Bundala National Park that had once been one of the main tourist attractions in the South is today in a deteriorated state due to human activities. It is the final destination of the flocks of migratory birds from the northern hemisphere during winter.
KOCHI: Bixa and Butea are common trees found in our countryside gardens.
While Butea is grown for religious and ornamental purposes, Bixa is grown for its commercial value. The Bixa Orellana is a small tree which reaches its maximum height of 30 feet only rarely. It has two prominent varieties - one with light pink flowers and the other with white flowers (rare).
A tree that covers a large area of eastern Ethiopia but has only recently been categorized by botanists raises hope for finding new species elsewhere, experts said.
The acacia fumosa tree, which grows in an area the size of the island of Crete, was not "found" for scientific purposes until 2006-7, mostly likely because its main habitat is a war zone.
Arunachal Pradesh, falling under Easter Himalayan region one of the global mega-diversity centers, is a botanical paradise and the home of 110 ethnic communities (tribes) most of which are still forest dwellers and so diverse that they can not understand each others language. Hindi is gradually becoming popular among the persons, who are near townships.
Field studies on floristic composition and ethnobotanical practices of the sacred groves of in and around Pallapatty village, Madurai district of Tamil Nadu were undertaken. A total of 133 plant species belonging to 113 genera distributed among 51 families were recorded. The mode of mythical and therapeutic uses and conservation practices of these plants by the local people has been discussed.
The changing global scenario and the amendment of national legislations on ownership over biological resources and intellectual property rights over the indigenous knowledge evolved by the local communities for the useful exploitation of these resources, demands that agricultural biodiversity and indigenous knowledge rich countries like India identify the agricultural heritage sites and document t
Through an ethnobotanical survey of Barak-valley, about 150 naturally growing and frequently used medicinal plants were collected. Out of these collections, 24 plant species have been highly prioritised for conservation.
"One cannot envisage life in the city without ringing mobiles, air conditioners, blenders, fans, blazing lights, refrigerators, But when we thought about how many of these are essential and took a step back in time, it was a revelation of sorts", says Priti and Srikanth
Seven species of edible macrofungi namely Cantharellus cibarius, Coprinus comatus, Geopora arenicola, Ramaria formosa, Ramaria flavo-brunnescens, sparassis crispa and Termitomyces striatus belonging to Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes have been illustrated and are being described for the first time from Jammu Province of Jammu and Kashmir state.
