Haryana State’s Emblems
State Tree – Pipal, Peepul or Bo tree (Ficus religiosa)
- Pipal tree (Ficus religiosa), a native tree of India, has been declared state tree of Haryana.
- All parts of the Pipal tree, including roots, bark, leaf and fruit, are useful. The botanical classification of the Pipal tree is:
- Description of the Plant: Large tree, Flower color-red. Flowers in February. Fruits in May / June. Widely found in uplands and plain area.
- Plant parts used: Root / Bark / Leaf / Fruit.
- Medicinal uses: The bark of the tree is useful in inflammations and glandular swelling of the neck. It’s root bark is useful for stomatitis, cleans ulcers, and promotes granulations. Its roots are also good for gout. The roots are even chewed to prevent gum diseases. Its fruit is laxative which promotes digestion and checks vomiting. Its ripe fruits are good for the foul taste, thirst and heart diseases. The powered fruit is taken for Asthma. Its seeds have proved useful in urinary troubles. The leaves are used to treat constipation.
State Flower – Lotus
- The Lotus or the Water Lily is an aquatic plant with broad floating green leaves and bright fragrant flowers that grow only in shallow waters.
- Based on the color of its flower, it is divided into two types, the red lotus flower and the white lotus flower.
- The beautiful flowers float and have many petals overlapping in a symmetrical pattern.
- Lotuses, prized for their serene beauty, are delightful to behold as their blossoms open on the surface of a pond.
State Animal – Black Buck (Antelope)
- Black Buck, common name for an antelope, mainly is a resident of India but with other small populations in Pakistan and Nepal.
- The Black Buck has ringed horns that have a moderate spiral twist of three to four turns and are up to 70 cm (28 inch) long.
- The name Black Buck has also been applied to the sable antelope of Africa.
- The adult male stands about 80 cm (about 32 inch) at the shoulder and weighs 32 to 43 kg (71 to 95 lb). The body’s upper parts are black; the underparts and a ring around the eyes are white. The light-brown female is usually hornless. Males are dark brown.
State Bird – Black Francolin
- Black Francolin (Francolinus francolinus), sometimes known as Black Partridge, is a widespread breeding resident in most of north and central India. Called Kala Teetar in Hindi, this handsome stub-tailed game bird is found near cultivation and scrub, bordering wetlands. Black Francolin prefers crops, grass and bushes, tall enough to offer shelter and open beneath to provide easy escape on ground. It is more closely associated with water than the Grey Francolin.
- The male Black Francolin is black with white patch on the cheek, a chestnut collar and white spots on the flanks.
- The back and wings are scalloped with shades of golden brown with sub-terminal tawny-buff bands and pale edges. Tail is black with narrow white bars. Legs are reddish-brown to red.
- The female Black Francolin similar to the male, but is paler, with wider brown bars on the lower back, the white cheek patch is missing and the chestnut collar replaced by a nuchal patch.
- Food consists mainly of grain, grass seeds, fallen berries, shoots, tubers, termites, ants and insects.
Herbal Parks and Herbal Gyan Kendras in haryana
- Herbal Parks and Herbal Gyan Kendras have been set up in each district to educate people about the traditional Indian system of medicine for generating awareness, preserving gene pool and production of quality seeds and seedlings for distribution to farmers.
- Farmers are also being encouraged for ex-situ cultivation and propagation of medicinal plants to save the natural biodiversity and Income Generation.
- These herbal Parks will help in conservation of species and also serve as gene-pool both for indigenous & exotic species.
- This endeavour of Haryana Forest Department has been appreciated by the public, practitioners and policy maker.
The State Medicinal Plants Board
- The State Medicinal Plants Board is required to promote the medicinal plants sector in the State through implementation of Promotional Projects / Schemes and the Contractual Farming Projects, sanctioned and financed by the National Medicinal Plants Board.
- The Promotional projects aim at survey and inventorisation of medicinal plants, In-situ conservation / cultivation of medicinal plants including setting up of Herbal Parks, Production of quality planting material in nurseries, extension activities for raising awareness through Audio Visual Aids, Seminars, Training / Workshops etc. for growers and the personnel engaged in promoting the medicinal plants sector, Study of demand and supply position and marketing of medicinal plants, Research and Development in the Sector, Value addition and semi processing of products of medicinal plants, to promote cooperative efforts among growers and collectors of medicinal plants and cultivation of medicinal plants on contract basis in the farm lands for which subsidy is provided by the National Medicinal Plants Board to the extent of 30% of the total project cost
Haryana Community Forestry Project (HCFP)
- Haryana Community Forestry Project (HCFP), co-funded by the Government of Haryana and the European Commission, was implemented in 338 villages in 11 districts of Haryana with the objective of conserving and rejuvenating natural resources, mainly through forestry development, with the active participation of communities, especially women.
- The purpose of this website is for the project to share its experience as demonstrated through various manuals, study reports, publications and videos. We invite any interested party involved in similar work to download these documents and, hopefully, gain further insights from them in their work.
Although Haryana State is deficient in natural forests but it has rich bio-diversity, which makes it suitable for variety of wildlife particularly local and migratory bird species. Out of nearly 1250 bird species recorded in Indian subcontinent; approximately 500 species of birds are found in Haryana State. Wildlife is best preserved in their natural habitat. Wildlife wing of the forest department has adopted two pronged strategy for the Wildlife Conservation: protection and awareness generation. The department is giving emphasis on habitat protection as well as protection against poaching. The aim of wildlife conservation is being achieved through in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies. For in-situ conservation of wildlife inside their natural habitat, 2 National Parks, 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 2 Conservation Reserves have been established in the state. As part of ex-situ conservation efforts breeding of Red Jungle Fowl is being done near Pinjore. Red Jungle Fowl in Shiwaliks of Haryana, is considered to be of pure breed, which is also verified by Center for DNA/Fingerprinting and Diagonostic (CDFD), Hyderabad. With the Gyps Vulture species on the brink of extinction, the department has established Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre near Pinjore in collaboration with Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), Zoogical Society of London (ZSL) United Kingdom and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The department has established deer park at Hisar and mini zoos at Bhiwani, Rohtak and Pipli to create awareness about wildlife conservation. A Peacock & Chinkara Conservation and Breeding Centre has been established at Jhabua Reserve Forest in Rewari district.
The Haryana state of north India has 2 National Parks, 8 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 2 Wildlife Conservation Areas, 4 Animal & Bird Breeding Centers, 1 Deer park and 49 herbal parks which are managed by the Forests Department, Haryana of the Government of Haryana.