Researchers from SNM College Maliankara, the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Payyanur College have reported two new plant species, namely Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii, from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghat regions in ________.

Question

Question

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RRB NTPC CBT 2 (Level-2) Official Paper (Held On: 13 June 2022 Shift 2)

Answer 1

The correct answer is Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts.

Key Points

Researchers from SNM College Maliankara, the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and the Payyanur College have reported two new plant species, from the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats regions in Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad districts.
They have been named Fimbristylis sunilii and Neanotis prabhuii.
The findings by the research teams about these species have been published in the November and December issues of the plant taxonomy journal Phytotaxa.

Important Points

Fimbristylis sunilii
- Collected from the grasslands of Ponmudi hills, Thiruvananthapuram.
- Fimbristylis sunilii has been named after plant taxonomist C.N. Sunil, retired professor and research guide of Botany, SNM College.
- It is a perennial plant of the Cyperaceae family, it stands 20-59 cm tall and was collected from an elevation of 1,100 meters.
- Fimbristylis sunilii has been provisionally assessed as data deficient (DD) under the IUCN Red List.
Neanotis prabhuii
- Neanotis prabhuii is a prostrate perennial herb named after K.M. Prabhukumar, Senior Scientist at CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, in recognition of his research on flowering plants of the Western Ghats.
- Discovered in the Chembra Peak grasslands of Wayanad.
- Belongs to the family Rubiaceae and grows on high-altitude grasslands.