Rediscovered plant takes centre stage at Parambikulam Wildlife Week exhibition

A plant once thought to be extinct is the focus of this year’s Wildlife Week photography exhibition at Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala. The exhibition, titled “Haplothismia”, opened on Friday and will continue until October 8. It features photographs of the reserve’s wildlife, landscapes and natural heritage under the theme “small wonders, wild landscapes, a shared tomorrow”.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Uma T., field director of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. Its name refers to Haplothismia exannulata, a small plant that was rediscovered in the forest 26 years ago after more than a century without a trace. The species was first collected from the Parambikulam region in 1851.

Later searches failed to locate it, and it was declared extinct in the 1990s. Botanists N. Sasidharan and P.

Sujanapal documented its rediscovery in a paper published in Rheedea in 2000, based on specimens collected in Parambikulam in October that year. Haplothismia exannulata is the only known species in its genus. It is described as a small, slender, pale-cream plant found in shady forest areas with dark, humus-rich soil.

It appears during the monsoon and flowers and fruits around October. The reserve lists it among its rare plant species. Officials said its story highlights forms of biodiversity that may receive less attention than tigers, elephants and hornbills.

“Wildlife Week is an opportunity to celebrate not just individual species, but the entire ecosystem and the diversity of life that it supports,” deputy director Nitish Kumar said. He added that the plant demonstrated that every part of the forest had a story and a role in the ecosystem. Range forest officer Geo Basil Paul said the exhibition was intended to draw attention to plants, fungi, insects and other less familiar organisms alongside the reserve’s larger wildlife.