75(The ne:ri tree, and then, the ta:ri tree is the only one missing. There isn’t a
single ta:ri tree growing anywhere inside the ka:nu ka:ḍu. And then, there’s the
koḷama tree, the mi:na tree...)
Lists such as this provide valuable information on the kinds of species usually
associated with a particular forest type, but toponyms that incorporate plant name s
allow a very precise determination of the existence of a plant species at a particular
location. In many cases, the plants referred to in the toponym have some utilitarian
signifi cance, as in the case of muṇḍuhalasu kaḍavu ‘stumpy.jackfruit stream’, and
ja:ji arre ‘ ja:ji. jasmine rock.platform’. These denote places where one might fi nd
the important edible fruit and fragrant fl ower respectively.
3.7.2 Sources of Historical Biodiversity
Large, culturally important forest trees are often lost to storms, forest fi res , insect
damage or disease, but the place name s that refer to their original location continue
to be used. Solega communities are thus able to retain memories of these signifi cant
Table 3.2 (continued)
Solega toponym English gloss
nelli beṭṭa Indian.gooseberry + mountain
siguri haḷḷa Memecylon umbellatum + stream
ja:la ga:ḍi bo:re Shorea roxburghii + monoculture + slope
te:k-arre maṭṭa teak + rock.platform + fl at.land
te:k-arre abbi teak + waterfall
thonḍ -egere Viburnum punctatum + reservoir
doḷḷi kaṇuve Careya arborea + pass
munḍu-halasu kaḍavu stump + jackfruit + stream
ge:ru arre cashew.tree + rock.platform
ko:li haṇṇi Wendlandia thyrsoidea + pond
matti ni:ru gunḍi Terminalia arjuna + water + hole
sa:gaḍe guḍḍe Schleichera oleosa + hill
bejja arre Anogeissus latifolia + rock.platform
seppe kaḍavu Entada rheedii + stream
doḍḍa halasu gadde big + jackfruit + marsh
erakina gadde Macaranga sp. + marsh
kaggali guṇḍi Acacia chundra + water.hole
kavaḷi kaṭṭe plant.name + embankment
a:le haḷḷa Ficus sp. + stream
maddaḷe ma:vu boḷi drum + mango.tree + hilltop
sõgu ma:vu gadde fragrant + mango.tree + marsh
ko:li arre beṭṭa Wendlandia thyrsoidea + rock.platform + mountain
kaṭṭe ba:vi senescent bamboo + well