Rare palm from Andamans gets second home

News:Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) has given Pinanga andamanensis its second home at Palode,Kerala.

Facts:

• Pinanga andamanensis: It is one of the critically endangered endemic palm species from the South Andaman Islands.
• It’s name is derived from ‘Penang’, the modern-day Malaysian state and it resembles the Areca Palm.
• It was originally described by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in 1934 based on an old herbarium specimen collected by E.H. Man,an assistant superintendent in the Andaman administration.
• Its entire population of some 600 specimens naturally occurs only in a tiny, evergreen forest pocket in South Andaman’s Mount Harriet National Park.
• Uses: Its use are yet to be understood fully.But this palm holds promise as an avenue tree for gardens, pavements and homesteads.
• Threats: Natural calamities such as cyclones, earthquakes and rampaging by wild elephants among others.