Ceropegia tamilnaduensis:
Botanists from the Botanical Survey of India have discovered and described a new plant species, named Ceropegia tamilnaduensis.
- Ceropegia tamilnaduensis is a new plant species discovered from the hill slopes of the Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
- It features solitary flowers growing directly from the leaf axils with drooping stems.
- It possesses a glabrous (hairless) central corona and a pollinial corpusculum with lateral wings.
- It produces unusually large seeds.
- It shows close morphological similarity to Ceropegia annamacharyae (in flower structure) and Ceropegia swarupa (in narrow leaves/body structure).
Nellai Wildlife Sanctuary
- It is located in the state of Tamil Nadu.
- It earned the title of wildlife sanctuary in 2015.
- It features several mountain peaks, including Sivagiri Mala (highest peak at 1,748 m), Totti Malai, Kalli Malai, and Aruitalai Mottai.
- It is sustained by the drainage network of the Cauvery, Moyar, Bhavani, Vaigai, and Tamirabarani River Systems.
- It Santalum album (Sandalwood), Shorea, Tectona grandis, Shola tree species, Avicennia mangroves, Strobilanthes kunthiana.
- It is home to Nilgiri Tahr, Bengal Tiger, Asian Elephant, Lion-tailed Macaque, Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Gaur, Sloth Bear.
