A person had visited a region in India and found trees, such as Khair, Neem, Khejri and Palas. Which one of the following regions is she/he expected to have visited?

The correct answer is D, Desert Region. Khair, neem, khejri and palas are typical trees of the tropical thorn forests and scrub of dry areas such as Rajasthan and the edges of the Thar.

Tropical thorn forests grow where rainfall is less than about 70 cm, in north-western India and parts of the Deccan rain shadow. The trees are scattered and short, with long roots, thick bark, small or thorny leaves and fleshy stems that cut water loss. Acacias such as khair (the source of katha), khejri (Prosopis cineraria, the state tree of Rajasthan), neem, palas (flame of the forest), babool, cactus and date palms are common, along with tussocky grasses.

A is wrong because the Malabar Coast gets heavy rain and has evergreen and moist forests with trees such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany. B is wrong because the Garo Hills of Meghalaya are wet, with tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests. C is wrong because the Sundarbans delta carries mangrove forest dominated by the sundari tree.

Exam tip: Khejri – state tree of Rajasthan, symbol of the Bishnoi Khejarli sacrifice of 1730; thorn forests below 70 cm rain.