Kosal Discussion and Development Forum

Four new species of flowering plants found in Karlapat sanctuary of Kalahandi

December 11, 2009 at 3:52 pm sanjibkarmee Leave a comment

Following is a report from expressbuzz.com:

Pancriatum parvum

Good news for plant lovers and conservationists. Researchers have found four species of flowering plants for the first time in the State from Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary of Kalahandi district.

Apart from these angiosperms, the team involved in a bio-diversity documentation project has also found out nine species of bryophytes and one edible mushroom.

Karlapat is one of the important bio-diversity-rich protected areas in the Eastern Ghats which influences the climate of the drought-prone Kalahandi district. During the period from November 2007 to December 2008, inventory, mapping and documentation of biodiversity of the wildlife sanctuary was undertaken.

While the four species of angiospermic plants include Corallodiscus lanuginose, Limnanthimum parviflora, Salvinia elegans and Pancriatum parvum, the edible mushroom is called Dictyophora indusiata. Earlier, the mushroom was only reported from the Himalayan ecological region.

According to plant ecologist Prasad Kumar Dash, all these flowering plant species and bryophytes were reported for the first time from Karlapat and regarded as a new distributional record for the Eastern Ghats flora. They were earlier reported from Western Ghats i.e. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Similarly 12 plant species found to be used by the local communities to cure different diseases and ailments within the sanctuary was another important aspect of the study.

The bryophyte species include Plagiochasma appendiculatum, Heteroschyphus argutus, Marchantia palmata, Dumortiera hirsuta, Bryum argentium, Funaria hygrometrica, Asterella angusta, Riccardia levierii and Herpetoneuron toccoi, Dash said.

Currently, the team of researchers comprising plant and wildlife experts are making a survey to go for an inventory and later they would take up a detailed ecological analysis including ethno-anthropogenic studies of the entire area, he added.

Entry filed under: Karlapat, Kalahandi, Wildlife Sanctuary.