An extremely rare carnivorous plant has been found for the first time in the western Himalayas by the forest department officials of India’s snowbound Uttarakhand state.
In September 2021, a team from the Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest discovered the Utricularia Furcellata plant in Uttarakhand’s Mandal valley, Chamoli district, at an elevation of 4,800 feet.
The plant was last spotted in the nation in 1986 in Meghalaya state’s northeastern region.
The illustrious ‘Journal of Japanese Botany,’ a 106-year-old journal on plant taxonomy and botany, has published a report on the discovery.
Chief Conservator of Forest (Research) Sanjiv Chaturvedi told PTI news agency, “It is the first sighting of the plant not just in Uttarakhand but in the entire western Himalayan area.
According to the official, the possible medical benefits of carnivorous plants, which often grow in low-nutrient soil, have sparked new attention in the scientific community worldwide.
Its targets range from protozoa to insects, mosquito larvae, and even newborn tadpoles. The plant is a member of the species known as bladderworts, which uses one of the most complex and evolved plant structures for its trap.
This discovery is a result of a project research of Uttarakhand’s insectivorous flora.
But because they are in a tourist area, the species are in danger from high biotic pressure.
Its mechanism is purely mechanical, relying on the creation of a vacuum or area of low pressure to lure prey through the trap door. The majority of these plants can be found in moist soil and freshwater.
Around 20 plant species from the genera Drosera, Utricularia, and Pinguicula have been discovered so far in this, the first such thorough investigation in the State.
Post Your Comments