Anurag Dhyani

Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute | TBGRI · Plant Genetic Resource

This article delves into the integral role of Indian Sandalwood in global conservation efforts, aligning with the Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Biodiversity Framework targets and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. The botanical marvel, deeply rooted in India and Southeast Asia, dynamically adapts to various environments. Empha...

First International Training Course on Conservation and Utilization Techniques of PSESP was offered at Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming. The participants came from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

The lush Western Ghats of Kerala, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a global biodiversity hotspot, house an array of endemic plant species. Among them, five International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Listed Critically Endangered trees and shrubs have become the focus of a conservation effort by the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Ga...

Ochlandra travancorica and Ochlandra wightii are endemic reed bamboo species in the southern Western Ghats of India. The species are a vital resource for the paper and pulp industry. These species exhibit monocarpic behaviour, naturally regenerating through seeding at intervals exceeding 30 years. The article describe a cost-effective and accessibl...

This article focuses on the conservation efforts for Buchanania barberi, a Critically Endangered tree species endemic to the South Western Ghats in India. Despite being valued for its fruits, timber, and medicinal properties, anthropogenic pressures have led to its threatened status on the IUCN Red List. The Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden...

Amid the tech-driven urban rush, we often lose touch with nature. Yet, gardens like Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) offer a bridge. Nestled in Kerala, India, JNTBGRI blends nature’s beauty with learning. It educates on plant research, conservation, and the environment, while also hosting events. With over 4...

Santalum album L. (Santalaceae) commonly known as Indian Sandalwood is one of the oldest and precious sources of natural fragrance with immense medicinal and commercial significance. It is a hemi-parasitic tree grown in southern India and Southeast Asia. The present study is undertaken to conserve this species through mass production of seedlings a...

The Dipterocarpaceae—a family of tree giants that provide valuable timber for regional and international markets—are dominant members of the tropical forests of South-east Asia. For the first time, through the Global Tree Assessment, more than 50 researchers across 15 organizations joined together to prepare IUCN Red List assessments for the 535 di...

Trees are of exceptional ecological importance, playing a major functional role in the world's ecosystems, while also supporting many other plants, animals and fungi. The conservation status of tree species is therefore of key importance to planning management strategies and prioritising actions. Through the Global Tree Assessment, we now have know...

The Red List of Dipterocarpaceae is published, following the efforts of over 50 individuals, from at least 15 organizations, from across the global range of dipterocarps. For the first time, this report contains analysis of all 535 species of Dipterocarpaceae, their global conservation status and builds on national and regional red list publication...

Lilium polyphyllum D.Don ex Royle belonging to family Liliaceae is a medicinal plant distributed in temperate to high altitude regions of Himalaya. Its bulbs have been used for anti-aging and vitality properties in >30 formulations of Ayurveda. Therefore, the knowledge on various traits of the plant is necessary so that quality of the finished prod...

Buchanania barberi Gamble is an evergreen tree endemic to the Southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The species was rediscovered in 2003 after a lapse of 97 years from Palode region of Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. The report describes the result of a study designed to conduct field surveys to locate more individuals, record associate s...

Garcinia gamblei P.S. Shameer, T.Sabu & N.Mohanan (Clusiaceae) is an evergreen, dioecious tree species described in 2017, using flowering and fruiting specimens from the Ponmudi Hills in the Southern Western Ghats. Seeds of Garcinia gamblei were collected from the Ponmudi Hills by the team of seed collectors from the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botan...

India is credited with 2603 tree species, and the Global Tree Assessment confirmed that 469 of these species are threatened with extinction. Urgent restoration and conservation efforts are required to prevent the loss of tree diversity. The present study is the first published attempt to reintroduce Buchanania barberi, a Critically Endangered tree...

Trees play vital roles in many of the world's ecosystems while providing many benefits to people. New evidence indicates that a third of tree species are threatened with extinction, representing a tree extinction crisis. Here we demonstrate how tree species extinction will lead to the loss of many other plants and animals and significantly alter th...

Lilium polyphyllum (Liliaceae) is a perennial, bulbous medicinal herb, used in more than 30 Ayurvedic medicinal formulations as an aphrodisiac, galactagogue and anti-ageing agent. The species is categorized as critically endangered on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List due to habitat degradation and unregulated colle...

Garcinia gamblei P.S. Shameer, T.Sabu & N.Mohanan is an evergreen dioecious tree species of the family Clusiaceae, endemic to the southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. We identified mature individuals and major threats to this rare tree.

Dialium travancoricum Bourd. (Fabaceae: Dialioideae) is a critically endangered and endemic species of the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in the southern Western Ghats, India. The name D. travancoricum is lectotypified here using an uncited original specimen collected by Bourdillon from Aryankavu in Kollam district in Kerala.

Exploring western ghats to identify populations of rare lily Lilium neilgherrense

A training school on Plant Translocation—Theory and Techniques was held on 24–26 March 2021 organized virtually at the Botanic Garden of Rome, Italy. The aim of the course was to train budding scientists in the field of threatened plant restoration and conservation. The course was attended by 77 participants, viz., postdoctoral fellows, faculty and...

Buchanania is a genus of 25 tree species, in the family Anacardiaceae that is mostly distributed across Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania. India, boasts a high diversity of Buchanania species being home to eight species and one variety, of which just under half are threatened with extinction in the wild according to the IUCN Red List of Threate...

The story began when I joined the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), the biggest conservatory garden in Asia, in March 2016. The beautiful botanical garden is located in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.

Dialium travancoricum Bourd., an evergreen tree of the family Leguminosae (Dialioideae), endemic to the southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India. We located one flowering individual of D. travancoricum in the evergreen tropical rainforest of Ponmudi.

Climate change presents a serious threat to endangered plant species within a restricted habitat. Lilium polyphyllum D.Don ex Royle is a species indigenous to the coniferous forests of the Western Himalaya. However, over exploitation, due to its high medicinal properties and demands of industry, has resulted in a steep decline of its natural habita...

Sacred groves are small patches of native vegetation which have been traditionally protected by local communities and can range in size from less than one hectare to a few kilometres. It is a traditional mean of biodiversity conservation.

Roscoea alpina Royle (Zingiberaceae) commonly known as Kakoli is a perennial medicinal plant endemic to the Himalayas. It has been used in vitality strengthening Ayurveda groups i.e., Astavarga and Jeevaniyagana and in preparation of Ayurvedic formulations e.g., Chyavanprasha and Divya Pidantak Tail. Considering its medicinal uses, high demand and...

Sandal is the second most expensive wood in the world. Sandalwood oil has been beneficial for common cold, bronchitis, fever, dysentery, scabies and urinary tract infection. The oil is also valued for therapeutic effects in Ayurveda

Eco restoration of Buchanania barberi a critically endangered species of the Western Ghats

The theme of the World Wildlife Day 2020, "Sustaining all life on earth", centres attention on all wild animal and plant species as a component of biodiversity. Here's a look at how plant species around the world are collated, documented, and assessed to reveal their current status and show us how different species of the plants are faring.

Conservation of Endemic and Critically Endangered Buchanania barberi in India

Recalcitrant" seeds hold the secret to saving a critically endangered Indian tree-thanks to a bit of human help

Madhuca insignis (Sapotaceae) is a tree endemic to the South Western Ghats of India. The species was first reported from one locality in 1858 and since then for a period of 120 years has been believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered in type locality. It is one of the 27 tree species identified for a recovery programme in the national priori...

The majority of Indian population relies on traditional and complementary medicine for their primary medical needs. The country has enormous biodiversity, ranging from hot and arid conditions in the Northwest to cold arid conditions in the Trans-Himalayan region. Tropical wet evergreen forests in Northeast and Western Ghats provides the matchless w...

The traditional honey wine is a ceremonial drink made locally in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The drink is known as Tej in Amharic (a widely spoken language in Ethiopia) and Mess in Tigrigna (a widely spoken language in Eritrea). It is consumed mostly during social and religious ceremonies, albeit sold in honey wine bars. It is easy to prepare with varied...

Lilium polyphyllum is a critically endangered medicinal herb of Himalaya. Seeds have epicotyl morphophysiological dormancy, and in the field a minimum of 34 weeks is required for root emergence. To date, treatments to decrease the time for root protrusion and seed storage behaviour have not been determined. We evaluated the effects of plant growth...

Field survey conducted to understand habitat, distribution, population structure and conservation status of Lilium polyphyllum. Three populations (total 649 individuals) are in decline because of habitat degradation, agriculture invasion and over exploitation. Our finding confirmed critically endangered status of the species, although with new crit...

Background: Aegle marmelos (Bilva) is being used in Ayurveda for the treatment of several inflammatory disorders. The plant is a member of a fixed dose combination of Dashamoola in Ayurveda. However, the usage of roots/root bark or stems is associated with sustainability concerns. Objectives: The present study is aimed to compare the anti-inflammat...

This work was aimed to analyze the composition of the volatile oil of Skimmia anquetilia (syn. S. laureola, Rutaceae), an medicinal and aromatic shrub growing in the temperate zone along Central and Eastern Asia. Samples were collected during flowering phenophase, and fresh leaves used for the extraction of volatile oil by using a Clevenger-type ap...

Urgent conservation of Buchanania barberi (Anacardiaceae) in Kerala, India - Volume 51 Issue 4 - Anurag Dhyani, C. Anilkumar

Books of Abstracts, Mekelle University, 2015

Mushroom is a form of fungus having distinct fruit body produced either above ground or below ground. It can be easily noticed in moist habitat in and around forest, grassland, on tree trunks due to their peculiar appearance. Present communication discusses important habit and habitats, medicinal and culinary uses, status of mushrooms in Ethiopia,...

Dormancy-breaking and seed germination studies in genus Lilium reveal that the majority of Lilium spp. studied have an underdeveloped embryo at maturity, which grows inside the seed before the radicle emerges. Additionally, the embryo, radicle or cotyledon has a physiological component of dormancy; thus, Lilium seeds have morphophysiological dorman...

Lilium polyphyllumis a critically endangered herb in the wilds of Uttarakhand, India. Gray mold appeared as a new dis-ease on this species from July to August (2008-2009) causing death of inflorescences and shoots. Botrytis cinereawas consistently isolated on PDA, from infected inflorescences. Pathogenicity was established by inoculation of potted...

This study aims to determine the age of individual plants of the perennial herb Lilium polyphyllum in its natural habitats. Plant age was successfully estimated as the number of years a seed takes to produce the first stem plus the number of remnants of old shoots visible on the basal plates of the bulbs. Plant age as well as morphological features...

This study documents the medicinal uses of Astavarga, a group of eight medicinal herbs, used in traditional medical knowledge (TMK) of the Himalaya region and in the traditional medical system (TMS) in India. Field surveys were conducted during 2006–2008 to collect data on the availability and uses of Astavarga across 21 diverse localities. During...

Phenological progression in Lilium polyphyllum was observed under two climatically different natural habitats i.e. temperate and high altitude. In nature, radicle emergence was observed after 75 days of sowing at 17-19°C soil and air temperatures. A bulblet was developed after 25 days of germination in July, but emergence of first true leaf was del...

Lilium polyphyllum is the mysterious member of the candidum group that lives in geographic isolation from the other members of its group. In this article Anurag Dhyani shares his research findings in relation to the conservation of this lily and its use in Ayurvedic medicine. Lilies are among the most beautiful, fascinating and interesting of garde...

Exploring the wilds of the Garhwal Himalaya in the Indian Himalayan Region (ihr) has enthralled thousands of nature lovers and plant collectors from all parts of the world over the past several decades. Before I began my research, I always imagined voyaging in the wil-derness of the mighty Himalaya for a bird's eye view of nature.

Present paper reports anatomical investigation of Lilium polyphyllum, a critically endangered important medicinal herb. Plant samples were collected from Dhanolti, a temperate region in North-west Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Transverse sections of plant parts viz., stem, leaf, anther, stigma, ovary, seed, bulb scale, bulb peel and root were inves...