Kozhikode: Thirty-two aquatic plant species from the northern districts of Kerala will be among the exhibits at the Indian Biodiversity Congress 2010 to be held in Thiruvananthapuram from December 27 to 31.
The Malabar Botanical Garden Society, funded by the State government, is exhibiting the plants from a rich and huge collection at the Malabar Botanical Garden maintained by it at Olavanna, near here.
“This region (once known as Malabar) is a treasure trove of several exotic varieties of aquatic plants that have high medicinal as well as commercial values,” says R. Prakash Kumar, Director of the garden.
Eriocaulon cuspdastum (‘chootheh' in Malayalam), endemic to the Western Ghats, and floating heart (“Elaambal” in local parlance) will be among the exhibits. They are found only in some parts of Madayippara, near Payyannur, in Kannur district. Also to be showcased are orthosiphon, a rare plant found in streams in the shade near forests; Rotala macrandra, used as aquarium plants for their beautiful leaves; castanea; hydrilla grown in wells for water purification; fairy moss; an aquatic fern used as a bio-fertilizer; acanthus (‘eruma-kalli' in local parlance) found in mangroves and used for fomentations in rheumatism and neuralgia; dust seed used for healing wounds; Burman's sundew, an insectivorous plant; bacopa (popular as Brahmi) used as a nerve tonic to treat epilepsy, insanity and diabetes; and ovata (‘kinar vazha' in Malayalam), which is considered poisonous but used in treatment of kidney disorders, heart ailments and swellings. The Indian Biodiversity Congress, in the International Year of Biodiversity declared by the United Nations, has the theme of “Biodiversity and development: mainstreaming biodiversity into policy-making.”
Source: The Hindu, 16-12-2010
The Malabar Botanical Garden Society, funded by the State government, is exhibiting the plants from a rich and huge collection at the Malabar Botanical Garden maintained by it at Olavanna, near here.
“This region (once known as Malabar) is a treasure trove of several exotic varieties of aquatic plants that have high medicinal as well as commercial values,” says R. Prakash Kumar, Director of the garden.
Eriocaulon cuspdastum (‘chootheh' in Malayalam), endemic to the Western Ghats, and floating heart (“Elaambal” in local parlance) will be among the exhibits. They are found only in some parts of Madayippara, near Payyannur, in Kannur district. Also to be showcased are orthosiphon, a rare plant found in streams in the shade near forests; Rotala macrandra, used as aquarium plants for their beautiful leaves; castanea; hydrilla grown in wells for water purification; fairy moss; an aquatic fern used as a bio-fertilizer; acanthus (‘eruma-kalli' in local parlance) found in mangroves and used for fomentations in rheumatism and neuralgia; dust seed used for healing wounds; Burman's sundew, an insectivorous plant; bacopa (popular as Brahmi) used as a nerve tonic to treat epilepsy, insanity and diabetes; and ovata (‘kinar vazha' in Malayalam), which is considered poisonous but used in treatment of kidney disorders, heart ailments and swellings. The Indian Biodiversity Congress, in the International Year of Biodiversity declared by the United Nations, has the theme of “Biodiversity and development: mainstreaming biodiversity into policy-making.”
Source: The Hindu, 16-12-2010
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