New Gin Berry Species Discovered in Southern Western Ghats

Recently, Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has discovered a new gin berry species from the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.

About the new species:

• The species, named Glycosmis albicarpawith a distinct large white fruit, is endemic to the southern Western Ghats.
• The species belongs to the Orange family, Rutaceae.
• Berries of Glycosmis species have the unique characteristic of ‘gin aroma’ and have gained in popularity as an edible fruit.
• The species is also a larval host plant for butterflies like other species of Glycosmis.
• The species is an evergreen small tree.
• It was found as undergrowth in Tirunelveli semi-evergreen forests at the Panagudi forest section of the wildlife sanctuary.
• Though flowering, natural regeneration and seedling recruitment of this taxon is found to be fairly good within the locality, while habitat modification causes a major threat to the survival of this species.