Day 70 is for a wabi sabi tree

For me, the Pongamia is one of those trees that typify the Japanese concept of wabi sabi - the appreciation of imperfection, impermanence, and the natural web of life and cycle of growth, decay, and renewal.

We have a large tree near our building, planted in 2015 after the cyclone, when the Gulmohar came crashing down. So it is ten years old, and a good size for it!  Standing under it canopy, the air is cool and fresh.

It is one of those trees that is a do-good tree that we should have more around.  The pods help in nitrogen fixing and the tree is great for coastal areas, stands firm in storms, and is leafy and shady.

Close-up, the leaves look diseased quite often.  These noticeable leaf galls — little bumps, blisters, or pouch-like swellings on the leaf surface. These are fascinating because they are not diseases, but plant responses to tiny insect activity.

Hence my wabi sabi associations with the tree.  I read somewhere else that the galls reduce the tree's pod production and this bothers the bio-fuel industry - Pongamia is a good fuel oilseed.

Asphondylia pongamiae is a small fly that specifically resides in Pongamia.  The female fly lays eggs on young leaves or buds.  When larvae hatch, their feeding + secretions cause the plant to grow distorted tissue around them — forming a gall.  The tree is not really harmed by this presence.  In actuality, Galls often proliferate on trees that are vigorous enough to sustain them. In that sense, gall presence can signal that the host is still healthy and capable of supporting other life!

One theory is that heavy galling can make leaves tougher/less palatable, reducing grazing by caterpillars or goats. Like our human belief in "evil eye", the pongamia galls are keeping the evil eyes away.  😁