Quest for nature 31st Aug August, 2020 Volume 1, Issue 10 PRAKRITIPRAKRITI

Officers' Officers' Club CASFOS Dehradun P R A K R I T I, 31 AUGUST 2 0 2 0, V O L. I, I S S U E 10 FLORA OF THE WEEK

Aegle marmelos Bael

The Bael tree has its origin from Eastern Ghats and BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION: Central India. It is native to India. The tree grows wild in dry forests on hills and plains of central and Aegle marmelos is a slow- southern India and Burma, Pakistan and Bangladesh, growing, medium sized tree, up also in mixed deciduous and dry dipterocarp forests. to 12-15 m tall with short A. marmelos is a subtropical species. trunk, thick, soft, flaking bark, and spreading, sometimes spiny The Beal one of the sacred trees of the Hindus. Leaves branches, the lower ones are offered in prayers to Shiva and Parvathi since ancient times. Its leaves are trifoliate symbolizing the drooping. It exudes gum which

Thrimurthies -Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, with spear is sweet at first taste and then shaped leaflets resembling Thrisoolam the weapon of irritating to the throat. Lord Shiva.

Taxonomic classification RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE: Class Dicotyledonae Bael is used in the ritual rites of Hindus. It considered the residence of Order Sapindales

goddess Lakshmi. Bael trees are Family Rutaceae considered an incarnation of goddess Sati. Bael trees can be usually seen Genus Aegle near the Hindu temples. It is believed Species marmelos that Hindu deity Lord Shiva is fond of bael trees and its leaves and fruits still play a main role in his worship. Aegle marmelos commonly known as Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple.

PLANT MORPHOLOGY: MEDICINAL USES:

o Dries fruit pulp uses for preparing summer Bel is only member of the monotypic genus Aegle. It is a drinks,which is helps overcome sunstrokes. deciduous shrub ao small sized o It can be used to treat tuberculosis. o Bael fruit used in the treatment of chronic tree,up to 13 m tall. diarrhea,dysentery and peptic ulcer.

LEAF: Trifoliate, alternate, ovate o Bael fruits are of dietary use and the fruits with pointed tip. pulp is used to prepare delicacies like murabba, puddings and juice. o Bael leaf juice with honey can prove useful FLOWER: Pale green or yellowish colour, bisexual, calyx for treating fever. Distribution Map with flate five teeth. Four or five o Aegle marmelos is rich in anti-oxidant which helps in insulin secretion which leads to low petals. blood sugar levels. o Bark has been reported to have beneficial FRUIT: Diameter between5 and 12 cm.Pear-shaped with a thick effects in diabetes.

and hard rind.

Aegle marmelos is native across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and is cultivated throughout Sri Lanka, Tamilnadu, Thailand, and Malesia. It occurs in dry, open forests on hills

and plains at altitudes from 0–1,200 m (0–3,937 ft) with mean annual rainfall of 570–2,000 mm (22–79 in).

Photography & Compiled by: Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Harikesh Narayan Yadav P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President, Officers’ Club |SFS 2019-21 Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice-President, Officers’ Club P1 P R A K R I T I, 31 AUGUST 2 0 2 0, V O L. I, I S S U E 10 FAUNA OF THE WEEK

Panthera tigris

TIGER

The graceful built of a tiger is well known. The reddish Reproduction and yellow to orange coat marked with black stripes and black Development ringed tale are characteristic of this . No two individuals exhibit the same stripe pattern. Gestation period- 4 months

The ears are black on the outer side, with a prominent Litter size- 2-3 cubs white spot. Young ones are more brightly coloured than Weaning – 5-6 months old. Sexual maturity- Females at Today, there are five subspecies of tiger.These subspecies 3-4 years and males at 4-5 are the Bengal tiger, South China tiger, Indochinese tiger, years

Sumatran tiger and Siberian tiger. Sadly, three subspecies Lifespan- 10-15 years in the National Animal of India of tiger have become extinct – the Caspian, Bali and Javan. wild.

Kingdom Animalia The stripes that a tiger has are as

unique as human fingerprints. Phylum Chordata Tigers are generally solitary creatures, but are seen as highly Class Mammalia

social able. Interestingly, a tiger can go two Order Carnivora weeks without feeding. Family Felidae A tiger’s roar can be heard as far

as three kilometres away. Sub family Pantherinae At full speed, tigers can reach up

to 65km/h. Genus Panthera

WPA, 1972: Schedule I, HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION: Part 1, Entry No. 39 Tiger lives in varied habitats like dry open forests, humid evergreen forest and mangrove swamps. IUCN Status: Endangered All kinds of fall its prey with deers & antelopes BEHAVIOUR being its favorite food.

Tigers are usually solitary and territorial in nature.

Their social system is ECOLOGY connected through visual signs,

scent marks and vocalizations Apex predator & keystone species in their ecosystem . Mainly active at night

Maintain balance between prey Groom themselves using their herbivore population and tongue to remove dirt from

vegetation . their fur

Protecting tigers translates into Good swimmers.

protecting forests which provide

critical ecosystem services. Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President, Officers’ Club Jitendra Singh SFS 2019-21 P2 Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President, Officers’ Club , P R A K R I T I, 31 AUGUST 2 0 2 0, V O L. I, I S S U E 10 OF THE WEEK Dinopium benghalense

Classification of the bird Kingdom: Animalia Black rumped Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Whenever we see drilled holes in tree #Indian species: 12 different species of Order: stumps, immediately it strikes the thought are found in India namely Family: Picidae that there would be Woodpecker bird Black-rumped , Greater nearby; they actually chip out wood and flameback, Rufous woodpecker, Common flameback, White-billed woodpecker, create holes in search of food - forage for insect prey on the trunks and branches or to Yellow-crowned woodpecker, Brown- create cavities for nesting and roosting. capped pigmy woodpecker, White-naped woodpecker, Heart-spotted woodpecker,

These interesting and colourful are Streak-throated woodpecker, Lesser members of the birds’ family Picidae that yellownape, Speckled piculte. also includes piculets, sapsuckers birds etc. (#courtesy:http://www.walkthroughindia.com/birds/12- different-species-ofwoodpecker-found-inindia/ )

Morphology Kingdom: Animalia Size ranges from tiny piculets 7 cms in length to large sized birds about 50 cms. Weighing around 7-10 gms to 360-563 gms for larger ones. Phylum: Chordata

Plumage colorful for camouflage boldly patterned in black, white, red, and many have a crest or Class: Aves tufted feathers on the crown. Zygodactyl feet, strong claws, short and strong legs, stiffened tails.

Woodpeckers have strong beaks for drilling, drumming & hammering on trees and long sticky Order: Piciformes tongues for extracting out foods (insects – adults or larvae) from drilled holes; interestingly to avoid brain damage due to drilling etc. activities, have relatively small and smooth brain, narrow subdural Family: Picidae

space, skull consisting strong & compressible sponge-like bone concentrated in the forehead and back Genus: Dinopium of skull, and hyoid bone is enormously elongated. Species: benghalense

Characteristic features, behaviours: DISTRIBUTION:

Majority of woodpeckers are solitary These are cosmopolitan and distributed across in nature, some of them are communal group breeders as well. the world except for extreme polar regions, Australia, NewZeland, New Guinea, Majority of woodpecker species feed Madagascar. on insects and other invertebrates living under bark and in wood, having omnivorous feeding habit.

Drilling and drumming- In drilling activity they chip out wood and create Ecological roles: holes while in drumming, which mostly occurs in spring season, a Insectivorous, Omnivorous – woodpecker tries to attract a mate or controlling forest insect pests mark its’ territory by alerting other birds or competitors. Habitat specialist

Indicator species Interesting facts:

They have super long tongues:: Woodpeckers' tongues are usually about twice the length of their Drilled holes / cavities used by other bill so that they can reach for insects inside the holes they peck out. When not in use, the long bird species for brooding and nesting tongue curls around the back of the head between the skull and the skin.

thus important part of ecosystem. They like to make music & don't get headaches.

Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President, Officers’ Club SFS 2019-21 P3 Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President, Officers’ Club Dileep Kumar,