Carissa kopilii: A new Plant Species found in Assam
Part of: GS-Prelims and Mains GS-III- Environment
Key points:
Carissa kopilii is a wilder variety of the more familiar Carissa carandas (also known as karonda in Hindi, kalakkai in Tamil, koromcha in Bengali and karja tenga in Assamese)
Carissa kopilii is distributed sparsely along the Kopili riverbed at altitudes ranging from 85-600 metres above sea level.
Kopili River is an interstate river that flows through the states of Meghalaya and Assam and is the largest south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra in Assam
The plant is threatened by a hydroelectric project on the river and water turned acidic because of coal mining in Meghalaya upstream.
Did You Know?
The Carissa carandas was among several thorny plants the British used for a 1,100-mile barrier – called Great Hedge of India- apparently to enforce taxes and stop the smuggling of salt.
Carissa carandas has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for a number of ailments such as diarrhoea, anaemia, constipation, indigestion, skin infections and urinary disorders.
