Sonerila gigantea, a plant species in Western Ghats of Karnataka discovered by botanists from Davangere University.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Two botanists from Davangere University, Assistant Professor Siddappa B. Kakkalameli and research scholar Prashant Karadakatti, have discovered three new plant species in the Western Ghats region of Karnataka. Their findings have been published in international journals.
The three new plant species belong to the family Melastomataceae that grow in specific climate conditions. The discoveries were made during floristic explorations in different districts of the State during 2024-25. The new discoveries have been published in Asian Journal of Research in Botany, Journal of Threatened Taxa and Phytotaxa and authenticated by International Plant Nomenclature Index (IPNI) and World Flora Online (WFO).
Botanists estimate existence of around 30,00,000 plant species across the globe and so far 2,50,000 species are known while 27,50,000 species are to yet be discovered.
Endemic to Western Ghats
According to Prof. Kakkalameli, the newly discovered plant species belong to genus Sonerila Roxb of the Maelastomataceae family. According to the flora census from India, 46 plant species of the genus Sonerila were reported in India, of which 43 species are endemic to Western Ghats. Among them, 11 species have been reported earlier from Karnataka.
“Apart from the three newly identified species, we have found for the first time another species Sonerila konkanensis at Kavaledurga in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. This species, which was hitherto identified in the South Goa region, has now been reported as an addition to the state flora,” Prof. Kakkalameli told The Hindu.
Botanists from Davangere University, Assistant Professor Siddappa B. Kakkalameli and research scholar Prashant Karadakatti, who have discovered three new interesting plant species in the Western Ghat region of Karnataka.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
He said that his team investigated all three new Sonerila species comparing them with the existing species, like Sonerila wallichii, Sonerila gadgiliana, and Sonerila grandis from Malaysia, which resemble them in characteristics of size, shape of the leaf and numerical bloom characters. Such comparative analysis is done while identifying and confirming discovery of new species.
The names of the new species are: Sonerila bababudangiriensis, Sonerila gigantea and Sonerila charmadiensis.
Sonerila bababudangiriensis (L) and Sonerila charmadiensis (R),two of three plant species in Western Ghats of Karnataka discovered by botanists from Davangere University.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Characteristics
Sonerila bababudangiriensis was discovered at the Baba Budangiri Hill range in Chikkamagaluru. It has unique characteristics like only one inflorescence in each individual, resembling an existing species from Karnataka.
Sonerila gigantea was found in the Mallalli Falls region in Kodagu. The plant has the world’s most acualescent (stemless) Sonerila. And the third new species Sonerila charmadiensis was discovered in the Charmdi Ghat region of Chikkamagaluru. The plant has white blotches with rhizhome as resembling character.
Sonerila konkanensis, a species found for the first time at Kavaledurga in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
According to Prof. Kakkalameli, most of the Sonerila distributed in the Western Ghats regions were analysed thoroughly before arriving at the conclusion on the new discoveries.
The herbarium of the new species is now available at Botany Department of Davangere University. “We have also submitted another set of herbarium of new species to GKVK Bengaluru for future reference,” he said.
Published – October 23, 2025 01:33 pm IST
