Pyrostria laljii: Genus Of The Coffee Family:
Pyrostria laljii, a new species which belongs to the genus of the coffee family has recently been discovered from the Andaman Islands.
- A new species of pokeweed named Rivina andamanensis was also discovered.
- Andaman and Nicobar is a group of 572 islands and islets that are rich and unique in terms of plant diversity in India.
- It is the first record of the genus Pyrostria in India. It is a 15-meter-tall tree.
- Plants belonging to genus Pyrostria are usually found in Madagascar but the recently discovered species is new to science.
- While the genus Pyrostria is not found in India, there are several genera from the family Rubiaceae that are common in India.
- These plants, including cinchona, coffee, adina, hamelia, ixora, gallium, gardenia, mussaenda, rubia, morinda, have high potential for economic value.
- Named Pyrostria laljii after Lal Ji Singh, Joint Director, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Botanical Survey of India.
- It has been assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria.
