Found in sacred groves
Two species of trees, earlier considered extinct, rediscovered
botanists have re-discovered two critically endangered tree species, earlier considered to be extinct. The trees that originated in southern Kerala have been discovered for the first time in some of the relic primeval evergreen forests of Uttara Kannada district in the Western Ghats. Researchers from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, say the discovery is an indication that the primary forest still thrives there.
The trees, Madhuca bourdillonii and Syzygium travancoricum, were found near the Kan forests (safety forests-cum-sacred groves) in a survey carried out during 2005- 2006. The researchers say the discovery shows the importance of identifying more such relic forests.