Endangered Plants
Mystery Revealed:What triggers Seeds to Sprout after a Forest Fire
for centuries it has been a mystery how seeds dormant for years and years can literally rise from the ashes after a forest fire and amply fill the jungle floor with new growth. In a new study, scientists have found the answer on how this regeneration occurs so rapidly.
Carnivorous Plants Emit Blue Glow to Attract Prey
It can be aptly termed fatal attraction. Scientists in Kerala were surprised to discover carnivorous plants that attract insects by acting as blue fluorescent lamps! This is probably the first time in the world that a carnivorous plant has been discovered to reveal a blue glow to catch its prey.
Foreign Invasions Ruining Native Forests of Eastern Ghats
It is the case of an unwelcome guest, who not only continues to live in your home for eternity, but occupies so much space, that it is finally you who are forced to vacate your very own native home.
Ailing Sundarbans losing Beauty and Diversity
The mangrove belts of Sundarbans expand from India till Bangladesh. Here, the border between land and water hazes away. It is a place where the ocean and rivers embrace each other and give aquatic life forms a perfect spot to thrive and create young ones. Terrestrial forms like the Royal Bengal Tiger have ample area to lead their solitary life, hunt, hide and stay away from the curious and sometimes irritating two legged humans. But human are rapidly encroaching this ideal habitat. Coasts are receding, mangroves are vanishing. So much so that experts say, the Sundarbans forests may soon become a thing of the past.
A Floral Paradise: Kolkata’s Indian Botanic Garden
Home to about 12,000 living perennial plants and millions of dried out plants gathered from world over, the Botanic Garden in Kolkata is a visual treat. The main attraction of the botanical garden ofcourse, is the giant size banyan tree that is said to have the second largest canopy in the world.
Big, Old Trees are Dying
World’s leading ecologists have found out in a long term study that most world trees between 100-300 years old are dying around the world. The reasons for their deaths include forest fires, logging and cutting because of urban developments
Researchers find Thousands of Fungi Species in Singhad Forests
A team of researchers scrutinizing the floral diversity of the Singhad forest region in Maharashtra have found more than 1000 species of fungi and 60 different types of lichens. The researchers believe this is a significant find as fungi are both economically valuable and ecologically important.
Scientists Find Cancer Treating Properties of Rare Plant
A rare plant species found in some parts of the Himalayas may become a key medicine for treating cancer. Researchers from India and other countries found the roots of the herb Angelica, to contain chemicals that can aid in cancer treatments.
Saving the Rarest of Rice
In most Indian families the daily meal seems incomplete without a bowl of rice. But while most are satisfied with their basmati and doobar, there is one man whose quest is to trace and preserve the paddy that is not commonly eaten or seen. Debal Deb has been for more than 15 years saving the most uncommon of the common rice.
Researchers Find Rare Plant Species after 161 Years
Researchers studying the floral diversity of the Chandoli national park in the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra have accidentally discovered a rare plant species’. The species was last seen in 1851 and was thought to be extinct.
Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park – The new Green in the Desert
Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park situated at the foothills of the Mehrangarh Fort in the city of Jodhpur is a classic example of how good intentions and hard work always reap rewards. A team of ecologist have restored the natural growing plants of the region and given this desert land a green cover like never before. Visitors keen to see the magnanimous Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur now have a new destination to cover that’s an ancient treasure too – promising a future to the long lost and forgotten plant species of the desert.
Western Ghats Medicinal Plants face Extinction Threats
A new government approved study at the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), has found out that around 58 species of medicinal plants found in the Western Ghats are threatened and can become extinct if strict laws and conservation efforts are not made to save them.
How Mumbai Mangroves Save the City everyday
The Bombay High Court made a monumental decision in 2005 that led to the strict protection of the mangrove forests lining the city coasts. The decision came after the tragic Tsunami that struck the eastern Indian coasts and when it was found that the areas which had mangrove forests were saved from the disastrous high waves. These areas also recovered faster after the aftermath. Worldwide mangroves are fast depleting but because of the conservation order, Mumbai and its neighboring areas now boast of more than 5,800 hectares of mangrove land which is protected and will protect the city in future.
Overharvesting Killing Life Saving Plants
North east India is a treasure trove of plant species. The region has been ranked as the sixth of the 25 mega diversity hotspot regions of the world. But sadly indiscriminate use of medicinal plants from the region is destroying the biodiversity and leaving little hope for the plants existence in future.
