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UPSC Prelims 2023 · Environment · Nature’s Machinery
Consider the following trees: How many of the above are deciduous trees?
- Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
- Mahua (Madhuca indica)
- Teak (Tectona grandis)
- (a) Only one
- (b) Only two
- (c) All three
- (d) None
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) Only two
Mahua and teak are deciduous; jackfruit is evergreen.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ EVERGREEN Jackfruit keeps its leaves all year — a tree of the wet tropics.
2. ✓ DECIDUOUS Mahua sheds its leaves in the dry season; its flowers appear on the bare branches.
3. ✓ DECIDUOUS Teak is the classic tree of the tropical moist deciduous forest.
The idea
A deciduous tree drops all its leaves in the dry season to save water, and stands bare for some weeks. An evergreen tree sheds a few leaves at a time and is never bare. Deciduous trees belong to places with a long dry season; evergreens to places that are wet all year.
Monsoon ends → Dry months begin → Teak and mahua drop their leaves → Mahua flowers on bare branches in March–April → New leaves come before the rains
The trap
Jackfruit grows in the same states as teak, so it feels deciduous.
Also know
Mahua is central to tribal life in central India: its flowers are eaten and fermented, and its seeds give oil. Teak is India’s most valued timber. Jackfruit is a tree of the wet Western Ghats and is the State fruit of Kerala.
🔒 Deciduous: teak, sal, mahua, sandalwood, tendu. Evergreen: jackfruit, rosewood, mahogany, ebony.