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| September 24, 2009 | Rare Indian lotus disappearing | | London:
Reports indicate that a rare species of lotus is on the verge of disappearing
from India. According to a report by BBC News, leading botanist Pramod Tandon
said that efforts to save Nymphaea tetragona, found only in a small private pond
in India, have not been effective. Despite a variety of methods of propagation,
the plants have failed to grow in sufficiently large numbers. N. tetragona, technically
a water lily, is globally rare. In India, the only surviving examples live on
a small piece of private land in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya. The private
nature of the habitat is making conservation efforts even more difficult, according
to Professor Tandon, vice chancellor of the North Eastern Hill University in Meghalaya's
capital Shillong. He said that the issues the plants raise stretch beyond the
tiny pond where they cling to existence. "The conservation of rare and endangered
plants is a global problem and requires a global answer," he said. Conservation
experts have tried to cultivate more of the plants by numerous means, including
making cuttings, growing them from seeds and high-tech methods such as micro-propagation
from tiny bits of sterile plant matter in a dish. "Lotus is the national flower
of India," said Professor Tandon. "In spite of that, scientists are unable to
effectively make this variety survive as micro-propagation and vegetative means
have not yielded the desired result," he added. Culturing the plants from seeds
saw a few plants propagate, but, according to Tandon, "We were not able to really
get these plants in large numbers to be reintroduced into their natural habitats."
Without an immediate and concerted effort, Professor Tandon said he feared this
species could disappear from India forever. As only 20 to 30 plants are left,
it is the conservation efforts to protect the area where they are that are of
paramount importance. "Protection of the existing plants is even more important
than multiplying them," said Professor Tandon. If that could be done successfully,
then they could be propagated in their natural habitat in the Smit area of Meghalaya.
Seeds that are available when the plant flowers could aid future micro-propagation
efforts. | |
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