When trees and trade flourished along the southern Silk Route

Last Updated16/07/2024

A recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) documents the flora and landscapes of one of the oldest trading routes of South Asia — the Silk Route, meandering through Kalimpong and Sikkim in the eastern Himalayas and going to Lhasa in Tibet.

The book, A Southern Silk Route: Sikkim and Kalimpong Wild Flowers and Landscapes, not only documents 1,137 flowering plants, a host of butterflies, insects, birds, and mammals but also the historical significance of the route and the link between botany and politics of the region.
A key flowering plant documented in the publication and found along the Silk Route is the Windamere palm (Trachycarpus latisectus).
It is a wild palm species which is facing the threat of extinction with only a few trees left in the Kalimpong region.
Rhododendron niveum, the State tree of Sikkim, is endemic to the eastern Himalayas and found in the Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary along the Silk Route.
A threatened balsam species, Impatiens sikkimensis, and Daphne ludlowii, which was used to make paper for Buddhist manuscripts, are also among the important flora found along the route.
Scientists involved in the publication have documented several such species along the 210-km route from Siliguri in Darjeeling to Kalimpong, Nathu La, and Gangtok.
The shortest of all these routes from India to Lhasa was the one through Sikkim and Kalimpong.
The merchandise reached Tamralipti (now Tamluk) port in Bengal and was relayed through sea route to Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and the far East.