From Wagamon hills, a close relative of ‘safed musli’ found

 

TIKI RAJWI, 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, the hindu, october 6, 2025

A perennial herb spotted during a field exploration in Idukki district’s Wagamon hills has been identified as a new species of the genus Chlorophytum, making it a close relative of the ‘safed musli.’

Researchers have named the new species, which has white flowers in small clusters and slender leaves, Chlorophytum vanapushpam (family Asparagaceae).

The findings of the team from the botany departments of Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha; Payyannur College, Kannur; Sir Syed College, Taliparamba; and SNM College, Maliankara, have been highlighted in the latest edition of the journal Phytotaxa. A herb that grows up to 90 cm in height, Chlorophytum vanapushpam has been found clinging to the rocky hills of Wagamon and Neymakkad – parts of the Western Ghats regions of Idukki district – at elevations between 700 m and 2,124 m. Its discovery was quite serendipitous, according to the team. The plant was spotted during a research project on wild edible tubers funded by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

“The Western Ghats region is thought to be a centre of origin of the genus Chlorophytum. A total of 18 species have been identified here so far, with many of them exhibiting medicinal properties,” Jose Mathew, Assistant Professor, Sanatana Dharma College, said.

One of these is the Chlorophytum borivilianum, more familiar to Indians as the ‘safed musli,’ a herb widely used in traditional medical preparations and also popular as a leaf vegetable. But unlike its more famous cousin, Chlorophytum vanapushpam lacks tubers. Its seeds are about 4 to 5 mm across. Flowering and fruiting occurs from September to December. The species name vanapushpam is a composite of ‘Vanam’ and ‘Pushpam,’ the Malayalam for forest and flower respectively.

Apart from Dr. Mathew, the team credited with the discovery included C.N. Sunil, and M.G. Sanil Kumar from SNM College; M.K. Ratheesh Narayanan from Payyannur College, and Sidharth S. Nair of Sir Syed College, Taliparamba.

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Travancore frog back from the brink?

Giji K. Raman
KATTAPPANA,  
The Hindu, September 13, 2014 

Travancore Bush Frog (Raorchestes travancoricus), classified as extinct by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was found last month by Mumbai-based researchers David V. Raju and Saurab Sawanth in the grasslands of Wagamon, believed to be their habitat. The other habitats are the Periyar Valley (Kerala), Meghamala and Bodinayakanur (Tamil Nadu), and Coorg (Karnataka) in Western Ghats.

The animal, in the family of Rhaorpherdae, was not recorded for long since its first description by George Albert Boulenger in 1891. In 2009, S.D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt, two Delhi University researchers, had announced its rediscovery in the Western Ghats, as part of the first amphibian survey of the Western Ghats, conducted by the School of Environment Studies, University of Delhi. The duo had detailed their discovery, along with 11 other species, in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society in 2009. A single male was spotted in 2004 from Vandiperiyar, near Thekkady, in Kerala.

The Travancore Bush Frog, also known as Travancore bubble-nest frog, is endemic to the southern Western Ghats. The tropical moist evergreen forest and tea plantations are its natural habitat. The male measures 23 to 25 mm and the female, 30 mm in length. Mr. Raju told The Hindu that its discovery in Uluppuni, in the sensitive Wagamon grassland, a biological hotspot, was a good sign. However, uncontrolled human intervention in Wagamon could pose problems for the species. He said he was planning to carry out a survey in the area for their clusters.

The new discovery opens up a window for more chances of their fragmented habitats in an intensive survey, Mr. Raju said.

 

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