Enjoy monsoon flora walk this weekend at Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Learn fact and legend about flora that paints the Western Ghats in myriad shades of green during the monsoon

Renee Vyas during a trail. Pic/SGNP on facebook

The flowering season may be a month away, but countless species of dainty climbers have started twirling around the mighty trees of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). "When trees are not flowering or fruiting, everything may look the same. But a forest is not one uniform stretch of green," says naturalist Renee Vyas, who will conduct a monsoon flora walk this weekend to help city folk appreciate this biodiversity.

Vyas, known for her monthly tree appreciation walks, will share a list of 20 plants before the walk commences to help participants identify them along the trail. "Once they learn each plant's characteristics, they won't look at a forest in the same way. The curiosity to spot new varieties continues after the walk too," she says.

Silky elephant glory. Pic/wikimedia commons

So, what can one expect to find at the Shilonda trail in SGNP during the monsoon? "You will spot a variety of climbers that sprout in the Western Ghats during the rains. Many finish their life cycle within three months," explains Vyas, adding, "Argyreia nervosa or Silky Elephant Glory is a common climber with heart-shaped leaves that have a silky-soft base. The adivasis bandage wounds with these leaves. Morinda tinctoria, locally known as bartondi, is my favourite. Its roots produce the red-coloured aalta that classical dancers apply to their hands and feet."

If children join the trail, they will be regaled by her stories. The one we loved is from the Mahabharata. Once, Bhishma Pitamah was travelling in his chariot when a lizard crossed his path, bringing the entourage to a halt. Enraged, the patriarch got down and flung it into the forest. The creature got entangled in the thorns of the Bridelia retusa or the aasan tree and died a painful death, but not before cursing Bhishma that he'd meet a similar end. "We all know about the bed of arrows," says Vyas.

On September 3, 6.30 am
At Nature Information Centre, SGNP, Borivali
East.
Call 28868686
Log on to goo.gl/3UzHYe
Cost Rs 600

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