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Ecology & Environment
Mahesh

05/03/22 22:50 PM IST

New gin berry species discovered in southern Western Ghats

In News 
  • A team of scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has discovered a new gin berry species from the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
Details 
  • The species, named  Glycosmis albicarpa with a distinct large white fruit, is endemic to the southern Western Ghats.
  • The species belongs to the Orange family, Rutaceae.
  • Berries of Glycosmis species have the unique characteristic of ‘gin aroma’ and has gained in popularity as an edible fruit.
  • The species is also a larval host plant for butterflies like other species of Glycosmis.
  • The species, an evergreen small tree, was found as undergrowth in Tirunelveli semi-evergreen forests at the Panagudi forest section of the wildlife sanctuary as a single population that covers an area of approximately 2 sq.km.
  • The discovery not only re-emphasises the uniqueness and endemism in Western Ghats’ flora but also add to the growing inventory of the region’s flora.

About BSI 
  • Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was founded in the pre-independence era by the East India Company (EIC) in 1890. It is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
  • Its parent organization is the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.

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