion of Palash trees in the region, situated around 130 km north of Kolkata. The trees stood witness to this toponymic skirmish called the Battle of Plassey (after Palashi), between the young and impetuous Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula, and the private army of the British East India Company, led by Robert Clive. The British scored a watershed victory, wresting control of Bengal and transitioning from a trading entity into a military force.

A few years ago, we planted a Mutthuga sapling on Navilu Kaadu soil. And like all young Mutthugas, the little one is taking root at leisure. I can’t wait for its blooms to blaze over our tiny patch of wild, though the plant’s near-comatose pace is frustrating.

Rooting For Nature is a monthly column on an off-kilter urban family’s trysts with nature on a natural farm. The author runs Green Goobé, a sustainable venture. Reach her at [e-mail] or @ramyacoushik on Instagram.