Obama tree's loss of leaves causes angst in India

Peepal tree planted by US president in Delhi last month has since lost its foliage but horticulturalists say that’s normal for time of year.

Officials in India want to make one thing clear: the tree that Barack Obama planted in Delhi three weeks ago is not dead. It just looks dead.

The peepal tree was awash in leaves when Obama planted it at the New Delhi memorial to the Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. By Thursday, though, it was just a single lonely stem.

Its lack of leaves has been giving Indian officials sleepless nights and there has been criticism from the media for apparently allowing the tree to die less than a month after the US president’s visit.

But the reality is that peepal trees often lose their leaves this time of year.

“It’s a seasonal phenomenon,” said BC Katiyar, a regional government horticulturist, after he and other officials visited the tree and pronounced it to be in good health. “It will send out shoots within the next 10 days.”

The peepal, or Ficus religiosa, is seen as holy by many in Asia as Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment under such a tree in 589BC.