This Coimbatore nursery specialises in trees and plants native to Tamil Nadu

Poonthalir nursery nurtures native plants with care and passion, offering a green oasis in the city.

Butterflies announce the presence of the nursery long before we enter it. Situated within the sprawling campus of Kumaraguru College of Technology in Saravanampatti, Poonthalir is being run by S Bharathidasan and his wife B Kavitha. What is striking about the nursery is the absence of flowers: here, everything is green, except for the odd flowering plant. Each of these saplings have a story to them, and are being nurtured by the couple like their children.

Poonthalir was started 22 years ago at Ganesapuram in Annur. “It began as an initiative to support our NGO Arulagam’s vulture conservation efforts,” says Bharathidasan, taking us around the nursery. When he set it up, Bharathidasan did not want it to be a place for just flowers and ornamental plants. He chose to nurture native plants, particularly trees that thrive in our soil and climate.

“I collect seeds from the forests of Sathyamangalam and Mudumalai during my visits for vulture conservation work,” explains the 53-year-old, adding that he makes these trips thrice a month. Back at the nursery, Kavitha takes over. She processes the seeds — this involves soaking them in hot or cold water depending on the variety — and packs them in sapling bags or sets up a mother bed and later plants them in bags.

“I refer a lot of literature on trees to understand how this should be done,” explains Kavitha. She points to rows of bags with seeds that are just sprouting. “These are from the kalarchikaai climber,” she explains, picking up a seed the size of a small gooseberry. “Can you hear the seed move inside the shell when you shake it?” she asks, adding that this indicates it will not sprout.

Some seeds have a period of “sleep”, she explains, after which they sprout forth. Bharathidasan has come across seeds in fascinating shapes and sizes. “Some seeds are built to be so sturdy that they can even withstand elephants stepping on them,” he says. He hopes to set up a seed bank and a museum to display his collection of seeds and show how they have evolved.

Poonthalir has two branches in the city, apart from one inside Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and another one at Rameswaram. “In Mudumalai, we mostly sell plants that can be used as cattle fodder so that locals can make use of them,” explains Bharathidasan: “In Ramnad, we nurture varieties that thrive in the sandy soil of the region, including various species of palm trees.”

Kavitha shows us saplings of native varieties such as vaagai, viraali, gundu mani kodi, punthiranjeevi, thaalai, Nagalingam tree, muyal kaadhu, and the bondham puli tree. “Apart from trees, we also sell herbs, shrubs, and plants that can be used as live fences by farmers,” she says. At the far end of the nursery, is a rare kurundhai plant, a mountain lime variety. Then there is the alinjil tree that bears small edible berries. “Our ancestors may have eaten these fruits during their time,” says Kavitha. The nursery now has over 70 varieties of native trees and plants.