The Andhra Pradesh forest department, with the help of the Konda Reddi tribe, discovered water stored in trees in the Papikonda National Park of the Alluri Sitharama Raju district.
On Saturday, March 30, a video emerged on social media platforms showing a forest officer cutting the bark of an Indian Laurel tree and water springing out of it.
According to the Rampachodavaram divisional forest officer G G Narentheran, the Konda Reddi tribe shared their valuable knowledge with the department.
“During parched summers, the Indian laurel tree stores water that has a strong smell and tastes sour. It is an amazing adaptation observed in trees of the Indian forests,” he was quoted by The Hindu.
“When the bark was cut open, water splashed out. The Konda Reddi tribe shared their indigenous knowledge about the tree with us,” the officer added.
The Konda Reddi tribe, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), resides in the Eastern Ghats, a mountain range parallel to India’s east coast. They deeply understand their environment, having lived in harmony with the forests for generations.
Indian Laurel, popularly known as the Indian Silver Oak, the Chinese banyan or Malayan banyan, belongs to the fig family Moraceae and is mostly found in Southeast Asia and Chinese regions. It improves soil fertility, provides shade for crops and is a valuable fodder for the Konda Reddi tribe, a vulnerable tribal group found in the Papikonda hill range in the Godavari region.
