A new checklist of the flowering plants of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve in South India has recorded 3,261 species, 26 subspecies, and 28 varieties. The checklist was compiled by the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Thiruvananthapuram and published in Plant Science Today in September 2026.
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve
The Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve is a protected biosphere reserve in the southern Western Ghats. It spans parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is known for shola forests, grasslands, and high levels of plant diversity.
Taxonomic Composition
The checklist documented 1,139 genera and 190 families within the reserve. Fabaceae was the most species-rich family with 349 taxa, followed by Rubiaceae with 194 taxa, Poaceae with 193 taxa, and Orchidaceae with 168 taxa.
Endemism and Biogeography
The study recorded 1,018 endemic taxa, which formed 31.2% of the total checklist. It also listed 245 steno-endemic taxa and noted 347 shared taxa with Sri Lanka, along with affinities with tropical American flora.
Important Facts for Exams
- Biosphere reserves in India are designated under the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO.
- The Western Ghats are one of the world’s major biodiversity hotspots.
- Fabaceae is the legume family and includes many trees, shrubs, and herbs.
- Shola grasslands occur in high-altitude valleys of the southern Western Ghats.
Conservation and New Species
The checklist recommended ex-situ conservation, seed banks, restoration of degraded forest patches, and climate-change adaptation in management plans. Scientists from the Botanical Survey of India also identified Osbeckia ulotricha, a new woolly-haired flowering plant from shola grasslands at elevations of 1,200 to 1,500 metres in the reserve.
