PT news:

PT news:

Andaman’s new taste is sweet and sour

Context

• Botanists in the Andaman and Nicobar Island which is hosting seven different species of wild banana.

What is the discovery?

• The latest discovery published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, is of a species of wild banana named Musa paramjitiana happens to be the director of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
• The species was found in North Andaman’s Krishnapuri forest, 6 kilometres from any human habitation.

Description of the plant

• The plant grows to a height of nine metres and bears an edible, sweet-and-sour tasting fruit that is boat-shaped and has numerous bulb-shaped seeds.
• It is ‘Critically Endangered’ as it has so far been spotted in only two locations on the islands, each with 6 to 18 plants in a clump.

The conservation status

• Such drastic disappearance of its mixed forest habitat indicates that the species should be considered Critically Endangered, based on IUCN Red List categories and criteria.
• The fruits and seeds have ethno-medicinal importance.
• Pseudo-stem and leaves of these species are also used during religious and cultural ceremonies

Conserve germplasm

• These discoveries present a great opportunity for plant breeders and horticulture experts to improve the existing banana crop.
• The germplasm of all the wild banana species needs to be conserved on an urgent basis, since most of these are found in very small habitats and at risk of extinction