INDIAN LAUREL TREE

In a recent incident, forest officials in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitarama Raju district made a discovery when they cut the bark of an Indian laurel tree and water started gushing (coming) out.

Characteristics of Indian Laurel Tree:

1. Scientific Name: Terminalia elliptica
2. Alternative Names: Asna; saj or saaj; Indian laurel; marutham (Tamil); matti (Kannada); ain (Marathi); taukkyan (Burma); asana (Sri Lanka); and colloquially known as crocodile bark due to its distinctive bark pattern.
3. Habitat: It primarily thrives in both dry and moist deciduous forests in southern India at elevations up to 1000 meters.
4. Distribution: The tree is native to southern and Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
5. Applications:
   1. The wood of the Indian laurel tree is widely used in furniture making, cabinetwork, joinery, paneling, specialty items, boat-building, railroad cross-ties (treated), decorative veneers, and musical instruments (e.g., guitar fretboard).
   2. Its leaves serve as food for Antheraea paphia (silkworms), which produce tussar silk (Tussah), a commercially valuable wild silk.
   3. The bark has medicinal properties and is used to treat diarrhea. Oxalic acid can also be extracted from the bark.
   4. The bark and, in particular, the fruit of the Indian laurel tree are sources of pyrogallol and catechol, which are used as dyes and in the tanning of leather.

FAQs:

Q1) What are Deciduous Forests?

Deciduous forests are made up of broad-leaved trees that shed their leaves during one season. They are found in three middle-latitude regions with a temperate climate: Eastern North America, Western Eurasia, and Northeastern Asia. The word "deciduous" means "tending to fall".

Different types of deciduous forests include:

1. Temperate deciduous forests
2. Tropical and subtropical deciduous forests: (dry forests)

Tropical deciduous forests are found in the following states in India:

1. They are found in the eastern states, along the foothills of the Himalayas, Jharkhand, West Odisha, Chhattisgarh and on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats.

These forests are also known as "monsoon forests" because the trees and shrubs shed their leaves during the dry season to conserve water. During the summer, the forest receives heavy precipitation, so the trees and plants remain lush green and dense. Tropical deciduous forests are the most widespread forests in India and are found in regions that receive between 70 cm to 200 cm of rainfall every year.

Some of the trees found in tropical deciduous forests include:	Oak, Birch, Beech, Aspen, Elm, Maple, Teak, Palm, and Bamboo.
Some of the animals found in tropical deciduous forests include:	Tigers, Lions, Elephants, Foxes, Bears, Deer, Langurs, and Monkeys.

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