Neem: In the service of mankind
We begin this journey of spotting Chennai trees with the neem, also called
margosa.
The neem tree is found in most compounds of Chennai homes. Sadly, avenues of neem are scarce. I say “sadly” because it is a tree of great medicinal value. And, it grows with minimal human care.
According to Brihat Samhita, neem is an ‘indicator plant’ for the presence of underground water. Obviously, artificial watering is not needed. The rains meet its water requirements.
The tree has dense foliage, notwithstanding the fact that the leaves tend to crowd near the tips of the branches, so much so they work like fans as the wind blows, giving man a great sense of comfort. What is more, the leaves tend to gather dust particles blown about by the wind and, thus, the neem serves as a good dust filter. Look at the tree immediately after a shower of rain. The hitherto dust-laden leaves take on a pleasing greenness, a sight good enough to develop a sympathetic feeling of well-being in the beholder.
The tree has a large bole (bulging bottom part) reaching a circumference of more than three feet in a well-grown tree. The trunk grows up to 6-7 feet before it starts branching. The branches reach out to the sun in all directions, creating a large canopy, thus causing a huge shaded area in which many a car parks.
The leaves are compound, with a rachis supporting 3-4 pairs of oppositely placed leaflets and an odd leaflet at its tip. In most plants, the leaf or leaflet is divided into two equal halves by a prominent midrib. But the leaflet of neem is divided into two unequal halves by the midrib, a characteristic described by diehard botanists as oblique. Another noteworthy feature of the neem leaflet is its toothed margin.
The neem is an evergreen tree, though in extended periods of drought it tends to behave like a deciduous tree, shedding all of its foliage: A mechanism that helps the tree tide over water-stress.
The neem is a long-lived tree, quite often for more than 50
years.
Botanists have difficult-to-remember Latin names for each plant species. They have good reasons for developing this kind of nomenclatural system, the most important one of which is that all serious students of botany are sure of what plants they are talking about. The neem’s botanical name is Azadirachta
indica.
The neem has a special place in the hearts of Chennaivasis because it puts forth its flowers just before the Tamil New Year. They form part of the New Year ‘pachadi’ lending it a bitter taste, with a philosophical message: There is bound to be some bitterness n life and you must learn to bear it; Moreover, not all bitter experiences have bitter consequences, the message being that the neem flower, though bitter to taste, is salutary in effect because it is vermifugal, killing off worms in the intestines.
I remember my grandmother assiduously collecting neem flowers and storing them in cloth bags. Once a fortnight she would fry them in ghee and after adding a pinch of sugar, bid us to eat them. It was a truly sugar-coated pill! She was cleverly using the antihelminthic properties of the neem flower.
I also remember using neem sticks for a toothbrush. Of course, at that time I didn’t know about the neem’s bactericidal property.
Can’t say why, but it is a fact the number of diabetics is on the increase. First thing in the morning, munching tender neem leaves, which are yet to build up chlorophyll in full, is believed to be helpful here.
‘Veppa chandanam’, obtained by repeatedly rubbing the heartwood of the neem against a stone slab, will prove quite efficacious in healing recalcitrant skin sores.
Leaflets mixed with rice would keep off rice weevil, though storing must be done in gunny bags so as to ensure good aeration.
By the middle of May, fruits appear. They are yellow, oval and have sweet pulp. You can see crows gorging on them. Indeed, quite a few friends of mine relish the taste of this fruit. The seed is impermeable to and so is not affected by the intestinal juices and pass out of the intestinal cavity without their viability affected in any way.
Around June, July, you can see any number of neem seedlings growing all over the place. It is a good time to transplant these seedlings in your garden for summer showers provide the moisture needed for their growth.
The neem seems have a rich oil content. The oil expressed from them has medicinal properties. Applied to the skin, neem oil offers a good cure for all kinds of dermatitis (skin diseases), including, it is said, leprosy.
The neem cake is antifungal and antibacterial, besides being moderately nutritive. So, an application of neem cake to mango, coconut and other fruit trees is a common practice.
The efficacy of leaves in warding off pathogens is best recognised in the practice of hanging up bunches of neem twigs fully laden with leaves when there is a visitation of measles, mumps and such other viral diseases.
If you have a place for a well-grown tree in your garden, go in for a neem. It is a natural screen against dust, a natural fan and yields curative drugs for many a malady. Moreover, the trunk has some timber value too.
So, neem, whether living and standing erect, or felled and lying prostrate, is valuable.
Prof K N
Rao
