A research team at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode here is giving the final touches to the first-of-its-kind Red Data Book on plants of Kerala.
Prepared using the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the JNTBGRI work notes that 264 species of flowering plants (angiosperms) in the State are facing threat of extinction in varying degrees. They have been categorised into 44 Critically Endangered (CR) species, 113 Endangered (EN) species and 107 Vulnerable (VU) species. Besides these, four gymnosperms, three pteridophytes and one bryophyte also have been listed as ‘threatened’ in the State.
A project funded by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB), the book's publication, JNTBGRI officials said, would make Kerala the first State to have such a comprehensive inventory on threatened flora.
