Discovery of Two New Plant Species

In News 

• Researchers from SNM College Maliankara, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Payyanur College have reported two new plant species from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats regions in Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts.

About Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii

• They have been christened Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii.
• They collected from the grasslands of Ponmudi hills, Thiruvananthapuram.
• Fimbristylis sunilii: 
  • It has been named after plant taxonomist C.N. Sunil, retired professor and research guide of Botany, SNM College.
  • A perennial plant of the Cyperaceae family, it stands 20-59 cm tall and was collected from an elevation of 1,100 metres. 
  • It has been provisionally assessed as data deficient (DD) under the IUCN Red List categories.

Image Courtesy: TH

• Neanotis prabhuii:
  • It is a prostrate perennial herb named after K.M. Prabhukumar, Senior Scientist at CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, in recognition of his research on flowering plants of the Western Ghats and contributions to biodiversity conservation. 
  • Discovered in the Chembra Peak grasslands of Wayanad, it hails from the family Rubiaceae and grows on high-altitude grasslands.
  • It grows up to 70 cm in length and is many-flowered with the petals pale pink in colour.
  • It has been categorised as data deficient (DD) in the absence of any detailed observations and data on populations.

Image Courtesy: TH

Source: TH