02-01-2021 | 15:28 PM
Portulaca laljii: New Species of Wild Sun Rose
Context
A new species known as Portulaca laljii, has been discovered by Botanists. It is a wild Sun Rose which is found in the Eastern Ghats.
Key highlights
The new species named Portulaca laljii was discovered from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Portulaca laljii has distinctive features such as a tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish pink flower, prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without lustre.
The flowers are very attractive and they bloom for months from June to February.
The plant bears beautiful, tiny pink flowers for 8 months. The flowers of the plants are very attractive and shall have high horticultural value.
It is because of the succulent nature of tuberous roots that the plant can survive on rocky crevices.
The species has been listed under the ‘Data Deficient’ category of the IUCN List of Threatened Species as very little information is available about the population of the species.
Portulaca laljii has been named to honour the contribution of Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of the Botanical Survey of India associated with its Andaman and Nicobar Centre.
About Sun Rose
The Sun Rose plants are also known as Rock Rose.
There exist more than 80 to 100 species of sun rose plants.
They are low growing flowering plants.
These plants open their flowers during sunshine.
These plants are native to Cape Province of South Africa. However, they are widely used as ornamental plants all over the world.
