Botanists have described a new Aloe species from the desert of India’s northwestern state of Rajasthan. The species, Aloe trinervis, is based on a distinct observation: the leaf-like structures beneath…
After over three decades of research, an Indian variety of coloured cotton may be commercially released by 2021. A decision will be taken once the last phase of the agronomy…
Amidst the chaos of the pandemic, a new revolution is on across world scenarios. Rebel botanists ‘chalked’ up street graffiti to highlight the flora growing in the cracks of paths…
High up in the majestic hills of India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya lies an elusive and unusual carnivore: a pitcher plant. The species is known popularly as ‘monkey cups’ because…
To anyone else, the dried herb pressed neatly into crisp white paper would have been just another herbarium specimen. But for scientists at the Indian Institute for Science Education and…
“I have a lawn in my house and developing a kitchen garden was always on the back burner. But due to one or the other reason I was never able…
Can tea agroforestry mosaics in Assam, the world’s largest, contiguous tea-growing area in the world pitch in, in the fight against climate change? Researchers working on sprawling tea estates to…
For half a century, Tulasi Gowda’s life revolved around the saplings that she nurtured with much care and love at the Agasur nursery of the forest department as part of…
Five trillion US dollars. That's how much the overall international trade in medicinal plants and their products alone is expected to amount to by the year 2050. Estimates, as far…
At least twice, the staid kalam tree (Mitragyna parvifolia), standing tall on a mound surrounded by farms in a nondescript village in the hilly areas of western Madhya Pradesh has…
The low-lying valleys of the evergreen tropical forests of the Western Ghats harbour a rare, ancient ecosystem: the Myristica swamps. Comprised mainly of evergreen trees of the Myristicaceae family—one of…
It was a bright afternoon after two days of heavy rain in Kerala and Professor P. Manimohan’s two Ph.D. students K. P. Deepna Latha and K. N. Anil Raj were…
Oblivious to those depending on bananas for their favourite protein shake or breakfast fix, a deadly fungus has sneaked up on banana plantations in South America, threatening the fruit’s future.…
In India’s IT capital Bengaluru, sprinkled within its concrete jungle, are shady peepal trees adorned with serpent stones, bells and sacred threads, standing majestically atop gated raised platforms. Often a…
Turn page 266, the last one of Voice of a Sentient Highland, and you would have transitioned through myriad emotions. Wonder, as author Godwin Vasanth Bosco's knowledge of the land…
Fifty-six-year-old Seema Adgaonkar glides through swampy mangroves in ankle-deep muck. The fragrance of Avicennia marina (the grey mangrove), the most widely-spread mangrove species in Mumbai, makes the trail pleasant despite…
When do plants get invasive? Plants that do not occur naturally in a region but proliferate in the area they have been introduced into, and cause several negative impacts (such…
At first glance, a one-metre tall parthenium plant looks innocuous. Its tiny cream flowers, borne on several frail, pale green stalks, dance in the wind. However, packed in each mature…
A new study has, for the first time, thrown light on when and from where black pepper (Piper nigrum) had come to India. The species arrived into India from Southeast…
What is seagrass? Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, found on all continents except Antarctica. They have roots, stems and leaves and produce flowers and fruits. They are closely related to…
