New plant species found in Western Ghats 

New plant species found in Western Ghats 

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-III – Environment

In News:

• 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.

Key takeaways:

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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