Dry and Dull Yeoor forest turns Flowery with Blooming Beauties

19th June, 2018

Thane : THANE: Be it with the mushrooming bundles of the white Kuli Fodshi, or the blooming pink and white Gulabi Karnful on the trees and flowering of numerous types of lilies, the onset of monsoon seems to have brought with it a new life to the dry Yeoor forest.

Over the past few months, the dry and scorching weather had resulted in the browning and withering of most of the leaves of the trees at the Yeoor forest, giving it a dull look.

In many instances, forest fires burned down chunks of greenery.

However, since the start of the first showers, the blooming of various monsoon flowers, hers and grasses coupled with the increasing green foliage seems to have revived this 65sq km jungle.

“Even though the monsoon has been scanty, the first few showers of the season have already revived the Yeoor forest range. While the revival of monsoon is evidently seen as the colour of the canopy of trees changes from dull brown and yellow shades to a myriad of green hues, it is the flowering of these monsoon plants that precede and mark the onset of the forest area’s liveliest season,” said Vishal Shinde, a city-based botanist. He added that from monsoon bloomers like Orchids and Wagheris to monsoon vegetation like the Kuli Fodshi and Dradon Stalk Yam to the abundantly seen flowering hers like the Kali and Safed Musali or the bright Ran Halad, the blooming of each of these plants indicates the start of the rainy season.

Experts studying the flora in these green zones assert that this abundant green cover and the growth of these vibrant flowers and grasses are crucial elements of the entire ecological cycle as they attract and provide homes and mating grounds for various species of insects, spiders, etc, who then go on to provide food for frogs, snakes and the food chain goes on.

Yatin Gholap, a Mumbai-based naturalist and botanist, said, “The changes in the seasons can be marked only by observing the slow changes in nature. Pollinated by insects and bees over the past few months, the forest, during monsoon, becomes abundant in various species of grasses, bulbous flowers like lilies and so on. The rain showers cover the forest floor with grasses and herbs like the Hill Turmeric, tall flowers like the Wild Spiral Ginger, Stalks of wild yam and so on.”

“It is this environment that gives a perfect home ground for small creatures like grasshoppers and insects and even butterfly and moth caterpillars and larvae in the beginning, followed by spiders, frogs, birds and eventually the entire wild ecosystem till the entire forest turns into a lively hub,” added Gholap.

It is this environment that gives a perfect home ground for small creatures in the beginning, followed by spiders, frogs, birds and eventually the entire wild ecosystem till the entire forest turns into a lively hub

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com