A team of scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new gin berry species from the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The species is Glycosmis albicarpa
DETAILS
A new Gin berry species of plant discovered from Southern Western Ghats
The species has distinct large white fruit
Endemic to the southern Western Ghats
Belongs to the Orange family Rutaceae
Being utilised for their medicinal values and food
Most commonly collected from the wild
Berries have the unique characteristic of ‘gin aroma’ and gained in popularity as an edible fruit
Larval host plant for butterflies like other species of Glycosmis
Evergreen small tree, was found as undergrowth in the 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.
Though flowering, natural regeneration and seedling recruitment of this taxon is found to be fairly good within the locality, habitat modification causes a major threat to the survival of this species
