News:Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered three new plant species in the evergreen forest patches of the southern end of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Facts:
- Eugenia sphaerocarpa: It belongs to the Myrtaceae or Rose apple family.It was found in the Malabar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.
- Goniothalamus sericeus: It belongs to the Annonaceae family of custard apple.It has been found in the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
- Memecylon nervosum: It belongs to the Melastomataceae (Kayamboo or Kaasavu in local parlance) family.It was found at the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
Additional Facts:
- Botanical Survey of India(BSI): Founded in 1890, it comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Purpose: Survey, research and conservation of plant resources, flora and endangered species of India including by collecting and maintaining germplasm and gene bank of endangered, patent and vulnerable plant species.
