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Q3 (IAS/2023) Environment & Ecology › Biodiversity & Protected Areas › Forest and vegetation Official Key

Consider the following trees : 1. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) 2. Mahua (Madhuca indica) 3. Teak (Tectona grandis) How many of the above are deciduous trees?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: B
Explanation

The correct answer is option B because only two of the three trees listed are deciduous.

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is not deciduous[1], meaning it is an evergreen tree that retains its leaves throughout the year. In contrast, Mahua is listed among the main species of moist deciduous forests[2], indicating it is a deciduous tree. Similarly, Teak is also listed among the main species of deciduous forests[2], and teak trees form part of the typical landscape of tropical moist deciduous forests[3], confirming its deciduous nature.

Deciduous trees lose their leaves for part of the year—in cold climates during autumn-winter, and in hot and dry climates during the dry season[4]. Since Jackfruit is evergreen while both Mahua and Teak are deciduous, only two of the three trees are deciduous, making option B the correct answer.

Sources
  1. [2] INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation > Tropical Deciduous Forests > p. 44
  2. [3] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.5 > p. 15
  3. [4] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
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Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.
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Out of everyone who attempted this question.
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got it right
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Full view
Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following trees : 1. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) 2. Mahua (Madhuca indica) 3. Teak (Tectona grandis) How many o…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Moderate fairness Books / CA: 6.7/10 · 3.3/10

A classic '2+1' structure: Teak and Mahua are verbatim examples from NCERT Class XI (Chapter 5) under Deciduous forests. Jackfruit is the 'applied' element—standard books list it under 'Wet Evergreen' forests, requiring you to infer that a 'Wet Evergreen' tree is not deciduous. Fair, but rewards connecting forest types to biological traits.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Is Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) a deciduous tree?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. MORACEAE Tree C/W Kathal, Jackfruit, Panasa"
Why this source?
  • Provides the scientific name and explicitly labels Artocarpus heterophyllus as a 'Tree'.
  • Establishes that jackfruit is a tree species (necessary context for answering whether it is deciduous).
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Answer: Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is not deciduous."
Why this source?
  • Explicitly states the species is 'not deciduous', directly addressing the question.
  • Gives a clear (if informal) negative answer to the deciduousness claim.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > Ro.R.R. Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests > p. 161
Strength: 5/5
“ro.r.r. Tropical Wet evergreen forests \ Wet evergreen forests are found along the Western Ghats, the Nicobar and Andaman Islands, and all along the north-eastern region. It is characterized by tall, straight evergreen trees. The more common trees that are found here are the jackfruit, betel nut palm, jamun, mango, and hollock. The trees in this forest form a tier pattern; shrubs are found over the layer closer to the ground, followed by the short structured trees and then the tall variety.”
Why relevant

Lists jackfruit among the 'more common trees' of Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests, a vegetation type characterized by tall, straight evergreen trees.

How to extend

A student could note that species typical of wet-evergreen forests are usually evergreen and therefore check whether jackfruit's native habitats (e.g., Western Ghats, Andaman) have evergreen climates implying evergreen habit.

Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 4: BIODIVERSITY > social relevance of forests > p. 21
Strength: 5/5
“• Col1: 1.; Types of Forest: Tropical Wet-evergreen Forests; States/Union Territories: Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Western Ghats; Species of vegetation: Betel-nut-palm, fern, hillock, jack-fruit, rubber, cincona, rose-wood, iron wood, orchids, etc. • Col1: 2.; Types of Forest: Tropical Semi-evergreen Forests; States/Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar, Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats; Species of vegetation: Mixture of wet and dry evergreen trees • Col1: 3.; Types of Forest: Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests; States/Union Territories: Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats, North Eastern Hills of India,; Species of vegetation: Tall trees, thick trunks, thick bark, long branches with butts, trees drop their leaves in dry season, teak, sal, shisum, bamboo, etc. • Col1: 4.; Types of Forest: Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest; States/Union Territories: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Northeast Hilly States; Species of vegetation: Acacia, bamboo, Mahuva, sal, teak, etc. • Col1: 5.; Types of Forest: Tropical Torn Forests; States/Union Territories: Black earth region, North-west and Peninsular India; Species of vegetation: Caper, cactus, spurge, stunted fat topped trees (less than ten meters in height) • Col1: 6.; Types of Forest: Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests; States/Union Territories: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana; Species of vegetation: Hard leaved evergreen trees with fragrant fowers mixed with a few decidu ous trees • Col1: 7.; Types of Forest: Subtropical Broad-leaved Forest; States/Union Territories: Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats, Silent Valley; Species of vegetation: Cinnamon, fragrant grasses, poonspar, rhodo dendron.”
Why relevant

Table explicitly names jackfruit as a species of Tropical Wet-evergreen Forests (alongside other evergreen taxa).

How to extend

Combine this with the definition of evergreen (snippet 3) to infer jackfruit is more likely evergreen than deciduous in its core range; verify by checking leaf-shedding behavior in those climates.

Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
Strength: 4/5
“There are two main types of trees: deciduous and evergreen. (i) Deciduous trees • they lose their leaves for part of the year.• in cold climates, this happens during the autumn so that the trees are bare throughout the winter. • In hot and dry climates, deciduous trees usually lose their leaves during the dry season. • (ii) Evergreen trees • do not lose all their leaves at any time (they always have some foliage). • they do lose their old leaves a little at a time with new ones growing in to replace the old. An evergreen tree is never completely without leaves.”
Why relevant

Gives a clear rule: evergreen trees do not lose all their leaves at any time, while deciduous trees shed leaves seasonally (cold or dry seasons).

How to extend

Use this definition to classify jackfruit by observing whether it ever becomes completely leafless in its native climates (information to be sought externally).

Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Tropical Monsoon Forests > p. 433
Strength: 4/5
“• Tropical Monsoon forests are also known as dry-deciduous forests and tropical deciduous forests. The vegetation is most varied, ranging from forests to thickets, and from savanna to scrubland.• Broad-leaved hardwood trees are most common here. They are normally deciduous, because of the marked dry period, during which they shed their leaves to withstand the drought (they shed their leaves to prevent loss of water through evapotranspiration).• The forests are more open and less luxuriant than the equatorial jungle, and there are far fewer species. Where the rainfall is heavy, e.g. in southern Burma, peninsular India, northern Australia and coastal regions with a tropical marine climate, the resultant vegetation is luxuriant.• With a decrease in rainfall in summer, the forests thin out into thorny scrubland or savanna with scattered trees and tall grass.”
Why relevant

Explains that in regions with a marked dry period, broad-leaved tropical trees are 'normally deciduous' to avoid drought stress.

How to extend

A student can map jackfruit's distribution against monsoon/dry-deciduous regions vs wet-evergreen regions to predict whether it behaves as deciduous in drier parts of its range.

Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 17: The Savanna or Sudan Climate > Natural Vegetation > p. 167
Strength: 3/5
“Trees and plants have to adapt themselves to the savanna climatic rhythm of long winter drought and short summer rain. Both trees and plants are therefore deciduous in nature, shedding their leaves in the cool dry season to prevent excessive loss of water through transpiration and lying dormant during the 17.A The baobab tree is typical of savanna trees. It has an air-water-storing trunk with minimum leaves to reduce transpiration. In true savanna lands, the grass is tall and coarse', growing 2 to 4 metres (6 to 12 feet) high. The elephant grass may attain a height of 5 metres (15 feet) even!”
Why relevant

States savanna and long dry-season climates force trees to be deciduous to reduce transpiration — an example of climate driving leaf-shedding habit.

How to extend

Use this climate–leaf habit principle to hypothesize that jackfruit would be deciduous only if it occurs naturally in strong dry-season (savanna/monsoon-deciduous) environments; otherwise likely evergreen.

Statement 2
Is Mahua (Madhuca indica) a deciduous tree?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation > Tropical Deciduous Forests > p. 44
Presence: 5/5
“These are the most widespread forests in India. They are also called the monsoon forests. They spread over regions which receive rainfall between 70-200 cm. On the basis of the availability of water, these forests are further divided into moist and dry deciduous. The Moist deciduous forests are more pronounced in the regions which record rainfall between 100-200 cm. These forests are found in the northeastern states along the foothills of Himalayas, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and Odisha. Teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum, and sandalwood etc. are the main species of these forests. Dry deciduous forest covers vast areas of the country, where rainfall ranges between 70 -100 cm.”
Why this source?
  • Explicitly lists mahua among the main species of tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests.
  • Placement in 'tropical deciduous forests' directly implies mahua belongs to deciduous vegetation.
Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Tropical Monsoon Forests > p. 433
Presence: 4/5
“• Tropical Monsoon forests are also known as dry-deciduous forests and tropical deciduous forests. The vegetation is most varied, ranging from forests to thickets, and from savanna to scrubland.• Broad-leaved hardwood trees are most common here. They are normally deciduous, because of the marked dry period, during which they shed their leaves to withstand the drought (they shed their leaves to prevent loss of water through evapotranspiration).• The forests are more open and less luxuriant than the equatorial jungle, and there are far fewer species. Where the rainfall is heavy, e.g. in southern Burma, peninsular India, northern Australia and coastal regions with a tropical marine climate, the resultant vegetation is luxuriant.• With a decrease in rainfall in summer, the forests thin out into thorny scrubland or savanna with scattered trees and tall grass.”
Why this source?
  • Explains that tropical monsoon forests are normally deciduous because trees shed leaves during the dry period.
  • Supports the general principle that species characteristic of monsoon forests should be deciduous.
Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
Presence: 3/5
“There are two main types of trees: deciduous and evergreen. (i) Deciduous trees • they lose their leaves for part of the year.• in cold climates, this happens during the autumn so that the trees are bare throughout the winter. • In hot and dry climates, deciduous trees usually lose their leaves during the dry season. • (ii) Evergreen trees • do not lose all their leaves at any time (they always have some foliage). • they do lose their old leaves a little at a time with new ones growing in to replace the old. An evergreen tree is never completely without leaves.”
Why this source?
  • Provides the defining criterion for deciduous trees: they lose their leaves for part of the year, particularly in hot/dry climates.
  • Gives the biological basis to classify a tree as deciduous when it is part of dry-season leaf-shedding forests.
Statement 3
Is Teak (Tectona grandis) a deciduous tree?
Origin: Direct from books Fairness: Straightforward Book-answerable
From standard books
Certificate Physical and Human Geography , GC Leong (Oxford University press 3rd ed.) > Chapter 16: The Tropical Monsoon and Tropical Marine Climate > Agricultural Development in the Monsoon Lands > p. 162
Presence: 5/5
“This is particularly important in continental South-East Asia. Of the tropical deciduous trees, teak, of which Burma is the leading producer, is perhaps the most sought after. It is valuable on account of its great durability, strength, immunity to shrinkage, fungus attack and insects.”
Why this source?
  • Explicitly describes teak as one of the 'tropical deciduous trees'.
  • Links teak to the category of tropical deciduous hardwoods valued for durability.
Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.5 > p. 15
Presence: 5/5
“The tropical moist deciduous forests are found in Sahyadris, the north-eastern parts of the peninsula and along the foothills of the Himalayas (Fig. 5.3). These forests on the whole have gregarious species. The typical landscape consists of tall teak trees with sal, bamboos, and shrubs growing fairly close together to form thickets. Both teak and sal are economically important and so are the Sandalwood (Santalum album), Shisham (Dalbergia”
Why this source?
  • Places 'tall teak trees' as the typical landscape element of tropical moist deciduous forests.
  • Associates teak directly with a deciduous forest type (tropical moist deciduous).
Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > 10.1.3. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests > p. 161
Presence: 4/5
“Moist deciduous forests are found throughout India except in the western and the north-western regions. The trees are tall, have broad trunks, branching trunks and roots to hold them firmly to the ground. Some of the tailer trees shed their leaves in the dry season. There is a layer of shorter trees and evergreen shrubs in the undergrowth. These forests are dominated by sal and teak, along with mango, bamboo, and rosewood.”
Why this source?
  • Describes moist deciduous forests (which shed leaves in dry season) as being dominated by sal and teak.
  • Implies teak is among species that lose leaves seasonally in monsoon/dry cycles.
Pattern takeaway: UPSC is moving from 'Where is this forest?' to 'What are the traits of this species?'. The pattern is to mix 2 textbook examples (Teak/Mahua) with 1 observational/common species (Jackfruit) to test if you can apply climatic logic to everyday flora.
How you should have studied
  1. [THE VERDICT]: Sitter for Teak/Mahua (Direct NCERT Class XI, p. 44); Moderate for Jackfruit (Requires linking 'Wet Evergreen' lists in Shankar/Majid to leaf habit).
  2. [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: Natural Vegetation of India > Classification of Forest Types > Dominant Species.
  3. [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: - Moist Deciduous: Teak, Sal, Shisham, Hurra, Mahua, Amla, Semul, Kusum, Sandalwood. - Dry Deciduous: Tendu, Palas, Amaltas, Bel, Khair, Axlewood. - Wet Evergreen: Rosewood, Mahogany, Aini, Ebony, Jackfruit, Jamun.
  4. [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: Do not memorize species in isolation. Always tag them to their Biome. If a book lists Jackfruit under 'Tropical Wet Evergreen' (Shankar p.161), the exam will ask 'Is it deciduous?'. The answer lies in the forest name itself.
Concept hooks from this question
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Deciduous vs Evergreen tree habit
💡 The insight

Deciduous trees shed leaves seasonally while evergreen trees retain foliage year-round.

High-yield for physical geography and ecology questions: knowing leaf-habit definitions helps classify species and interpret vegetation maps, forest-type questions, and climate-vegetation linkages. This concept connects to forest classification, biomes, and climatic adaptations.

📚 Reading List :
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
🔗 Anchor: "Is Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Tropical wet-evergreen forests and characteristic species
💡 The insight

Tropical wet-evergreen forests host species that remain foliated year-round, with jackfruit listed among common trees.

Important for Indian environment questions: recognizing which species typify wet-evergreen forests aids in answering distribution and biodiversity questions, and links to topics on Western Ghats, Andaman & Nicobar ecology, and conservation priorities.

📚 Reading List :
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > Ro.R.R. Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests > p. 161
  • Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 4: BIODIVERSITY > social relevance of forests > p. 21
🔗 Anchor: "Is Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Using forest-type membership to infer plant traits
💡 The insight

Membership of a tree species in a named forest type (e.g., wet-evergreen) implies trait information such as leaf retention.

Useful analytical skill for UPSC: enables quick inference of species characteristics from forest-classification facts, supports elimination-style reasoning in MCQs and mains answers, and ties vegetation types to climatic regimes.

📚 Reading List :
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > Ro.R.R. Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests > p. 161
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
🔗 Anchor: "Is Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests
💡 The insight

Mahua is identified as a characteristic species of tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests.

High-yield for UPSC geography: knowing vegetation types helps answer questions on climatic zones, regional vegetation maps, and resource distribution. It connects climate (monsoon rainfall patterns) to vegetation form and species composition, enabling elimination-style answers on forest-type questions.

📚 Reading List :
  • INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation > Tropical Deciduous Forests > p. 44
  • Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Tropical Monsoon Forests > p. 433
🔗 Anchor: "Is Mahua (Madhuca indica) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Deciduous vs evergreen tree habit
💡 The insight

Deciduous trees lose leaves seasonally (especially in dry climates), the key trait used to classify mahua as deciduous.

Important for ecology and physical geography: mastering this distinction aids questions on plant adaptations, forest classification, and impacts of seasonal climates. It links to topics on transpiration, drought adaptations, and biogeography.

📚 Reading List :
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 13: Plant Diversity of India > 13.2.1. Types of Trees: > p. 203
  • Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 30: Climatic Regions > Tropical Monsoon Forests > p. 433
🔗 Anchor: "Is Mahua (Madhuca indica) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Species composition of monsoon forests
💡 The insight

Mahua is listed among principal species of monsoon forests, useful for species-to-forest matching.

Valuable for static and applied syllabus: helps in questions that ask to match species with regions or forest types, and connects to economic uses of forest species (e.g., non-timber products). Knowing key species improves accuracy in map-based and MCQ questions.

📚 Reading List :
  • INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation > Tropical Deciduous Forests > p. 44
  • India and the Contemporary World - I. History-Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: Forest Society and Colonialism > New words > p. 85
🔗 Anchor: "Is Mahua (Madhuca indica) a deciduous tree?"
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S3
👉 Tropical (Monsoon) Deciduous Forests — key species and distribution
💡 The insight

Teak is a dominant species of tropical moist and dry deciduous (monsoon) forests in peninsular India.

High-yield for UPSC: questions often ask forest types, dominant species and regional distribution. Mastering this links physical geography (rainfall regimes) with economic botany (valuable timber species) and aids in answering mapping and resource-management questions.

📚 Reading List :
  • Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and National Parks > Table 5.5 > p. 15
  • Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 10: Indian Forest > 10.1.3. Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests > p. 161
  • CONTEMPORARY INDIA-I ,Geography, Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 5: Natural Vegetation and Wildlife > Tropical Deciduous Forests > p. 40
🔗 Anchor: "Is Teak (Tectona grandis) a deciduous tree?"
🌑 The Hidden Trap

Sandalwood (Santalum album). Often assumed to be evergreen due to its high value/fragrance, but NCERT explicitly lists it under 'Tropical Moist Deciduous'. Similarly, Red Sanders is 'Dry Deciduous'.

⚡ Elimination Cheat Code

Geographic Common Sense: Jackfruit is iconic to Kerala, Konkan, and the Northeast—regions of heavy rainfall. Trees in heavy rainfall zones (Evergreen biomes) do not need to shed leaves to conserve water. Teak and Mahua are icons of Central India (MP, Maharashtra)—regions with distinct dry seasons. Distinct dry season = Deciduous. Thus, Jackfruit is the odd one out.

🔗 Mains Connection

Mahua (Madhuca indica) connects to GS2/GS3 (Tribal Economy). It is a critical Minor Forest Produce (MFP) with MSP support, central to the livelihood of tribals in Central India and often cited in Forest Rights Act (FRA) contexts.

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