Good news for our biodiversity! The researchers of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new species of plant from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu. The plant has been named ‘Impatiens karuppusamyi’. The species is named after Dr. S Karuppusamy (Madhura College, Tamil Nadu) for his significant contributions to the taxonomy of south Indian angiosperms.
https://x.com/bsi_moefcc/status/1732294858172453374?s=20
Researchers collected the specimens of a lithophytic Impatiens during a botanical exploration in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. Upon examination, it was found that the species was different from all the known species of Impatiens.
The species shows similarity with its alike species Impatiens Bicornis, but differs from it in terms of having small leaves, six to eight flowered, short scape, and small flowers. It also has a conical spur that is horizontally straight with an obtuse tip; base of the anterior lobe with two purplish, fleshy and erect auriculate projections to 1 mm long; stout biseriate purplish-blue hairs in front of the mouth; and orange-pinkish pollen grains.
There are more than 1000 species of Impatiens worldwide, of which more than 280 are found in India. It is distributed widely throughout tropical Africa, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka and China.
According to Ravichandran V, a researcher from the Botanical Survey of India and one of the authors of the research paper, Impatiens has only restricted distribution in the area and can become extinct due to climate change.
Earlier, three new species of Impatiens- Impatiensachudanandanii, I.danii, and I.shailajae, were discovered from Thiruvananthapuram and Idukki districts of Kerala.
The discovery was published in Finnish journal “Annales Botanici Fennici” and is a collaborative effort of the Botanical Survey of India and Madras Christian College, Chennai.