Silviculture of Indian Trees:A book by Robert Scott Troup

Silviculture, in other words the agriculture of trees, pertains to the establishment, development, care and reproduction of forest/tree crops.

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06 Mar 2010, 5:40 am

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The Silviculture of Indian Trees, is a seminal reference work in three volumes, that contains in-depth information (from a silvicultural point of view) about nearly all tree species of India, covering some 63 botanical orders. It is the outcome of twenty years of field-based research by Robert Scott Troup, a British forestry expert who spent much of his career in India, and is considered a classic landmark work on the subject.

The book starts with an introduction, followed by information organised by the botanical order, genera and finally, species. Each sub-section on a specific species, contains details such as the botanical name, vernacular names, distribution and habitat, silvicultural characters (climatic, temperature, soil conditions that help the tree grow), botanical descriptions as well as silhoutte drawings of the seed seedling leaf trunk root flower fruit bark and other plant parts, uses, flowering fruiting and leaf-shedding process as well as season, natural and artificial reproduction methods and rate of growth, germination process and role of animals birds insects wind and water, and botanically allied species.

Using this book

The best way to track a specific species is to first find its scientific name, as the contents of each volume are organised such. Volume 3 of the book, contains an index of the vernacular names, english names and scientific names for all the species referenced in all the three volumes. So, if you are looking for the tree locally known in Western Rajasthan as Khejri/Khejra, looking up the vernacular names index, will lead you to page 389 of volume two of the book. Similarly, if you are looking for Persian Lilac, looking up the english names index, will lead you to page 183 of volume one of the book. In case, you are not able to find either the english name or the vernacular name of the species you are looking for in the index, look up online for the scientific name and try to trace the species from the scientific names index or the contents page of each volume.

For a quick reference, the contents of each volume are listed below.

Volume I: Dilleniaceae to Leguminosae (Part I) - Page 1-336

Introduction; 1. Dilleniaceae, 2. Magnoliaceae, 3. Anonaceae, 4. Capparidaceae, 5. Bixaceae, 6. Tamaricaceae, 7. Guttiferae, 8. Ternstroemiaceae, 9. Dipterocarpaceae, 10. Malvaceae, 11. Sterculiaceae, 12. Tiliaceae, 13. Rutaceae, 14. Simarubaceae, 15. Burseraceae, 16. Meliaceae, 17. Ilicineae, 18. Celastraceae, 19. Rhamnaceae, 20. Sapindaceae, 21. Anacardiaceae, 22. Moringaceae, 23. Leguminosae (upto Papilionaceae); Index to scientific names volume I.

Volume II. Leguminosae (Part II) to Verbenaceae - Page 337-784

23. Leguminosae (contd.), 24. Rosaceae, 25. Hamamelidaceae, 26. Rhizophoraceae, 27. Combretaceae, 28. Myrtaceae, 29. Lythraceae, 30. Samydaceae, 31. Datiscaceae, 32. Cactaceae, 33. Rubiaceae, 34. Ericaceae, 35. Myrsinaceae, 36. Sapotaceae, 37. Ebenaceae, 38. Oleaceae, 39. Salvadoraceae, 40. Apocynaceae, 41. Asclepiadaceae, 42. Loganiaceae, 43. Boraginaceae, 44. Bignoniaceae, 45. Acanthaceae, 46. Verbenaceae; Index to scientific names volume II.

Volume III. Lauraceae to Coniferae - Page 785-1172

47. Lauraceae, 48. Proteaceae, 49. Thymelaeaceae, 50. Loranthaceae, 51. Santalaceae, 52. Euphorbiaceae, 53. Ulmaceae, 54. Moraceae, 55. Platanaceae, 56. Juglandaceae, 57. Casuarinaceae, 58. Betulaceae, 59. Fagaceae, 60. Salicaceae, 61. Palmae, 62. Gramineae, 63. Coniferae; Index to vernacular names, Index to english names, Index to scientific names.