Sunday, December 29, 2019

Light And Dark Matters

A few years ago, a disturbing realization came upon me and it was:
Homo sapiens is the only diurnal species that carries out normal daytime activities after sunset.

The discord created by this realization led me to understanding the health implications of altering our environment to suit our ever-changing comfort levels; and also to making changes in our lives to realign ourselves with natural cycles. In this blog post I will write about this journey. The only environmental factor I take into consideration here is light.

According to archaeological records, Homo sapiens started walking the earth nearly 200,000 years ago. We are still biologically the same as those initial men and women. But ever since the advent of artificial lighting, human race doesn't experience natural light and darkness the way it did for thousands of years. 

Thoughts and questions such as these bothered me deeply -- Artificial lighting is hardly a century old technology. What is a century or a few in geological time scales? Not even an insignificant blip! How can our evolutionary needs for light and darkness change in that short amount of time? Won't human body's mechanisms, that have evolved to take in natural light and darkness as their cues, go awry because of our modern ways of living? Natural light and darkness are free for everyone. But still how many actually meet the human body's requirement for these? I moaned for the terrible loss of natural light and darkness from most people's lives. 

First, some science: The color components of visible light include violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. White light is a mixture of all these lights. So is the visible light component of sunlight. The blue component of the visible light spectrum is known to wake us up and keep us on our toes by secreting a hormone called cortisol. Following the natural cycle of the sun, as the day wanes so should cortisol production. As the sun sets, in response to darkness a hormone called melatonin gets secreted. This hormone plays a key role in regulating our sleep. This beautiful dance between cortisol and melatonin maintains the day-night cycle and circadian rhythms.

Sleep-wake cycle from Dr. Eliza Klearman's website:
Sleep-wake cycle from Dr. Eliza Klearman;s website
Now let us see how modern ways of living cause disruptions to this optimal cycle. Most of our houses are not built to let much sunlight in. Most people don't get exposed to sunlight in the early morning hours. Also because of being indoors at work or school, there is never enough exposure to sunlight during the day. But there is plenty of exposure to light in the evening hours when our bodies (evolutionarily) can't handle it. Now with the devices we suddenly have bright blue light in our lives in the evening when there used to be moonlight or darkness, just a few decades ago. This delays (may also inhibit) the onset of melatonin production and causes sleep disruption among many other problems. 

A little bit of anatomy: Human eye has two kinds of photoreceptor cells -- rods and cones. Rods are responsible for vision at low light levels and cones function when there is bright light. 

Human settlements now have well-lit homes, roads, public transport and indoor spaces. I was curious to know what happens to rod cells when there is no dim light at all for many years. I couldn't find any pat answer online. My guess is that the rod cells lose their efficacy since they haven't been used. I have seen the difference in night vision between city folks (used to a lot of artificial lights in the evening) and village folks. In the absence of a bright light in the night, the former can't navigate even in their own apartments; a dim light or darkness just doesn't work for them. Village folks on the other hand are undeterred by darkness outdoors and are confident about their unaided night vision.

All this understanding helped us realize that many conscious choices had to be made to realign ourselves to our evolutionary needs. We now live on a farm where we are outdoor a lot during the morning hours, soaking in a lot of sunlight. In the evening hours we have only warm-yellow LED lights (max 3w) lighting our indoors. The blue component of these lights are insignificant. Dev has a pair of blue light blocking glasses which he uses when needed. We have installed a blue light filter software on our computer. In the night, while sleeping, we have no artificial light indoor or outdoor. 

If you are interested in exploring this subject further, here are some pointers:
Dr. Satchin Panda on the importance of darkness

https://www.darksky.org/

Harvard University's research on blue light and sleep




Saturday, October 19, 2019

Dyeing & Dying


Even in a village like ours, these days it is hard to find middle-aged or elderly people with grey hair. Pretty much everyone dye their hair jet black. For a few decades now, this has been the norm in cities.  Acceptance of the natural process of aging is fast getting obliterated. When we fail to accept our own aging, we are likely to fail to accept the aging of our loved ones. We are likely to hold on to people who should have long been gone. To elaborate on this, I would like to bring up a personal example.
For several years, Dev’s dad (papa) was severely diabetic. When he was over 70, he was diagnosed of (advanced stage) Parkinson’s.  Later he broke his pelvis which restricted his movement further. Being far away in California, we felt that the only help we could extend was to employ a caregiver. This lessened the burden on Dev’s mom during the day. She still had to care for papa in the night. This was slowly taking a toll on her health, since she couldn’t ever get a good night’s sleep.    
When we moved to India in 2012, we stayed with Dev’s parents.  That was when we realized the futility behind what was happening there. Papa’s life was being extended by prolonging his dying.
His face was absolutely expressionless. He had very little flesh on his bones. He could hardly move, eat or talk. He needed assistance with everything. We could smell the decaying bed sores.
This left us wondering about life, “What’s all this medical care for? For keeping a dying man in bed a bit longer? How do poor people deal with such situations?” Also we strongly felt the need to reassess the situation by looking at it from papa’s perspective.
We initiated a conversation with Dev’s mom to understand what was keeping her going. We came to know that she was not given the full picture of papa’s illness. She didn’t really know how bleak the situation was. We slowly and carefully divulged the medical info that we had access to. We wanted to gradually decrease all the medicines except pain killers. After an initial period of resistance and reluctance, she followed through.
I wanted to focus on helping papa be happy – however short-lived that was for. I used to sit by his side, sing to him, and once in a while feed him some ice-cream (his absolute favourite). During one such feeding he hurriedly said “Quick! Quick!” and tears started rolling down his sunken cheeks. After a few weeks papa had a brain hemorrhage and was taken to the hospital. He was in coma. Again, we had to make the difficult decision of bringing him home and not prolong his stay in the hospital.  At home papa was hooked up to an oxygen cylinder. In a few days, with some of us next to him he passed away.
I see certain aspects of this narrative getting repeated in so many cases, among our friends and relatives. I see people wanting to hang on to the lives of dying ones too dearly. Our modern culture lacks mindfulness of death. Tibetan Buddhism, on the other hand, focuses a great deal on death. 
Here is an interesting article on "Death and dying in Tibetan Buddhism" from Frontline, PBS.

-- Hema


Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Helplessness -- actively taught and learned

Here in this post I plan to address a key issue with modern day parenting in affluent families, whereby the kids are actively taught to be helpless.

First I will cite some scenarios from our village:

Cheenu, a four year old boy, accompanied his dad who was a labourer working on our house foundation. Any middle or upper class parent would find the construction site to be full of hazards for a child of his age -- foundation trenches, big stone piles, people hand-carrying big stones etc. Obviously, Cheenu's dad didn't think so; neither could he afford to. His family situation was such that Cheenu had to be brought to work if he is off from school. Though it was a hot day (38 deg C),  Cheenu was as cheerful in this site as you would find a small child playing in a park. After sticking with his dad initially, he started mimicking what the other adults were doing -- which was to hand-carry stones. He took his job seriously. He carried stones that were big for him and wouldn't pick up anything that was not challenging. I was feeling sorry for this child and tried offering him smaller stones. He simply ignored me and continued working. I understood much later the condescending nature of my behaviour towards Cheenu and his work. And since Cheenu was not conditioned yet, his response towards me was authentic even if it would be considered rude or impolite.

Shephards' kids (less than ten years of age) carry a sharp billhook, climb a tree, lop branches and haul them home to feed their cattle. This is part of their daily routine. They learn to use this sharp tool, manuver their way up the tree with the tool tucked into their pants on the rear side. Girls learn to cook on wood-burning stoves from the age of eight or so. It is not considered particularly dangerous. It is not uncommon to find little girls cook a meal for the entire family. These kids also go to school. Young kids are indispensable contributors in such families. 

Now, I will compare and contrast the above situations with "normal" middle or upper class families.

Barring a few exceptions, these children are overprotected. They typically don't get involved in household chores and hardly get a chance to use the fire or tools. They are assisted by the adults almost always and they are not expected to take on responsibilities.

Here are some excerpts from some of our interactions with affluent visitors from the city:

- This family came with their eight year old boy. I suggested to my kids to take their new friend to get milk from our milk lady. The walk was hardly hundred meters. They had to cross a not-so-busy village road.  The mom immediately intervened saying, "Oh, my son shouldn't go. He doesn't know how to walk on roads. He will hurt himself in the traffic." Having observed this eight year old for a day, I didn't think that the mom's statement was true.  Nevertheless we dropped the idea.

- This child was seven years old. I had made some boiled eggs for lunch. At the table, he was watching my kids eat their egg and was waiting for one of his parents to show up and peel one for him. When Abhi suggested that he can try to do it himself, he was quite surprised. Apparently this suggestion was never made before at his home! With a bit of help, he happily peeled the egg and ate it.

- This time it was a ten year old girl. Knowing that pomegranate was one of her favourites,  I offered one to her. With a perplexed look she said, "but I have never peeled a pomegranate before. can you please peel it for me?"  We helped her with the process and noticed that she was happy to do things for herself.

Now, my musings about this:
Time and again I have seen that small kids have a strong desire to participate in the adult world by doing what the adults are doing. Although they initially resist the conditioning to give up independence, they eventually do become helpless. Kids that are expected to be helpless are likely to grow up into adults with the same attitude. We once had a twenty-five year old visitor who couldn't wash his plate or glass since he didn't know how to use a scrubber!

In hunter-gatherer societies, kids get involved in real life. They start using knives and other tools from a very young age.  There are many examples of this in the book "The Continuum Concept" by Jean Liedloff. Evolutionarily speaking, it must have been very important for little children to learn life skills and become useful and independent. If not, he or she would be a burden on the migrating tribe.

Repeatedly I see evidences to conclude that children meet the expectations, whatever they may be, of the adults around them. Here is another post I wrote earlier on this topic.

-- Hema

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Weddings And Funerals

Sanchayya was only 52 when he passed away recently. He lived in the village nearby and used to work for us occasionally. We had known him for six years. An honest person in spite of being very poor. Dead Sanchayya looked just as if he was blissfully asleep, not worrying in his usual way. His sudden death rattled us.
*

We immigrated to the US in the late 90's and lived there for thirteen years. During all those years we never went to any funeral or wedding. For us, funerals and weddings were events that happened in India. We had friends who were mostly of our age, not multi-generational. Unmarried friends traveled to India to get married. Growing up in California, our kids got to welcome many newborn babies of our friends. Typically grandparents would travel from India to help the young (working) couple during post-partum and with the raising of the newborns. Young Abhi once remarked that India was the land of grandmas. All the grandparents that he knew were from India. Death never figured in our lives. We got the news always over the phone from India. The kids either didn't know or remember the person I was mourning for. Not participating in weddings and funerals were gnawing at me. I felt that our (immigrant) lives were not complete.
*

When we moved to India in 2012, Dev's dad was already bed-ridden for long. We decided to spend a few months with him. All of us got to see the process of dying, slow passing away. He died one morning when some of us were right next to him. Our experiences there brought forth many inevitable discussions about life and death with the kids. In the last few years here we have seen the deaths of many people -- relatives, acquaintances and friends. Things slow down for some time after these events -- remembering the dead, mourning and contemplating about the cyclical nature of our lives. 

Locally there is a very high level of participation whenever there is a death in the vicinity. First of all they call off work. The practice is to definitely pay homage to the dead, anytime and every time they hear such news -- however remotely they were connected. Thus local people would go to a funeral every one or two months. Even if they were to take these visits customary, they are constantly reminded of death and its lack of bias. I wonder if this helps them accept death when it happens in their own family; many times I have heard them say in a matter-of-fact manner "his/her time was up. no one can hold back such a person".

-- Hema

Monday, September 16, 2019

Burning Hills







We get two spells of monsoon every year – southwest (July, August) and northeast (October, November). Thus during the second half of the year, the grasses on the surrounding hills provide food and nourishment to the local cattle.  Some fast-growing native plants have taken root on the hills and have started growing in to young trees. Come February, the effects of the monsoon are long gone. The soils are dry and heat starts going up (above 35 deg C). The beautiful lush green rolling hills are turning brown. The shepherds are beginning to think about buying cattle feed. The desperation for cattle food gets intense as days go by. 

One fine morning we hear crackling sounds in the distance. We know enough now to fear for the lives of all the thousands of creatures that have made their homes in these hills. The sound is now accompanied by smoke. In a few minutes we catch a glimpse of the raging fire. Man made. The fire displays its ferocity, leaping over huge boulders and engulfing everything that is in its way.


A road and a creek, approximately 300 meters, between us and the foothills of the burning hills. From the comforts of our house we helplessly watch the fire sweep from west to east. The scale of this fire makes it one of the most horrible and disturbing sights. The hills that were green in the morning are burnt to ashes in less than an hour. Grasses, young plants, thorny trees, nests, young hatch-lings, eggs, bugs, worms, snakes, wild hares. All wiped clean. Just so there can be new blades of fresh grass, if and when there are summer showers. The new growth can then feed the cattle for some time before the next monsoon sets in. Also walking up and down the burned hills will now be easier and less hazardous. This is a typical shepherd’s way of thinking.
Seven years ago when we came here looking for land I saw this man-made fire for the first time in my life. It left me unsettled for many days. I felt compelled to do something about it. But the ease and discreetness with which someone could destroy the life on the hills soon put things in perspective.
Wind, rain and birds ensure that a good mix of native plants come up on the hills. Why can’t these hills be allowed to have native trees grow big and tall? Those trees can then be lopped and fed to the cattle. After all, the native trees and shrubs (neem, palm, teak, muddy, avaram, caloptropis g., dodonaea v., Acacia spp.) don’t take very long to get well established. If only small sections of these hills can be left alone, untouched by humans (and the fire they make) we can create a paradise around us. But the growing demands for milk and meat won’t let that happen.
Such is the tragedy of the commons.

-- Hema

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Biodiversity


 
A place teeming with life – plants covering the ground, herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs, small trees, tall trees and mycelial networks.
A place that can eventually sustain itself because of the complex ecosystem that slowly got established there.
A safe haven for worms, insects, reptiles, birds, small mammals and a whole bunch of micro-organisms.
A place that offers food, fresh air, timber, medicine and shade from the scorching heat.
A place with rich colors, scents, natural sounds and textures.
We wanted to create such a bio-diverse place. In Permaculture this would be called a seven layered forest.  Over the last six years we have prevented grazing, planted trees, broadcasted native seeds and aided the growth of native trees that came up on their own.  Our once-barren land is now home to about 1500 young trees.  We hope this paves way for the creation of a place that closely resembles the most-threatened tropical dry and evergreen forests (TDEF).


A list of all the perennials growing here:


1.        
Family
Scientific Name
Local Names
Notes
Uses
2.        
Anacardiaceae
Lannea coromandelica
Odiya maram (Tamil), Gumpuni (Telugu)
Tree, fast growing
Mulch, Fodder
3.        
Anacardiaceae
Mangifera indica
Mango
Tree
Fruit, Timber
4.        
Annonaceae
Annona reticulate
Ram phal
Tree
Fruit
5.        
Annonaceae
Annona squamosa
Seetha phal
Tree
Fruit
6.        
Annonaceae
Artabotrys hexapetalus
Manornajitham (Tamil)
Vine
ornamental
7.        
Annonaceae
Polyalthia longifolia
Mast tree, False Ashoka
Tree
Avenue tree, Timber
8.        
Apocynaceae
Calotropis gigantea
Erukku (Tamil)
Shrub
Medicinal plant, fibre
9.        
Apocynaceae
Wrightia tinctoria
Veppalai (Tamil), Reppala (Telugu)
Tree
Medicine, Timber
10.    
Arecaceae
Borassus flabellifer
Indian palm, Toddy palm, Palmyra palm
Tree
Roof material, Sap, Timber
11.    
Arecaceae
Cocos nucifera
Coconut
Tree
Fruit, Oil, timber, Roof material
12.    
Arecaceae
Phoenix sylvestris
Wild Date Palm, Eecham (Tamil)
Tree
Fruit, Fibre
13.    
Asparagaceae
Agave spp.
Agave
Succulent plant
Live fence, fibre
14.    
Asphodelaceae
Aloe vera

Succulent plant
Medicine
15.    
Asteraceae
Sphaeranthus indicus
East Indian Globe Thistle, Vada-malli (Tamil)
Small plant

16.    
Asteraceae
Tithonia diversifolia
Mexican Sunflower, Tree Marigold
Shrub
Ornamental, mulch, green manure
17.    
Asteraceae
Tridax procumbens

Coatbuttons, Balapaaku (telugu), vettukaaya poondu (Tamil)
Ground cover
medicine
18.    
Bignoniaceae
Millingtonia hortensis
Tree Jasmine, Mara malli (Tamil)
Tree, fast growing
Avenue tree, wind break
19.    
Bignoniaceae
Spathodea campanulata
Nandi flame, African tulip
Tree
Ornamental
20.    
Bignoniaceae
Tecoma stans
Yellow bells
Shrub
Ornamental
21.    
Boraginaceae

Tournefortia argentea (aka Heliotropium foertherianum)



Ornamental
22.    
Caricaceae
Carica papaya
Papaya
Small tree
Fruit
23.    
Casuarinaceae
Casuarina equisetifolia
Savukku (Tamil)
Evergreen tree
Timber
24.    
Celastraceae
Cassine glauca
Nerdi, Neridi (Telugu)
evergreen tree
Timber, Medicine
25.    
Colchicaceae
Gloriosa superba
Sen-kandhal (Tamil)
Vine, Pernennial Herb
Poison, Medicine
26.    
Combretaceae
Terminalia arjuna
Arjuna
Large tree
Timber
27.    
Combretaceae
Terminalia catappa
Indian almond, badam (Tamil)
Large tree
Nut
28.    
Convolvulaceae
Cuscuta reflexa
Dodder
Parasitic vine

29.    
Erythroxylaceae
Muntingia calabura
Singapore Cherry, Japanese Cherry, Nei palam (Tamil), gaza gaza pandu (Telugu)
Shrub or tree
Fruit, shade
30.    
Euphorbiaceae
Jatropha gossypiifolia

Jatropha
Shrub

31.    
Fabaceae
Bauhinia acuminata

Shrub

32.    
Fabaceae
Cajanus cajun
Pigeon Pea, Perennial toor, Perun thuvarai (Tamil)
Shrub, legume
Lentils
33.    
Fabaceae
Cassia javanica
Chin-rala cheddu (Telugu)
Tree, legume
Ornamental
34.    
Fabaceae
Clitoria ternatea
Sangu poo (Tamil), butterfly pea
Climber, legume
Ornamental, fodder
35.    
Fabaceae
Millettia pinnata (aka Pongamia pinnata)

Pungai (Tamil)
Tree, legume
Shade, Biofuel, oilcake as fertilizer, mulch, green manure
36.    
Fabaceae
Tephrosia purpurea
Kollukkai Velai (Tamil)
Herbaceous small shrub, legume
green manure
37.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Bauhinia purpurea
Mandarai
Tree, fast growing,
legume

38.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Cassia (Senna) alata

Shrub or small tree, legume

39.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae

Senna alexandrina aka Cassia angustifolia


Shrub, legume
Ornamental
40.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Cassia (Senna) auriculata
Avaram
Shrub, fast growing, legume
Medicinal
41.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Cassia fistula
Sara konnai (Tamil), Amaltas (Hindi)
Tree, legume

42.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Cassia (Senna) siamea
Thangdi
Tree, fast growing, legume
Mulch
43.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Leucaena leucocephala
Su-babool
Tree, fast growing, legume
Mulch
44.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Prosopis julifora
Veli-kaththan (Tamil)
shrub or small tree, fast growing, legume
Firewood, Fodder
45.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Caesalpinioideae
Saraca asoca
Ashoka
Tree, legume

46.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Butea monosperma
Porasu, Flame of the forest
Tree, Legume

47.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Dalbergia latifolia
Eetti  (Tamil)
Tree, legume
Timber
48.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Dalbergia sisoo
Sheesham (Hindi)
Tree, fast growing, legume
Timber
49.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Erythrina indica aka Erythrina vareigata
Kalyana Murungai (Tamil)
Deciduous tree, legume

50.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Gliricidia sepium
Rubber Tree
Medium-sized tree, fast growing, legume
Mulch, green manure
51.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Pterocarpus marsupium
Vengai (Tamil)
medium to large deciduous tree, legume
Timber
52.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Pterocarpus santalinus
Red Sanders, sen sandhanam (Tamil), Raktha sandhanam (Telugu)
tree, legume

53.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Faboideae
Sesbania grandiflora
Agathi (Tamil)
Small tree, fast growing, legume
Edible leaves, Mulch
54.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae
Acacia chundra
White bark acacia, vel velam (Tamil)
deciduous tree, legume

55.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae
Acacia catechu
Karunkali (Tamil)
deciduous tree, legume
Firewood, fodder
56.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae

Acacia nilotica aka Vachellia nilotica


Karu velam (Tamil)
Tree, legume
Timber, resin, medicine, fodder
57.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae
Albizia lebbeck
Kattuva (Tamil), Dirsun (Telugu)
fast growing, legume
Timber
58.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae
Pithecellobium dulce
Manilla tamarind, Kodukkapuli (Tamil)
nearly evergreen tree, legume
Fruit
59.    
Fabaceae, Sub-Family: Mimosoideae
Tamarindus indica
Tamarind, Puli (Tamil), Chinta (Telugu)
Tree, legume
Fruit, Timber
60.    
Lamiaceae
Ocimum tenuiflorum

Holy basil, tulsi
Shrub
Herb, medicine
61.    
Lauraceae
Cinnamomum tamala

Bay leaf, pattai (Tamil)
Tree
Spice
62.    
Loganiaceae
Strychnos nux-vomica
Etti (Tamil)
deciduous tree
Medicine
63.    
Lythraceae
Lawsonia inermis
Marudani (Tamil), Gorintaku (Telugu), Mehndi (Hindi), Henna (Hindi)
Tall shrub or small tree
Dye, Scent, Medicine
64.    
Lythraceae
Punica granatum
Pomegranate
deciduous shrub
Fruit
65.    
Malvaceae
Hibiscus spp.
Hibiscus, sembaruthi (Tamil)
herbaceous plant
Ornamental
66.    
Malvaceae
Thespesia populnea
Poovarasu
Tree

67.    
Meliaceae
Azadirachta indica
Neem, Veppam (Tamil), Vepa (Telugu)
Tree, fast growing
Timber, mulch, medicinal
68.    
Meliaceae
Melia dubia
Malai vembu
fast growing
Avenue tree,
69.    
Meliaceae
Swietenia mahagoni

Mahogany
Tree
Timber
70.    
Moraceae
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Jack fruit
evergreen tree
Fruit, Timber
71.    
Moraceae
Ficus carica
Common Fig, Anjeer (Hindi)
deciduous tree
Fruit, Medicine
72.    
Moraceae
Ficus racemosa
Athi, Fig
Understorey tree
Fruit
73.    
Moringaceae
Moringa oleifera
Murungai (Tamil), Drumstick
Tree, fast growing, drought-resistant
Fruit, Edible leaves, Oil
74.    
Musaceae
Musa spp.
Banana
herbaceous flowering plant
Fruit, edible inner stem
75.    
Myrtaceae
Eucalyptus spp.
Eucalyptus, Thaila maram (Tamil)
Tree

Timber, medicinal oil
76.    
Myrtaceae
Psidium guajava
Guava
evergreen shrub or small tree
Fruit
77.    
Myrtaceae
Syzygium cumini
Jamun, naaval
evergreen tree
Fruit, Medicine, Timber
78.    
Oxalidaceae
Averrhoa carambola
Star fruit
evergreen tree
Fruit
79.    
Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthus acidus
Star gooseberry, Arai nellikkai (Tamil)
small deciduous tree or shrub
Fruit, Medicine
80.    
Phyllanthaceae
Phyllanthus emblica
Amla, Indian gooseberry, Nellikkai(Tamil)
deciduous tree
Fruit, Medicine
81.    
Phyllanthaceae
Sauropus androgynus

Vitamin keerai (Tamil)
Shrub

Edible leaves
82.    
Poaceae, Sub-Family: Bambusoideae

Clumping Bamboo
fast growing
Timber
83.    
Passifloraceae
Passiflora foetida
Wild passion flower
Vine, fast growing
Attracts butterflies, edible fruit
84.    
Poaceae, Sub-Family: Chrysopogonaceae
Chrysopogon zizanioides

Vetiver
Grass, fast growing
Mulch, erosion control
85.    
Poaceae, Sub-Family: Panicoideae
Cymbopogon spp.

Lemon grass
Grass, fast growing
Roof material, mulch
86.    
Rubiaceae
Morinda pubescens
Muddi (Telugu)
Tree, fast growing
Timber, Mulch, Fodder, green manure
87.    
Rutaceae
Aegle marmelos
Vilvam (Tamil), Bael (Hindi), Wood apple
deciduous tree
Fruit
88.    
Rutaceae
Chloroxylon swietenia

Billu (Telugu)
deciduous tree
Timber (Indian Satinwood)
89.    
Rutaceae
Citrus X sinensis
Orange
small evergreen tree
Fruit
90.    
Rutaceae
Citrus limetta
Sweet lime, Sathukudi (Tamil), mousambi (Hindi)
small evergreen tree
Fruit
91.    
Rutaceae
Citrus limon
Lemon
small evergreen tree
Fruit
92.    
Rutaceae
Citrus medica
Narthangkai (Tamil)
small evergreen tree
Fruit (pickled)
93.    
Rutaceae
Limonia assidisima
Vilam (Tamil)
deciduous tree

94.    
Rutaceae
Murraya koenigii
Curry leaves
small evergreen tree
Edible leaves
95.    
Sapindaceae
Cardiospermum corindum
Balloon vine
Vine

96.    
Sapindaceae
Dodonaea viscosa
Bandera (Telugu)
Shrub
Fodder, Mulch
97.    
Sapindaceae
Sapindus emarginatus
Soap nut, Soap berries, Boondi kottai (Tamil), Koonkukai (Telugu), Ritha (Hindi)
deciduous tree
soap
98.    
Sapotaceae
Madhuca indica
Illupai (Tamil)
Tree

Oil, Food, manure, medicine, timber
99.    
Sapotaceae
Madhuca longifolia
Illupai (Tamil)
Tree

Oil, edible flower, manure, medicine, Timber
100.                         
Sapotaceae
Manilkara zapota
Chiku, sapota
evergreen tree
Fruit
101.                         
Sapotaceae
Mimusops elengi
Magizham (Tamil), spanish cherry
evergreen tree
Fruit
102.                         
Simaroubaceae
Simarouba glauca
Sorgum (Tamil), Paradise tree
flowering tree
Medicine
103.                         
Solanaceae
Capsicum spp.
Perennial chilli
Shrub
fruit
104.                         
Verbenaceae
Gmelina arborea
Kumizh (Tamil), White Teak
Deciduous tree, fast growing

Timber, Wild fruit
105.                         
Verbenaceae
Lantana spp.
Lantana
Shrub

106.                         
Verbenaceae
Premna tomentosa
Kolukatta thekku (Tamil), Naruva (Telugu), White Teak
Deciduous tree


107.                         
Verbenaceae
Tectona grandis
Teak
fast growing
Avenue tree, wind break
108.                         
Verbenaceae
Vitex negundo
Nochi (Tamil)
Shrub
Green Manure, medicine
109.                         
Vitaceae
Cissus trifolia aka Cayratia trifolia,
Bush Grape
Evergreen Vine, Ground cover

110.                         
Vitaceae
Cissus quadrangularis
Pirandai (Tamil)
Evergreen Vine
medicine