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Forest Department comes to the rescue of ‘Tali Pot’ palm trees

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

rescue measurE: The ‘Tali Pot’ palm trees near Velrampet lake, which were affected by rhinoceros beetle attack.

PUDUCHERRY: The Forest Department has come to the rescue of 10 ‘Tali Pot’ palm trees near the Velrampet Lake, which came under rhinoceros beetle attack.

Apart from spraying pesticide, the department is providing root treatment. It has also planned to erect iron rods around the trees as a protective measure.

The ‘Tali Pot’ palm trees, known as ‘Kodaippanai’ in Tamil, flower once during its lifetime. Botanically called ‘Corypha-umbraculifera,’ the flower of the tree resembles an umbrella and grows to about six to eight metres in length. Interestingly, each inflorescence contains about 12 million small flowers and produces 500 kg seeds, Conservator of Forests P. Devaraj said.

“The flower produces 500 kg of seeds to retain its progeny. It is one of the largest trees in the palm family,” he said. In Puducherry, 10 ‘Tali pot’ palm trees are found near the Thulakathamman Temple close to Velrampet lake and four trees on the premises of the Swadeshi Cotton Mills.

“All the trees near the lake are more than 60-foot tall and over 30 years old. Following the beetle attack, we applied lindane dust with fine sand on the top of the trees. But, it is very difficult to reach the top because of the height,” he said.

“The trees have fibrous roots and we are spraying pesticide on one of the roots. Once absorbed, it will travel through the stem and reach all parts of the tree. We are also planning to use manure,” Mr. Devaraj said.

However, the trees on the premises of the mills have no problem and are healthy, he added.

These types of trees are found on the Malabar coast of the Western Ghats.

They have also been taken to Singapore, the United States, Panama and Honolulu as ornamental trees, he added.

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