Yellapetty, situated along the scenic route connecting Munnar with Vattavada, has emerged as a popular destination for visitors seeking to experience the extensive yellow flowering. The area is characterised by rolling hills, grasslands, streams and agricultural landscapes that form part of the distinctive high-altitude environment of the southern Western Ghats.
Mumbai-Based Botanists Identify Begonia siangensis, a Previously Undocumented Flowering Plant in the Eastern Himalayas
The research was conducted by a team comprising E. S. Santhosh Kumar, S. M. Shareef, P. P. Anusha, K. A. Rashmi and Rejitha Joseph of JNTBGRI, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram. Their study, titled Comprehensive Checklist of the Flowering Plants of the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, South India, consolidates botanical knowledge accumulated through more than a century of scientific exploration.
Many of these trees have suffered damage over an extended period, while more than 500 appear to have been girdled recently. Forest authorities believe the freshly damaged trees offer better prospects for recovery because some of their living tissues may remain capable of supporting restoration.
The annual exercise covered Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Aravalli Biodiversity Park, Neela Hauz Biodiversity Park, Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park, Kamla Nehru Ridge, Tughlaqabad Biodiversity Park and Kalindi Biodiversity Park.
Gastrodia keyiensis belongs to a highly specialised group of orchids that do not produce normal green leaves and cannot manufacture their own food through photosynthesis.
The research was published in the journal Quaternary Research by Cambridge University Press in April 2026. The research team comprised Trina Bose, Mayank Shekhar, Akhilesh K. Yadava, Avanish Mishra, Arya Pandey and Anurag Kumar, all affiliated with the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences.
Visakhapatnam is one of India’s largest coastal cities and combines dense urban settlements with industrial areas, hills, freshwater habitats and the Bay of Bengal coastline.
The new guide documents the diversity and ecological importance of India’s grasslands, savannas, scrublands, deserts and other open landscapes. It also examines their links with rural livelihoods, pastoral communities, biodiversity conservation, land restoration and climate resilience.
