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Two rare tree species discovered in Western Ghats

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In the lush forests of Western Ghats, scientists and researchers had found 2 species of  plants that are endemic and very rare. Orophea sivarajanii and Orophea malabarica, belonging to the custard apple family, were discovered in Makutta Ghat of Kodagu District by a team from Herbarium,Centre For Ecological Sciences,Indian Institute of Science and Lead Botanical garden, University of Agricutural Sciences, Bengaluru.

  • Out of  12 varieties of Orophea found in india, five are in Western Ghats.
  • The plants have been found sparingly in Thrissur Dist, kerala, but the discovery is first in Karnataka.
  • Analysis on distribution and status of these species is carried out by the team.
  • Based on the data collected from field reports it has been declared by Navendu Page,a researcher of K.Sankararao team, that the species Prophea sivarajanii is  endangered.

Some information on Indian Institute Of Science, Bengaluru or IISc

  • IISc was established in the year1909, with the support from Jamshedji Tata.
  • Deemed University status was achieved in
  • Ranked 3rd in Asia and 11th in the world.
  • The current Director is MrAnurag Kumar.
  • The library of this is regarded as one of the best in India.
  • IISc collaborates with many government organisations like DRDO,ISRO,NAL, CSIR etc
  • Some notable faculty members are C.V Raman, C.N.R Rao, M.R.N Murthy etc.

About Western Ghats

  • They are mountains running parallel to  western coast of Indian penninsula.
  • It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • Length- 1600kms
  • Width- 100kms and area- 1,60,000 sqkms.
  • Highest peak is Anaimudi with elevation of 2695mts.

About Custard Apple family 

  • The family is called as Annonaceae.
  • Mostly found in the tropics, its also there in temperate regions .
  • Annonacin, a compound found in the seeds of some members of Annonaceae ,is aneurotroxin and causesneurodegenerative