Indocolea devendrae

Indocolea devendrae Latest News

A team of researchers from Kerala recently identified a new genus of bryophyte plant named Indocolea devendrae from the forests of northern Kerala.

About Indocolea devendrae

• It is a new species of bryophyte plant.
• It was discovered in the  forests of northern Kerala.
• It has been named ‘Indocolea devendrae’ in honour of noted bryologist and specialist in the study of non-flowering plants, Dr. Devendra Kumar Singh of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). 
• A unique feature of the newly identified plant is that it grows on the mushroom Phellinus fastuosus, which develops on tree trunks.  
• Indocolea is an entirely new genus discovered in India and belongs to liverworts, a group within the bryophytes. 
  • The first such genus, Aitchisoniella, was discovered in the Western Himalayas in 1914 by renowned botanist Professor Shiv Ram Kashyap. 
  • It was followed by Sewardiella in 1915. 
  • Nearly a century later, Indopottia was discovered from Silent Valley in Kerala in 2013, while Udaria was reported from Himachal Pradesh in 2018 and later revised as Ramudaria in 2020. 

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What is a Liverwort?

• It is any of more than 9,000 species of small nonvascular (lacking xylem and phloem) spore-producing plants. 
• They are closely related to mosses and hornworts. 
• Unlike flowering plants, liverworts lack true roots, stems, and leaves. 
• Rather than having distinct stems and leaves, liverworts have a combined structure called a ‘’thallus’’ that branches, creating flattened lobes.  
• They absorb water and nutrients directly through their surface. 
• Liverworts are distributed worldwide, though most commonly in the tropics. 
• The plants are not economically important to humans but do provide food for animals, facilitate the decay of logs, and aid in the disintegration of rocks by their ability to retain moisture. 
• Liverworts are among the oldest terrestrial plants on Earth, with fossil records dating back over 470 million years. 

News: ETVB