Liparis tschangii , a plant that belongs to the Orchidaceae family, has been discovered in the Ponkuzhi forests in Wayanad district, a major biodiversity hotspot on the Nilgiri biosphere reserve.
The tuberous species was discovered by a team of researchers led by V. Balakrishnan, former Director of Community Agrobiodiversity Centre of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) at Puthoorvayal here during an expedition recently. The discovery has been published in the recent edition of the science journal Indian Forester .
Liparis tschangii is mainly found in China and Vietnam, but this was the first time that the distributional record of the plant was reported from India, Dr. Balakrishnan told The Hindu .
“The leaves of the plant resemble the structure of the human heart and have white rhizome and green flower bunches,” Salim Pichan, botanist, MSSRF, and a member of the team said.
Very rare
“The plant is very rare in this locality and may need conservation priority,” Mr. Pichan added.
Jose Mathew, assistant professor, Department of Botany, SD College, Alappuzha; P. Dhanesh Kumar, former Divisional Forest Officer, South Wayanad forest division; Jayesh P. Joseph and M. Jithin, scientists of MSSRF, are the other members of the team.
