Curiosity got the better of me and I shot off a request to explore one of the verdant spaces in Thiruvanathapuram — Lok Bhavan Kerala, the official residence of the Governor of Kerala. The heavily-guarded power centre, stretching across almost half the tree-lined Vellayambalam-Kowdiar stretch, has a treasure of tree flora and what better time to write about it than the World Environment Day.

On the appointed day I make my way up the tarred avenue — it is a small climb as the buildings stand on a small hillock. I walk in with the knowledge that it has the first digitalised garden with QR codes among the Lok Bhavans in India.

The sprawling 12-hectare green campus has 183 species of tree flora, as per the team that conducted digitalisation in 2019 during the tenure of Governor P Sathasivam. Six years down the line, the number has grown.

“It took us six months to complete the digitalisation. We were contacted by the Governor’s office after we digitalised the trees on the Kanakakunnu premises,” says Akhilesh SV Nair, then a research scholar with the Department of Botany, University of Kerala, who carried out the process with A Gangaprasad, who was then the honorary director, Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, University of Kerala.

With flora of all kinds — herbs, shrubs, ornamental plants, hedge plants and avenue trees — occupying the sprawling campus it was difficult to fix a starting point for the tour. So, we start from near the Band Stand built near the main buildings where stands the giant jamun or njaaval. The bed of fallen ripe fruit underneath indicates that is the fruiting season. The branches have spread all over the place, a portion even bending close to the ground, making it easy to pluck the ripe fruits. “The fruits are smaller than the variety sold on roadsides. We have two other njaaval varieties here,” says Rajaneesh Kumar R, garden supervisor.

History says

Built in mid-19th century, the Lok Bhavan was once the guest house of erstwhile kingdom of Travancore. “It used to be called Traveller’s Bungalow. The king of Bobbilli was the first one to stay there. It is also the first building in the city to be fully electrified,” notes historian Malayankil Gopalakrishnan. 

When Kerala was formed in 1956, there were three Raj Bhavans - at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam (Bolgatty Palace) and Munnar (Devikulam Palace). Later Bolgatty Palace was converted to heritage hotel and Devikulam Palace became the Government Guest House.

As we proceed, I realise that the premises is a haven for mangoes. Wherever you look there is a mango tree, starting from the main entrance. And the best part? All of them are laden with mangoes. “The production is high this year since the weather was conducive. Although we don’t have the exact number of varieties there would be more than 75,” says Rajaneesh.

Besides Thiruvananthapuram’s own Kotturkonam, there are several local varieties (nattumanga), including the ones used to make pulissery. The harvested mangoes are usually distributed among the staff and other employees of the Lok Bhavan.

There is an oldie among the trees who even made it to the news in 2021 — the muthassi mavu, as they call the grand old mango tree, believed to be 150 years old at the time. There was a move to fell the tree after it was found unhealthy. Tree Walk, a city-based nature collective, opposed the move and submitted a memorandum to the then Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to assess its health. The tree was eventually saved once a favourable report was submitted. It still stands tall, braving the sun and the rain.

Then there are scores of grafted mango plants. The star attraction being the one grafted with 10 mango varieties, developed by MV Anish, an employee at Kerala Agricultural University. It was planted by Governor Sathasivam in 2016 to mark his second year in office.

The garden has several other veterans. The oldest, perhaps, is an aanjli or wild jack, which bamboozles you with its massive trunk, measuring around seven metre in diameter! Another senior is a mahogany near the main entrance, which screams its age with roots that have broken through the platform on which it is planted and have coiled on the ground like giant snakes.

Cannon ball trees, three of them, are a treat for the eyes. They are best known as nagalingamaram - the name comes from the hooded flowers that resemble a naga or snake and the stigma that looks like the Shiva Linga.

In the category of fruit-bearing trees, besides the commoners such as coconut, jackfruit, sapota, cashew, rose apple, pomelo, Indian hog plum, Puneala plum, guava, pomegranate, bread fruit etc you will find varieties such as soursop, custard apple, mulberry, mangosteen, and rambutan. “We have already planted saplings of more fruit-bearing trees, which include some exotic ones as well,” Rajaneesh says.

The genus Ficus has maximum representation here with eight species, including banyan (peraal), Krishna fig (krishnaal), golden fig (vellaal), cluster fig (athi), peepal (arayaal), etc. Medicinal plants rule the roost with over 50 varieties. Trees associated with 27 lunar constellations or birth stars, referred to as Nakshathravanam, have also been planted here.

Then there are the endangered species Kambakam or Thingam, a medicinal plant, and Rakthachandanam (Red sandalwood). Vellakkunthirikkam or white dammar, which falls under critically endangered list, is also grown here.

Ornamental avenue trees and shrubs add to the beauty of the premises. This includes the commonly-seen copper pod and Gulmohar to a dozen varieties of palm, like red palm, triangle palm, yellow palm, African oil palm, ruffled fan palm, and traveller’s palm and flowering plants such as mandaram, kanikonna, ixora, pavizhamalli etc.

There is also a bamboo garden, a herbal garden and a green house. “The herbal garden, set up with the support of JNTBGRI (Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute), is waiting for a ramp,” says Rajaneesh.

The vegetable garden is a recent addition, with the present Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar showing great interest in it. “Besides the commonly-grown veggies, we have planted the nendran variety of banana as well. The harvested banana will be used to make chips and other products to be served to the guests who visit or stay at the Lok Bhavan,” Rajaneesh says.

Last Friday, the Governor launched paddy cultivation on 10 cents adjacent to the vegetable farm. Jyothi and Njavara varieties have been planted.

“We have 23 labourers who look into the maintenance and growth of the trees and plants. Watering is done twice daily, especially during peak summer,” Rajaneesh says.

Meanwhile, as has been the practice, more plants will be planted on World Environment Day.

Log on to Lok Bhavan Kerala website to know about the trees, with details such as synonym, family, local name, flowering/fruiting period, distribution, habitat, IUCN status, uses and key characters.