Roxburgh's Trees of India: The Not-Quite-Trees
Scottish botanist William Roxburgh spent over 30 years in India studying Indian plants. Let's use art created from his work to examine the trees-that-aren't-trees!
BRIT Collections
Botanical Research Institute of Texas | Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Plant specimen by Charles Turner WarrenBRIT Collections
But first a word from our "sponsor"
The watercolor illustrations in this story were created by local Indian artists in Calcutta. Scottish botanist William Roxburgh (1751-1815) commissioned the drawings on behalf of the East India Company.
Dhobi Tree ("Mufsanda frandasa" now Mussaenda frondosa) (ca. 1812 - 1814, Calcutta) by Unknown Artist commissioned by William RoxburghBRIT Collections
Talented local Indian artists
“Company School” is a broad term still used by art historians to describe a hybrid Indo-European style of paintings that developed in India in the 18th and 19th centuries by Indian artists under the patronage of various East India Companies.
Priceless works of art and science
Most Company paintings were described as small and intimate, reflecting the Indian miniature tradition, although natural history paintings of plants and flora were usually life-size.
So back to trees... Is this a tree?
This is the Dhobi Tree (Mussaenda frondosa), called Sona-rupa in Assamese. As with other members of the genus Mussaenda, the groups of tubular flowers have a single large bract beneath them.
Plant specimen (2021-05-19) by Firos AKOriginal Source: Observation recorded on iNaturalist
Though it might be called a tree, the Dhobi tree has multiple woody stems or trunks at its base instead of just one, making it a shrub instead of a tree. So no, not a tree.
Plant specimen (ca. 1812 - 1814, Calcutta) by Unknown Artist commissioned by William RoxburghBRIT Collections
How about the Fukien Tea Tree?
Fukien Tea Tree (Ehretia buxifolia, now Ehretia microphylla) is a popular plant used in bonsai gardening.
By Alfred EisenstaedtLIFE Photo Collection
The art of bonsai pruning often removes all competing shoots to create a single trunk.
Plant specimen (2021-04-14) by Greg III EsperaOriginal Source: Observation recorded on iNaturalist
But once again, though we call it a tree, this species in nature grows as a shrub, not a tree! The one pictured here is growing in the Philippines.
Plant specimen (ca. 1812 - 1814, Calcutta) by Unknown Artist commissioned by William RoxburghBRIT Collections
Well, is this a tree?
Called Nagbeli in Hindi and Naga-mu-valli in Malayalam, Snake Climber (Bauhinia scandens, now Phanera scandens) can often be seen growing in and amongst other forest trees.
Plant specimen (2021-09-26) by pthepOriginal Source: Observation recorded on iNaturalist
But this member of the Bean Family is a liana, or woody vine, not a tree. Its name comes from the snake-like twists of its stem.
Plant specimen (ca. 1812 - 1814, Calcutta) by Unknown Artist commissioned by William RoxburghBRIT Collections
What about this Traveller's Palm?
Traveller's Palm (Urania speciosa, now Ravenala madagascarensis)—also called Pantho-padop in Assamese—is endemic to Madagascar, but is widely cultivated in the tropics.
The white flowers are grouped together in foot-long inflorescences, each flower having a large canoe-like bract. The flowers are pollinated by lemurs and produce brown fruits with blue seeds!
Watercolour of Strelitzia reginae (Bird of paradise flower) (2011)Historic Royal Palaces
Not really a palm
Though it's called a palm, it's not in the Palm Family. It's actually closely related to Strelitzia, the Bird-of-Paradise, which is native to southern Africa. Can you see the similarity in the flower shape?
Plant specimen (2010-08-15) by Rafael MedinaOriginal Source: Observation recorded on iNaturalist
...and not really a tree
It might make a single, thick trunk-like structure and get very tall (up to 60 feet or 18 meters), but Traveller's Palm is a monocot, a type of plant that does not make the tissues required to be a "true" tree.
Plant specimen (ca. 1812 - 1814, Calcutta) by Unknown Artist commissioned by William RoxburghBRIT Collections
So palm trees aren't trees?
That's right. And here is where the current scientific definition of a tree becomes somewhat impractical. We think of plants with single thick trunks to be "trees," like this Rock Banana Tree (Musa superba, now Ensete superbum) which is native to India.
Driving us bananas
But banana plants are actually giant nonwoody herbs! So while they may have a tree-like growth form, they are not anatomically trees because they don't have true woody tissue.
The hairy pink banana by RBG KewRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew
This video is of another Indian banana relative, the Hairy or Velvet Banana, Musa velutina.
Plant specimen (2018-06-01) by Ashley Bordelon and M. B. Byerley (no. 520)BRIT Collections
Confused? You 're not alone!
At this point you may be wondering "If a palm tree and a bonsai tree and a banana tree are not trees, what is a tree then? What makes a tree a tree?" The best answer to this can be summed up by the following video…
We don 't know what a tree is and this video won 't tell you
Botanical Research Institute of Texas
References:
Evans T, Sengdala K, Thammavong B, Viengkham OV, Dransfield J. 2002. A synopsis of the rattans (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) of Laos and neighbouring parts of Indochina. Kew Bulletin 57(1):1-84.
Floridata.com. 2005. Ravenala madagascariensis. Accessed on 2021-10-05.
Flowers of India. http://www.flowersofindia.net. Accessed on 2021-10-05.
Garbutt, Nick (2007). Mammals of Madagascar, A Complete Guide. A&C Black Publishers. ISBN 978-0-300-12550-4
Palmweb. 2021. Palmweb: Palms of the World Online. Published on the internet. palmweb.org. Accessed on 2021-10-05.
Vattakaven T, George R, Balasubramanian D, Réjou-Méchain M, Muthusankar G, Ramesh B, Prabhakar R. 2016. India Biodiversity Portal: An integrated, interactive and participatory biodiversity informatics platform. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e10279. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e10279 https://indiabiodiversity.org/
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