Over 600 non-native trees were uprooted at IIT and Anna University campuses due to Cyclone Vardah in the city. However, the main reason for such a damage is that these non-native species cannot withstand a cyclone.
V Srinivasan, senior horticulture officer at IIT Madras, told The New Indian Express that mainly the non-native trees were uprooted in the cyclone. Amongst the uprooted trees were mainly Kassod trees, Vanni and Yellow Flamboyant. About 1000 trees were ravaged and 250 were completely uprooted in the campus.
In the 250 trees, 180 trees were Kassos (Cassia slamea), 20 to 25 trees were Vanni (Prosopos cineraria) and 20 to 25 were Yellow Flamboyant (Peltophorum pterocarpum) trees, reported TNIE.
The officer added that all these trees were 60 to 70 years old. The campus also has nearly 7000 palmyra or palm trees of the total 45,000 trees. The palm trees were unaffected by the cyclone.
Of the foreign species, it is mainly Prosopi which is dominating the campus, he said. “The campus has around 50 species, in which, 30 are native trees,” Srinivasan told TNIE.
On the other hand, in Anna University, nearly 500 trees were ravaged, of which, 350 were uprooted. It also mainly consists of Vanni, Yellow Flamboyant and Rain Tree, which are non-native species, reported TNIE.
The story was first reported by Ashmita Gupta of The New Indian Express.