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‘Bread from the Wild’ – Cycas circinalis L. Endemic, Endangered, and Edible Saneesh C.S.* ycas circinalis is known to be en- interviewed during the course of this interviewed commented that if the Cdemic to the Indian subcontinent, survey mentioned that it was a food seeds were eaten unleached, then in restricted to the Western Ghats, in that was much more common about her words, “You will vomit as many the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil thirty years ago. times as the number of the scars on Nadu, and the south of Maharashtra. the ‘entha maram’ (cycad tree).” To It typically occurs in fairly dense, ‘Eenth’ fl our still very popular. process the seeds in Kerala, the fol- seasonally dry scrubby woodlands in The fl our of Cycas circinalis seeds— lowing process is undertaken. hilly areas. Many trees in this habitat called ‘eenthakka podi’—is much used The seeds are fi rst halved and lose their leaves in the dry season, and still very popular in parts of Kera- placed on raised platforms made of and C. circinalis is also facultatively la. Malathi, a Paniya1 lady of Nedum- bamboo for smoking. The collection deciduous in extremely dry times. It kayam village, comments, “Food time coincides with the monsoon and appears to be an adaptable species made out of rice fails in front of ‘een- extra effort has to be made to get with colonies extending from rocky thakka’.” Laxmi, a Kattunaicka2 lady dry fi rewood and keep the seeds dry. hill outcrops down to coastal habitats of Ettappara village, says, “Anything Once dried and smoked, seeds can be at sea level. It is locally abundant in we make now with rice fl our was once stored for more than three years. several areas, although the habitat done with fl our of ‘enthakka podi’.” Before they are ground to fl our, has been severely reduced and de- People of Appankappu village also the seeds are leached several times graded. Good populations still exist in believe that they are eating the less in cold water. There are two ways to a number of national parks and forest nutritious rice, giving up the practice leach the seeds. One is to keep seeds reserves. The local people in Kerala of eating foods that they get from the in a bamboo basket or a jute sack in do not practice cutting of stems for forest, and this, they believe, is the running water. The other method is to medicine as in Tamil Nadu. There are root cause for their several very large populations along bad health. They the coast in Kerala that have been remember that the integrated within local villages and practice of eating left undisturbed. cycas seed fl our Cycas circinalis—or ‘eenth’ as it is was still common locally called in Kerala—is a small, about eight years evergreen, palm-like tree growing ago. to 25 ft. in height and found in the In one season deciduous forest up to 1200 m alti- alone, the village tude. The trunk bears permanent leaf of Appankappu scars, and the leaves look like palm harvests and pro- leaves. November to January is the cesses 1500 kg season in which the cycas trees cone of cycas seed for in Kerala. Male and female cones consumption and are found on separate plants. Male sale. The seeds are Cycas leaves and seeds on display at a cones consist of numerous structures collected in the ‘Wild Foods’ festival organised by Keystone Foundation called microsporophylls that produce months of June thousands of powdery pollen grains. through August in Female cones consist of numerous Kerala. When the megaporophylls, which are special- seed coat turns ized leaf-like structures bearing yellow, it is mature seeds. The seeds can be seen in parts and is harvested. of Nilambur, Waynad, and Palakad One private buyer of Kerala in the months of March to in the local town June. Seeds, when ripe, are greenish- mentioned that yellow in color. his procurement In this article, the popular uses of for the last year cycas seed fl our are highlighted. The of cycas seeds was practice of eating foods made from 10,000 kgs! this fl our is still prevalent in many parts of Kerala. Many of the people Leach well before ___________________________ *Keystone Foundation, Kotagiri, The Nilgiris, you eat! W. Ghats, India, www.keystone-foundation.org, One of the women [email protected] Resilient Cycas circinalis-against all odds. The Cycad Newsletter 32(1) March 2009 Page 4 boil seeds in water more than three cumin seeds, garlic, curry leaves, times. After leaching, the seeds are small onions, and grated coconut left to dry and are then powdered to are mixed to make a vegetable a fi ne or coarse fl our to make various dish called ‘puzhukku’. delicacies. Sometimes people cook with fresh seeds too! The seeds are Traditionally, products from the kept in boiled water for half an hour forest were gathered and used for and this is repeated thrice. various commercial and non-commer- cial purposes. The non-commercial Recipes for cycas seed fl our. use of forest products was primar- There are many ways to prepare cy- ily food, fi ber, medicine, fodder, cas seeds. Below are just a few. construction, etc. Honey, medicinal plants, and other fruits continue to • The coarse fl our is steam-cooked be harvested and sold to traders on a in a traditional vessel made of ei- commercial basis. While there have ther metal or bamboo to make a been studies on the commercial spe- CycasCycas circinaliscircinalis nurserynursery in KeralaKerala,, India.India. steamed cake. Ground and roast- cies and their role in the lives of in- ed fl our is then mixed with grated digenous peoples, not much has been coconut, salt, and cumin seeds done on the non-commercial species. and kneaded into dough with wa- There has been an overall change ter. The dough is then rolled into in food habits of traditional indig- small balls and steam-cooked to enous communities. Every village had make ‘pidy’, which is eaten with a method of gathering and processing meat curry. wild foods. The methods of collection • Finely-ground fresh fl our soaked often refl ected on the ecology of each overnight with yeast and salt is species and were linked to its biol- allowed to ferment. This mixture ogy. In this way, the processing of the is then steam-cooked in a special harvested material was linked to the mold to make ‘idly’. The leached properties of the produce. Together fi ne fl our is also made into a thick this knowledge became vital in en- porridge which is fl avored with suring that the harvest did minimum salt, sugar, or coconut. This mix- damage to the plant in its habitat. ture is used as a baby food. Today, however, many people are • The fresh seeds are cut in half reluctant to say that they eat these and kept in running water for foods, as they are considered less so- Cycas seeds are still popular with some people in Kerala. three days. They can also be phisticated. In the loss of these uses, ____________________ 1 soaked in a pot of water for three we also lose the knowledge that was The Paniyas represent a major indigenous group and a well-settled population of Northern days, but the water needs to be linked to the ecology and the prop- Kerala. changed at least three times a erty of the ‘breads from the wild’. 2The Kattunaickan/Pathinaickans represent day. The seeds are then boiled an indigenous group of good honey hunters, with salt and, when they are soft, collecting honey from trees as well as cliffs. The Kattunaickan are also one of the major spices like spicy green chiles, non-timber forest products (NTFP) collectors of Nilambur. Left: Pidy made from Cycas seed fl our; right: Steamed noodles made with Cycas seed fl our The Cycad Newsletter 32(1) March 2009 Page 5.

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