Senna tora Plant

About Senna tora Plant: 

• It is a native species of Central America.
• Habitat: It is an annual, perennial or subshrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.
• It is emerging in drier areas and germinates after the southwest monsoon and gradually withers by the end of the year.
• Uses: It is used as animal food, a poison and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.

Key facts about Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR)

• Location: It is located in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu state at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• The name Mudumalai means the ancient hill range because it is as old as 65 million years when the Western Ghats were formed.
• It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West, and Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North.
• The Theppakadu elephant camp is a popular tourist attraction.
• Vegetation: A variety of habitats ranging from tropical evergreen forest, moist deciduous forest, moist teak forest, dry teak forest, secondary grasslands and swamps are found here.
• Flora: The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as “Elephant Grass”, Bamboo of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc.
• Fauna: Elephants, Gaur, Tiger, Panther, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Porcupine etc. 

Q1: What is an invasive species?

It is non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and, whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

Source: How T.N. Forest Dept. is tackling Senna tora plants, an emerging threat to Mudumalai’s native ecology