Context
The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department finds that the Indian laurel tree stores water in summer as claimed by the Konda Reddi tribe.
Konda Reddi Tribe
- Konda Reddis are recognized as Primitive Tribal Group.
- Population: As per 1991 Census is 76,391
- Inhabitants: Konda Reddis mainly inhabit on either side of the banks of the river Godavari in the hilly and forest tracts of East and West Godavari and Khammam districts of Andhra Pradesh.
- However small population are also found in neighbouring state of Odisha and Tamil Nadu
- Language: Their mother tongue is Telugu in its purest and chaste form with a unique accent.
- Political Organization:
- They have their own institution of social control called ‘Kula Panchayat’
- Each village has a traditional headman called ‘Pedda Kapu’, which is a hereditary position.
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Tribal Group Helps AP Forest Department to Find Water in Trees
- The Forest Department authorities cut the bark of an Indian laurel tree (Terminalia tomentosa) found in the Papikonda National Park in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district to find out the trees ability to store water in the summer.
- The experiment was conducted as part of a regular visit to ascertain the Konda Reddi’s tribe indigenous knowledge about the tree.
Key Findings
- Water Quality: The Indian laurel tree stores water in its trunk during summers. The water stored has a strong smell and tastes sour and has an orange-yellowish appearance due to dissolved phytochemicals but is of potable quality.
- A fully grown tree can store at least four to six litres of water and acts as a reservoir for the locals.
- The frequency and amount of water storage is girth-dependent and depends on the thickness of the trunk.
- Only about five to 10 percent of the population of Terminalia tomentosa have been observed to store water in the stem.
- Unique Feature: The water storing trees develops a lateral ridge that is two to three feet long, and half a foot thick on their trunk, five to 10 feet above the ground.
- This lateral ridge, known as wing, indicates the presence of water in the stem.
- Adaptation Strategy:
- Large trees may experience a significant lag period between transpiration and sap water flow from the stem base in summers.
- Certain Terminalia tomentosa members stores water in their internal water storage compartments (sapwood, cell walls, and intercellular spaces) to compensate for the cavitation and embolism (formation of gas bubbles in xylem vessels) resulting from high transpiration and to maintain an effective hydraulic functionality.
Indian Laurel Tree
- Scientific Name: Terminalia elliptica; Terminalia tomentosa
 Common names: Marutham (Tamil); matti (Kannada); ain (Marathi); taukkyan (Burma); asana (Sri Lanka); and casually crocodile bark due to the characteristic bark pattern.- Native: The tree is native to southern and southeast Asia in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
- Habitat: It is a prominent part of both dry and moist deciduous forests in southern India up to 1000 m.
- About: It is a tree growing to 30 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1 m. The fruit is ovoid, 3 cm long.The bark is fire-resistant.
- Uses:
- Timber: The wood is used for furniture, cabinetwork, paneling, specialty items, boat-building, decorative veneers and for musical instruments (e.g. for guitar fretboard).
- Silk production: The leaves are used as food by Antheraea paphia (silkworms) which produce the tassar silk (Tussah), a form of commercially important wild silk.
- Leather production: The bark and especially the fruit yield pyrogallol and catechol to dye and tan leather.
- Medical uses: The bark is used medicinally against diarrhoea. Oxalic acid can be extracted from it.
- Water storage: water is stored in the stem and is tapped and used as a source of potable water in the summer by forest folk. It is also thought to have curative value for stomach pain.
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April 3, 2024