The surest way to lose something valuable is to persist in ignorance about its value. Viewed from an ecological viewpoint, Roughbark lignum-vitae (Guaiacum officinale) might not belong to these parts. But if one accorded natural history the place it deserves but is often denied, sometimes wilfully, this Roughbark lignum-vitae needs to be made welcome, felt at home in the handful of earth in Chennai it has claimed as its own.
Exotic trees have become naturalised in their adopted landscapes and are readily identified. The Roughbark lignum-vitae has not achieved that level of familiarity in Chennai; there is just a scattering of them in the city. And this clutch needs to be zealously guarded as this tree is faced with dwindling numbers everywhere. It is rare not just in Chennai, but even in lands where it is considered native.
According to IUCN, the tree is endangered, exploitation of the tree for its wood (said to have been the densest in the world) having reached the tipping point.
T.D. Babu, member of the Chennai District Green Committee, points out that the base of the tree bears scars of the past, having been scorched. | Photo Credit: PRINCE FREDERICK
“A small evergreen tree native to South America, it is reported to have been introduced to our parts in the 16th century. It “adoption” could have been the result of the ornamental value it brought to a landscape: it puts out striking bluish purple flowers that attract butterflies and has bright yellow-orange fruits. In Tamil, it is called seemai vairamaram,” says T.D. Babu, a member of the Chennai District Green Committee and a key member of tree conservation organisation Nizhal.
