When it comes to discovering plant species, this thriving green zone in the heart of the city is full of surprises. With over 2,000 species of rare and important plant species, the Biodiversity Park at Rani Chandramani Devi (RCD) Hospital has been drawing hordes of students and researchers from all over the country who are amazed to discover the fascinating world of plant kingdom flourishing amidst an ‘urban jungle’.
The only park of its kind in the State run by the VUDA in association with the Dolphin Nature Conservation Society (DNCS) saw more than 1,500 students this month alone from schools and colleges across the city, Vizianagaram, Koraput and Bangalore come down on an educational trip to study the botanical wonders.
Apart from housing some unique species like Ginkgo biloba, living fossil that dates back to the age of the dinosaurs, the Biodiversity Park incidentally has all the botanical oddities (specialities in plant species) seen in Kolkata’s famous botanical garden like the Mickey Mouse flower, Mad tree and the Holy Cross tree.
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On Saturday, around 200 students from The Vizag International School, Vizianagaram, visited the park on an educational excursion. The experience gave them a peep into a colourful mosaic of rare and important plant species.
“I had an amazing experience and have never seen such diversity of medicinal plants such as camphor basilicum, lemon grass, spices and stevia among so many other varieties,” said Rahul Sharma, student of class 10. A Vaishnavi, student of class 9, watched with wide-eyed wonder the insectivorous plant species of pitcher, waiting to entrap insects.
“I had only read about the species in textbooks. It was the first time I got to see it,” she said with excitement.
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The excursion not only brought out rare chapters of plant kingdom to the fore, it also offered a peek into the life cycles of butterfly species like common rose, crimson rose and blue tiger. “This month had record number of visits to the park. Researchers from GITAM and Odisha Central University were also here recently to study the plant species here,” said S. Pavani, member of DNCS.
Recently, Victoria Reginae, the largest water plant, was added to the Park.
“It is still in a seedling stage and we are keeping our fingers crossed for the next growth phase of the plant,” Pavani added. As the popularity of the Biodiversity Park grows, it awaits a facelift from VUDA such as new pathways, another bore-well and eco-toilets, which the members of DNCS say are some of the necessary facilities the park lacks.