Cultivated from seeds of Sahyadris, arboretum with 300 trees will open in Mulshi on June 4

PUNE: An arboretum of 300-odd trees grown on two-and-a-half acres in Mulshi will open for visitors for free from June 4. Madhav Gadgil, renowned ecologist and chairman of Western Ghats Ecology expert panel, will inaugurate the botanical collection which has some 200 rare species.
The conservation project, named Sahyadri Arboretum, is the work of engineer-turned-entrepreneur and plant enthusiast Shrikant Ingalhalikar.He was helped by businessman Laxman Kulkarni and K C Malhotra of Sahyadri Academy of Ecological Sciences.
Work started 10 years ago when Ingalhalikar saw that there were no efforts to preserve plants and trees from the Sahyadri ranges and some were on the verge of extinction.
“Many of these trees take a long time to grow. Hence, I started collecting seeds and saplings of varieties of rare species from the Sahyadri ranges,” Ingalhalikar said. He has also got seeds from Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
He uses large grow bags for saplings to mature into trees. Some are already flowering and fruiting in his nursery. “Kulkarni who owns Ark Wellness Retreat in Nandgaon of Mulshi taluka offered me the plot for the arboretum. These saplings were groomed for over three years. The collection is now open for the public,” Ingalhalikar added.
The trees have botanical names and information. The plant enthusiast said that he often gets queries about the use of the trees he conserves.
“My aim is to conserve every species of trees and not just conserve them based on their usefulness or for the purpose they serve. I have native and foreign plants at the arboretum. Some of them are Tetrameles, Pittosporum, Myristica, Knema, Walsura, and Dysoxylum,” he said. Fresh saplings of rare plants will be made available to visitors in the next step, he added.
Ingalhalikar has authored ‘Flowers of Sahyadri’, practises paddy art and has another arboretum of 400 trees on his land at the base of Sinhagad.
The amateur botanist has in the past spoken up for saving Pune’s rare native trees. These included Bhoma (Cassine) in Bund Garden, Khadshing (Radermachera) on Aundh Road, Shami (Shaniwar Peth, Padal (Stereospermum) on Canal road, Patal (Stereospermum) in Bavdhan, Beeja in Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha, Kalam (Mitragyna) in Chandni Cowk and Varun (Crateva) in Karvenagar.