New plant species found in Western Ghats
Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III – Environment
- Three new plant species have been recently discovered by a team of scientists of the Botanical Survey of India.
- These species were found in the evergreen forest patches of the southern end of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
These species are:
- Eugenia sphaerocarpa
- It belongs to the Myrtaceae or Rose apple family.
- A good population of Eugenia sphaerocarpa is growing in the Kakkayam area of the Malabar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala above 800m.
- ‘Sphaerocarpa’ denotes to the large, showy lemon-yellow spherical fruits.
- The fruits of Eugenia species are known for their palatability (pleasant to taste).
- Goniothalamus sericeus
- It belongs to the Annonaceae family of custard apple.
- A small number of Goniothalamus sericeus plants has been found in the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu at an altitude of 1400m.
- Mature flowers with characteristic greenish-yellow to beige petals are fragrant while the fruits are very showy and an attractive golden yellow in colour.
- Sericeus refers to the presence of dense silky hair on petals.
- Memecylon nervosum
- It belongs to the Melastomataceae (Kayamboo or Kaasavu in local parlance) family.
- A small population of nervosum was also found at the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu at an altitude between 700-900m.
- The species has showy purplish-blue flowers and mauve to purplish red fruits.
- Nervosum refers to the presence of prominently raised lateral and intramarginal veins on the lower surface of the lamina.
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