Myristica swamp: the Mystique Forest
Cicadas raised an eerie orchestra into thick air stuffed with spicy aroma of humus, intermittently joined by croaking frogs, probably hiding somewhere in the bushes. A pile of elephant dung, partially decomposed, lie on the narrow road. Sun is lit just above in the sky, yet it is dark all around. Knee roots The forest patch is dense with trees having unique physiognomy. There are roots that bend and emerge out of the moist soil like knees of folded leg - knee roots help the roots to breathe. Water stands still in small pools, only to be disturbed by falling leaves or an occasional frog diving into it at the slightest noise. Shallow and narrow channels of water criss-cross the forest floor. The soil is reddish brown, water-logged. I am inside a Myristica fresh-water swamp forest at Sasthanada in Kulathupuzha Range of Thiruvananthapuram Forest Division. And everything in this rare ecosystem seems to be spry. The Sasthanada Myristica swamp forest is one among the sixty odd patches of