Centuries-old trees stand tall in Thanjavur

TRICHY: In addition to 1,000-year-old Big Temple, Thanjavur also has four giant trees standing tall for close to 500 years. The trees are found in a secluded place at the Sivaganga Park close to the Brihadeeswara temple.
The park was completely renovated a few years ago and became a hangout spot for the people in the locality. The park houses rare tree species like Anaipuliya maram (Adansonia digitata), Sterculia foetida (Indian Almond), Ficus benghalensis (Ala maram), Bassia latifolia (Iluppai), Kigelia pinnata (Sivankundalam), Couroupita guinanensis (Nagalingam), Michelia champaca (Shenbagam) and Melia azedarach (Malai vembu).
Former district forest officer and president of Society for Conservation of Nature V Sundararaju said, “Anaipuliya maram (Adansonia digitata) is estimated to be 300-years-old and provide shade to people.”
This belongs to ‘Bombacaceae’ family. The common names of this tree are baobab and dead-rat tree.
Another Baobab tree with a width of 5.92 metre, height of 12m and about 150 years old is also found at the entrance of the park. A team of environmentalists conducted a study in the region. According to history, African people consider Baobab trees as sacred. Baobab provides shelter for rose ringed parakeets and honey bees. Baobabs are said to have been brought to the west coast of India by Arab traders more than a millennium ago from sub-Sahara Africa and only a few trees are believed to be found in this part of the region, said Sundararaju.