The last seasonal festival of the year began on December 1st and concluded on December 15th, 2022. This duration saw unusual weather conditions across India. Despite the strange weather, busy schedules, and school annual events, the SeasonWatchers have contributed more data than the previous August Tree Festival, and we are thrilled!
Observation Overview
The 15 days of the festival collected 5355 observations from all over India. Of these, 3913 were casual observations, and 1442 were regular observations (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Distribution of observations
The observation locations for this festival are more evenly distributed across the map, one of the highlights of the event! 23 states and union territories contributed the data, with Kerala topping with 4051 observations, followed by amazing 501 observations from the Andamans, which has ranked second for the first time (Figure 2)! Tamil Nadu comes third while Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have upped their game! Observations from Assam, Delhi, and Jharkhand are surely a highlight of the festival.
Figure 2: Observations from different Indian states and UTs
The top 10 most observed species can be seen in Figure 3. Teak overtook the usual winner species Mango owing to the Deciduous December challenge of the festival. Gulmohur made an appearance in the top 10 species for this reason. Jackfruit, Coconut, Neem, Guava, Drumstick, and Indian Laburnum have maintained their place as the most observed species.
Figure 3: Ten most observed tree species of the festival
Other highlights
The Devil’s Tree (Alstonia scholaris) had its flowers during the post-monsoon months. Most of these trees are lined with long wiry pods. One such tree in St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai offered an interesting observation – A Parakeet feeding on the fruit pods! The latex of the Devil’s Tree is known to be poisonous. Why would the Parakeet still feed on the pods? Have you noticed any other species interacting with this tree?
Parakeet feeding on the unripe pods of the Devil’s Tree
Other species that got attention during the December Tree Festival were Kadamb (Neolamarckia cadamba), which is fruiting in most parts of India as per this Instagram poll.
The SeasonWatch Instagram community shared images of the fruiting Kadamb trees around them:
Clockwise from left: Shraddha shares the stages of the Kadamb flower from Karnal, Haryana; Kadamb tree with many fruits from Satara, Maharashtra, documented by Sayee Girdhari; two images of a fruit-laden Kadamb tree and its fruit from Hyderabad, Telangana shared by Arun Vasireddy.
Adding to the surprising tree observations, the Night Flowering Jasmine (Nycanthes arbor-tristis) is still blooming. What have you observed, is this a strange time for this tree to be flowering?
Flowers of the Night Flowering Jasmine from Mumbai, Maharashtra
Festival Challenges
Like the previous SeasonWatch festival, the December Tree Festival too had 2 challenges – the usual 100-not-out, where the participants had to observe 100 trees per week of the festival. The challenge designed for the season was the ‘Deciduous December’ challenge, which involved observing as many individuals of the selected deciduous trees as possible.
100-not-out
This popular challenge seems to be here to stay for all our tree festivals, thanks to the remarkable response from the SeasonWatchers. The challenge is to observe 100 trees in each week of the festival. Individuals and schools recording more than 200 observations are selected to declare the winner with the most number of observations.
The December Tree Festival spanned 3 weeks in December. Individuals that contributed observations in all 3 weeks are FES (Foundation for Ecological Security) Angul, K.S Lyla, Manohar Pawar, Saw John Aung Thong, Selvaganesh, Sonu Kumar, Thiyasree, and Arun Vasireddy. Schools that achieved this feat are AKGM GHSS Pinarayi-Kannur, Amrita Kairali Vidya Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Bemannur G. U. P. S. – Paruthippulli 678573, Bharath English Medium School Poinachi, Bhavans Vidya Mandir- Elamakkara, Blossom English School- Kainatty, Eranad Knowledge City Public School- Manjeri, G. U. P. S. Puthenchira, G. U. P. S, Gandhi Smarak U. P. School- Mangalam, G. H. S. S. Periye, Govt G.H.S.S. Kanyakulangara, G. S. C. V. L. P. School Kodumon, Peace Public School- Kottakkal, Mankara West Basic and U P School, Mar Augen High School Kodanad, Mount Carmel HS Kanjikuzhy Kottayam, Our Lady’s Convent Girls High School, peace public school Kottakkal, PMSAPTSVHSS Kaikottukadavu, and Veeravanchery LP school.
We appreciate your dedication!
Winners
Individual with the most observations in the 100-not-out challenge is K.S Lyla, with 501 observations. The second and third highest number of observations were noted by the ANET (286) and Saw John Aung Thong (215) observations.
School contributor that has won the 100-not-out challenge is Peace Public School- Kottakkal with 631 observations, followed by Gandhi Smarak U. P. School – Mangalam (487) and Bemannur GUPS- Paruthipully 678573 (354).
Congratulations, winners and all the contributors!
Deciduous December
To capture the deciduous scene in India, the challenge focused on the tree species in the SeasonWatch list that typically shed their leaves in December. SeasonWatchers were to add as many observations as possible on Teak (Tectona grandis), Indian Ash Tree (Lannea coromandelica), Red Silk Cotton (Bombax ceiba), Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma), Gulmohur (Delonix regia), and Himalayan tree species. Of the 10 Eastern Himalayan, 22 Western Himalayan, and 8 Gymnosperm species, 3 species were observed. These 3 species are Box Myrtle (Myrica esculenta), Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow), and Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii). The other deciduous trees received 697 observations on Teak, 184 on Gulmohur, 91 on Red Silk Cotton, 76 on the Indian Ash Tree, and 36 on the Flame of the Forest. Very few of these species were observed to have lost all their leaves (Figure 4.) – less than 2% of the trees were leafless or had old leaves only. We think that this December is not yet fully deciduous! Are you seeing leafless trees in your neighbourhood yet?
Figure 4: very few trees among the 8 deciduous species observed had only old or no leaves at all
Winners
The individual winner of this challenge is Saw John Aung Thong, who added 105 observations on 4 deciduous species from the Andamans. This stellar record is followed by K. S. Lyla with 90 observations, Andaman-Nicobar Environment Team with 27 observations, and Arun Vasireddy with 15 observations.
From the school category, Veeravanchery Lower Primary School, Kozhikode wins the challenge with 171 observations on 3 species. The second and third-highest number of observations were recorded by G. U. P. S. (152) and Bemannur G. U. P. S. – Paruthipully (95).
The contributors
Yet another SeasonWatch Tree Festival was made a success by our wonderful contributors! We thank and congratulate the winners as well as all the contributors for observing the trees around you with SeasonWatch.
Individuals (61)
Ananya, ANET, Anita Singh, Aslaha, Ayush, Dharam Veer Singh Jodha, Doel, Edurafi, FES Angul, FES Anjaniya, FES Bichhiya, FES Keonjhar, FES Niwas, G Sandeep Kumar Reddy, Gokul, Haimabati, Harini Raghavan, Jaimin Makwana, Jasmin Siyad, K.S Lyla, Kaleem Shah, Loknath Sahu, Manohar Pawar, Mayurika Leuva, Milly Maneesh, Monal Singh, Monoroma Nayak, Mrinal, Mukesh S Mali, P R Ramji, P S Baiju, P. Rajangam, Prabhakaran PV. PV, Prem pooladi, Rama Lakshmi Peri, Rashmita Raula, Ratan Murmu, Ravi Kumar Dwadasi, Rishi, Rosy Biswal, RRBCEA, Sagar Behera, Sambhunath, Samira Sahoo, Sandhya Rani barik, Sarath.c, Saw John Aung Thong, Sayee Girdhari, Selvaganesh, Shrilatha Puthi, Sidhant, Sonu kumar, Suhel Quader, Sunetra Bhawe, Swansy A, Sweedle Shivkar, Thiyasree, Thryambak Sha, Vasireddy Arun, Viji, Zahan Thajudheen
Schools and Colleges (97)
AKGMGHSS Pinarayi – Kannur, Amrita Kairali Vidya Bhavan Senior Secondary School – Nedumangad, AMUPS Akode Viripakkam, AUPSchool Edakkaparamba, Bemannur G. U. P. S. – Paruthippulli 678573, B. E. M. H. S. S. Palakkad, Bharath English Medium School Poinachi, Bhavans Vidya Mandir -Elamakkara, Bidiru, Blossom English School- Kainatty, C. A. U. P. S. Mampad, Carmel Residential Senior Secondary school, Chavara Darsan CMI Public School-Koonammavu, Cherupushpam GHSS- Vadakkencherry, CKCHS Ponnurunni, CMS College HS Kottayam, CMSHSS Arappetta, Eranad knowledge city public school Manjeri, g s ups mangalam, G. U. P. S. Puthenchira, G. M. U. P. S Velur, G. G. H. S. S. Kanyakulangara, G. H. S. Thachangad, G. H. S. S. Sooranadu, G. S. U. P. S Mangalam, G.U. P. School -Illithode, Gandhi Smarak U P School Mangalam, G. H. S. Beenachi, G. H. S. Ripon, G. H. S. Thachanad, G. H. S. S. kuttamath, G. H. S. S. Meenangadi, G. H. S. S. Pattikad, G. H. S. S. Periye, G. H. S. S.- Veeyapuram, Govt G. H. S. S. Kanyakulangara, Govt V. H. S. S. Veeranakavu, Govt. LPS Cottonhill, Govt. U P School- Vilappilsala, Govt. U.P. School Pazhayaviduthy, G. P. S. Surender Nagar, G. S. C. V. L. P School Kodumon, G. U. P. S. Bheemanad, G. U. P. S. Chathamangalam, G. U. P. S. Chengara, G. U. P. S. Cottanad, G U P S Kongad, GUPS Varadiyam, HariSree Public School, Holy Queens UP School Rajakumary, Peace Public School- Kottakkal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, K. K. K. V. M. H. S. S., K. K. M. G. V. H. S. S. Elippakulam, Kayaralam AUP School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kerala Public School Kadma, K. H. M. H. S. S. Valakkulam, Kizhuthally East U. P. School, K. K. K. V. M. H. S. Pothappally, K. K. M. G. V. H. S. S., Kuthuparamba H. S. S., L. F. G. H. S. Munnar, Little Flower High School, M.T.S.S.K.G.U.P. School, Mahlara public school, Mankara West Basic and U P School, Mar Augen High School Kodanad, Mar Basil HSS. Kothamangalam, Mc Leod’s English School, Mount Carmel HS Kanjikuzhy Kottayam, O. L. C. G. H. S Thoppumpady, O. L. C. G. H. S. Pallurutthy, Our Lady’s Convent Girls High School, P. U. M V. H. S. S.- Pallickal, Pariong Presbytery Higher Secondary School, peace public school Kottakkal, PMSAPTSVHSS Kaikottukadavu, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, SKMJHSS Kalpetta, SNMVHSS Vannapuram, South Kuthuparamba U.P. SCHOOL, Sree Narayana College- Alathur, Sree Sankara Vidya Peetam, St . Lourde Mary UPS Vadackal, St Michaels HS Kavil, St Thomas EMHSS Attappallam Kumily, St. augustine. H. S. S, ST. Helens G. H. S. Lourdupuram, St. Joseph’s Girls H. S. Meppadi, St. Joseph’s up school Pullurampara, ST. MARY’S L. P. S.- Charummudu, St. Michael’s AIHSS, St.Marys G. H. S. Kanjirappally, Veeravanchery L. P. school, Vidyodaya School, V. V. H. S. S. Thamarakulam.
Stay tuned for the next tree festival. We hope for your continued support and contribution in 2023 as well. Wish you all a very happy new year!
