#14 - Lychee Tree / Litchi chinensis

If there is a tree that truly represents India, it is Peepal. From as far back in time as the Indus Valley Civilization, pottery has been excavated with designs featuring leaves of the Peepal tree. It is a common tree in India, known for its beautiful heart-shaped leaves.

I am talking about the terms plant blind and plant aware today because the tree which I am going to talk about today made me realise how even ardent tree watchers like me can become plant blind sometimes, but great trees like good friends drag us back to focus. Today's tree is the Indian Almond Tree, and before I discuss it in detail, let me recount to you my story about this tree.

Kids and parrots have much in common. Not only can they chatter incessantly all day long, but they love the same kind of fruits, too. These fruits have soft skin or flesh and are sweet or tangy. So among their favourites, guavas, mangoes and lychees, is a purple sweet-sour berry-like fruit called Jamun .The tree is very common, yet I have met many people who find it difficult to identify it. So, in this episode, I will help you with distinct keys that you can use to easily know your jamun trees.

While strawberry trees don't have strawberry-like fruits hanging from them, the berries that do hang from them are equally beautiful, particularly when a tree is full of red and green berries. Let me tell you how I came across this tree for the first time, and then I will dive into all the cool botanical stuff related to it.

The atrocious summer heat in India is welcome if it means a sweeter yield of two of my favourite fruits, namely, mango and lychee. I have already made an episode on mangoes in which I have poured my heart out, so if you love mangoes too, do check it out. And, today's episode is all about lychee.

This tree is not native to India. Yet, it is impossible to imagine a garden or a park in India without at least one specimen of this tree. A fruit market is incomplete without a mound of its fruit. This is Guava, the tree with pastel green fruit that Indians love to eat in summer with a dash of salt and chilli powder. Listen all about it and more!

If there is a tree that could be as precious as a gem, then it is Mahua. When the cream-coloured flowers of mahua shower down at dawn during Spring, people from villages flock to the forests and collect them in huge heaps. They consume, store, and sell these precious flowers. Many rural households depend on these forest trees for sustenance and livelihood. I will talk about it all in detail in today's episode.

If I tell you that the tree in the spotlight today belongs to the citrus family and its fruit is used to make a delicious summer drink, your answer might be lemon. While it's quite close to the correct answer as the green round fruit does look like a lemon, this fruit is much larger and more sweetly fragrant. It's called Bael tree. https://ayearwithtreespodcast.wordpress.com

The tree in focus today is a favourite hang-out for frugivore songbirds. Not only do they enjoy its orange-red berries, but they also build nests in its branches or simply gather to socialise before calling it a day. This bird-friendly tree is the Ber Tree or Indian Jujube.

Sal is the state tree of Jharkhand. And, rightly so, as a vast expanse of these trees cover the land. Jharkhand literally translates to the Land of Forests, and sal dominates the landscape. Listen about this tree in today's show.