Humboldtia nairiana

Humboldtia nairiana Latest News

Researchers have discovered a new evergreen tree species from the southern Western Ghats of Kerala and have officially named it as Humboldtia nairiana.

About Humboldtia nairiana

• It is a new evergreen tree species belonging to the genus Humboldtia.
• The species identified in the riparian forests of the Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Features of Humboldtia nairiana

• It is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows between 5 to 8 metres in height. 
• It possesses stable and distinguishing features including a unique warty, pale brown bark with a distinct creamy-white blaze; angled, glabrous branchlets.
• It has distinctly shorter, sparsely hairy, isometric stipules and appendages;
• It consists of larger flowers with comparatively long pedicels, and produces elliptic-oblong fruits with a shorter beak.
• It is strictly endemic to Kerala and is presently known only from the biodiversity-rich Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve at an elevation of about 300 meters.

Key Facts about Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary

• Location: It is located in the southern part of the Western Ghats in Kerala.
• It forms part of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve.
• Terrain: Most of the Sanctuary area is hilly and interspersed with ravines.
• Rivers: The major rivers are Shendurney, Kazhuthuruthy, and Kulathupuzha, which join together to form the Kallada River.
• Vegetation: The vegetation primarily consists of tropical evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, and moist deciduous forests.

Source: TH