Nature’s Gem: Rare Plant Species Found In Palakkad in the Western Ghats
Nature’s Gem: Rare Plant Species Found In Palakkad in the Western Ghats
Scientists at the Centre for Medicinal Plants Research, Arya Vaidya Sala at Kottakkal have made the report regarding the discovery of a rare plant species from Dhoni hills in the Palakkad district.
A Rare Discovery
It was at the time of an expedition for studying the floristic diversity of the high mountains in the southern parts of the Western Gaits that a team of scientists led by researcher K. M. Prabhu Kumar and director Indira Balachandran came across the new species in the grassland of the Dhoni mountain range’s Palamala Hills.
This plant belongs to the genus Chlorophytum of the Asparagaceae family, was reported from Elival hills of Muthikulam in Palakka by a team of research scientists from the Peechi based Kerala Forest Research Institute. This plant species has therefore been named as Chlorophytum palghatense, following the place of the discovery. This plant is a perennial herb which is endemic to the grassland ecosystem of the forests of Dhoni mountain range and Muthikulam forests at heights located above 6,000 feet.
This plant species bears flowers and fruits from September to November. This finding has been published in an international journal on botanical taxonomy named Phytotaxa. The study has been undertaken for assessing medicinal properties for new species, Indira Balachandran was reported as saying. C. Palhgtnese was found similar to C borivilianum or Safed Musli which is a medicinal herb. The discovery of this new plant was part of the research team conducted by V. S. Hareesh and K. P. Vimal from Calicut University’s Department of Botany and S. R. Yadav and Avinash Asraji Adsul from Shivaji University.
About the Chlorophytum Genus
Distributed throughout the nation as well as Africa, the Chlorophytum genus has representation through 17 species in India of which 15 are in Western Ghats. Detailed taxonomic studies were carried out in Kolhapur’s Shivaji University for finding a new species distinct from C sharmae endemic to Munnar in Kerala. The C. Paghatnese was named for highlighting the rich and unique biodiversity for creating a reservoir of rare plants in the Western Ghats.
Chlorophytum itself is a genus of 190 odd species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae which is found in tropical as well as sub-tropical regions in Asia. Africa is also another home of this species of plans. These plants are not higher than 60 cms and they have slender leaves which are close to 75 cm long and 2 cm broad from a thick rhizome.
The Western Ghats: Home to Unique Biodiversity
The Western Ghats are a mountain range parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula and they are also a UNESCO world heritage site. The Western Ghats run through the states of Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala ending at the southern tip of India at Kanyakumari. The hills covered 160,000 square kilometre and form a catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems in nearly 40% of the nation. The Western Ghats has 7,400 species of flowering plants, as well as amazing range of fauna including 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. The Western Ghats are also known as Sahyadri Hills and they are one of the most precious biodiversity hotspots in the world.
This region has tropical evergreen forests, moist as well as dry deciduous forests, scrub jungles, savannah and bogs as well as swamps. Preserving this natural spot is not only the responsibility of the government, but also of the stakeholders and the scientific community. Research by NASA has found that tropical forests consume far more CO2 than boreal forests. Preserving the Western Ghats is in the interests of all of humanity. Opening crucial parts of the Ghats to unsustainable development will harm humanity. Care should be taken while introducing economic activities in this biodiversity hotspot.
