Andhra Pradesh

New species give fresh look to bio-diversity park

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

ADDED ATTRACTION: One of the 200 species of cactus included in the bio-diversity park in Visakhapatnam.

VISAKHAPATNAM: They come in all sort of bizarre shapes and sizes. Some in the shape of a thorny ball, some making their way to the roofs like a creeper, sometimes in the shape of a mushroom or like a long ribbon. This is the strange world of cactus and succulents.

Around 200 such different varieties of cactus and succulents have been included in the bio-diversity park at R.C.D. Hospital that is being managed by the Dolphin Nature Conservation Society (DNCS) in association with students of B.V.K. College. While the park houses more than 1,200 species of plants, the addition of these important varieties of cactus has given a fresh dimension to its bio-diversity. The plants have been procured from different parts of the country like Ooty, Dehradun, Bangalore, Kolkata and from nurseries in the State.

Many of the species have been donated by G. Prudhvi Raj, who is the wildlife wing in-charge of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Some are in the germination stage and have been kept in a special enclosure. “Compared to other plants, cactus plants are easy to maintain as they require very less water,” says M. Rama Murty, founder member of the park.

Many of these species are rare and show important characteristics.

“The ruby ball is a special mutant variety of cactus appears like a red flower on the tip of the plant,” he says. Their main area of distribution is Argentina, part of Uruguay, Paraguay, Southern Bolivia and part of Brazil. While cactus is primarily associated to be a dessert plant, some of the species also contain medicinal properties. Euphorbia cattimandoo is known to cure rheumatism or joint pains.

A native of Mexico, Lophophora also finds a place in the park. The species have an extremely slow growth, sometimes taking up to thirty years to reach the flowering age.

Owing to this slow growth and over-harvesting by collectors, the species are considered to be in danger of extinction in the wild. This species is noted for its psychotropic alkaloids and known for having psychoactive effects giving a delirious high.

“The stem is used as a spiritual hallucinogen,” adds Prof. Rama Murty.

The melocactus, one of the endangered species of cactus and a native of Mexico, is also included in the cactus house of the park. The plants in cultivation are mostly grown from seed and have a slow growth. Interestingly, some of the species of cactus are also consumed as a fruit and vegetable and sometimes even used in salads!

There are, however, plenty of other sub-species of cactus in the park that have not yet been identified. “It’s difficult to figure out the species unless the plants flower,” he says. To verify the names of the unidentified section of cactus and succulents, DNCS is conducting a research. “This will be highly beneficial for research scholars and students who are working on this segment,” he says.

Apart from cactus, the park nurtures 350 varieties of ornamental plant species, 600 types of medicinal plants and ten species of aquatic plants amongst other varieties. There are about 25 foreign species of plants from countries like Holland, United States and Australia.

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