Purple blooms to beautify Radella shortcut
Kosala Wijesekara, Manager Somerset Estate planting the first Jacaranda plant
Ruk Rakaganno together with Somerset Estate in Nanu Oya has embarked on a project to plant Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) along the famous Radella shortcut which bisects this flagship tea estate.
I first noticed Jacaranda in bloom on a visit to the Nilgiris in South India, in the late ’70s. The entire picturesque tea country was a haze of purple and blue with the flowering Jacaranda, the roads carpeted with fallen flowers. My wife and I were enamoured with this colourful sight and this vivid memory remains with us to this day.
Nilgiri which means Blue Mountains in the local dialect, got its name from the Blue Jacaranda and the Blue Nelu which bloom profusely from time to time in the Nilgiri Mountains which form part of the Western Ghats in Western Tamil Nadu.
The Radella shortcut is a by-pass road off the Lindula – Nanu Oya main highway. The road runs in the backdrop of the imposing Great Western Mountain Range and the picturesque Radella cricket grounds. This part of the road can be sighted from a long way off en-route to Nuwara Eliya via Talawakelle.
Kosala Wijesekera, the Manager of Somerset Estate who wears a second hat as the President of the Radella Planters Club tells me that the Radella shortcut road was cut back in 1954 to facilitate Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Radella during her stop in Nuwara Eliya when visiting Ceylon.
When Ruk Raks approached Mr. Wijesekera about replicating the Nilgiri phenomenon here, he as a senior planter and an environmentalist himself, was enthusiastic about the proposal. He contacted the Principals of Nawalar College and Carlabeck Tamil Vidyalam Nanu Oya — the two local schools situated within Somerset Estate to help with the planting and for the students to take ownership of the plants, with a view towards sustainability.
A stake in the future: Schoolchildren planting the Jacaranda
Ruk Raks had also contacted the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya last year to source the plants and made arrangements for planting during the south west monsoon this year. Dr Achala Attanayake, Deputy Director of the Peradeniya Gardens was most helpful in supplying us with these exotic plants. A like-minded tea packer, Tea Legacy made a contribution towards sourcing of these seedlings.
Commonly called as Jacaranda, or mucakaranda (Kikuyu), or omosaria (Kisii),or ‘ferntree’, the tree grows to around 8m, although it can reach 12–15m under ideal conditions, taking 20+ years to do so. The foliage is a lush green with a soft, almost fern-like appearance due to the dozens of tiny leaflets that make up each compound leaf.
Technically, there are 49 species of Jacaranda trees, but it’s the Jacaranda mimosifolia, also known as the “blue jacaranda,” that is ubiquitous here. The plants bloom twice a year, once in late April or early May, and again in late October or early November. The flowering time also acts as a barometer for a working tea planter as it indicates rush tea crops on the horizon.
The plant, originally from parts of Central and South America, is thought to have been brought along with sea captains sailing from South America to Australia.
Only time will tell if Ruk Rak’s Jacaranda planting project is a success. Then with the purple blossoms in profusion, the Radella shortcut may come to be known as ‘Nil Radella Kota Para’.
(The writer is President of Ruk Rakaganno)
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