Where people cannot look beyond the commonplace, the unusual will not be recognised, let alone valued. In this milieu, those rubbing shoulders with the unusual might need to speak up for it. Tree conservation organisation Nizhal has taken that step, putting up a board that utters a strident word of warning to protect an old and rare Strychnine tree. 

In Tamil, the wording follows the tone of the programming language Prolog, being declarative (this is not an exact translation, but the communication proceeds somewhat along the lines of “if you bring harm to this tree, you will come to harm”) and not just plain imperative (which would have been “do not harm this tree”). There is official weight behind the move, the board carrying the logos of Greater Chennai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Government in addition to Nizhal’s. 

Even if they were to live for an eon, a majority of people in Chennai would not recognise a Strychnine tree (Etimaram in Tamil) in the manner they would a neem. Going by documentation, Strychnos nux-vomica (the biological name for strychnine trees) has taken up a remarkably limited surface area in Chennai. A venerable, hugely aged Strychnine tree is found at Ponni Amman Koil in Injambakkam on East Coast Road. The only other known Strychnine tree is at ICF, a Gen Z in comparison to its older relative in Injambakkam.

The old Strychnine tree at Injambakkam on July 31, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PRINCE FREDERICK

In the light of the species’ rare presence, the old Strychnine tree in Injambakkam found a hedge of protection — a figurative hedge — being laid around it. The hedge held up when that section of East Coast Road was being widened. At the behest of T.D. Babu, part of Chennai District Green Committee and a key member of Nizhal, the State Highways Department took an extraordinary effort to ensure this tree continued to stand tall when most other things in its line were levelled to the ground to facilitate road-widening work. A stormwater drain skirted around the tree.

As proven time and again, a thing that survived a sledgehammer might find its end with a flyswatter. This idea took root in Babu’s mind when he noticed a JCB parked near the tree while he was driving past one day. He stopped and found out that power-cable laying work was being carried out close to the tree. Though he knew there was no plan to lift even a little finger against the tree, he felt impelled to tell the workers what this tree was all about. Babu says he also left his number with a roadside vendor nearby seeking that he be informed if any activity that was not in the interests of the tree was noticed.

Babu says he made sure that a board was installed to tell people about the tree’s significance and issue a warning to anyone who might think of bringing harm to it. 

Babu observes that Nizhal has given the Forest Department a list of trees in and around Chennai that have heritage value and therefore, ought to be protected at any cost. The Forest Department is preparing plaques for all these trees, explaining their significance and their “protected” status. 

Until that plaque arrives, this board would do the job for this old Strychnine tree.