A photography exhibition at Kerala’s Parambikulam Tiger Reserve highlights Haplothismia exannulata, rediscovered after more than a century without a confirmed sighting.
A Wildlife Week photography exhibition has opened at Kerala’s Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, named for the rare plant Haplothismia exannulata. Featuring the reserve’s wildlife and landscapes, the show runs through October 8. Field director Uma T. inaugurated it on October 2.
The plant was first collected in the region in 1851, but later searches failed to find it. It was declared extinct in the 1990s and rediscovered in Parambikulam during a study 26 years ago. Botanists N. Sasidharan and P. Sujanapal documented the find in the journal Rheedea in 2000.
Haplothismia exannulata is the only known species in its genus. The small, pale-cream plant grows in shaded forest on humus-rich soil, appears during the monsoon and flowers and fruits around October.
Organisers say the exhibition is intended to draw attention to lesser-known parts of the forest ecosystem. Deputy director Nitish Kumar said Wildlife Week celebrates the diversity of life supported by an ecosystem. Range forest officer Geo Basil Paul pointed to the plants, fungi and insects found alongside the reserve’s better-known wildlife.