A short walk down a grassy path leads to an open tract of land fronted by a green board which announces, 'Andaman-Nicobar Plant Species Conservatory.'
A home away from home for numerous rare plants from the islands, the conservatory is today a subject of immense pride and delight for the Department of Botany of the University of Kerala. Established two years ago on the department grounds at Kariavattom here, the conservatory is now home to scores of species, many of which are endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Like the Mangifera andamanica, an oblong, slightly kidney-shaped mango variety which is a cousin of the more famous Mangifera indica. Or the Pandanus dubius, a screw pine species whose fruit is boiled and consumed by the Shompen people of the Nicobar islands, according to A. Gangaprasad, Professor and Director, Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC), Department of Botany, University of Kerala.
