New Fern Species Pteris madhusoodananii Discovered in Tamil Nadu's Kolli Hills

Key facts

• A team of botanists from Government Victoria College and Sri Vyasa NSS College discovered the new fern species Pteris madhusoodananii in the Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
• The species has been classified as 'Critically Endangered' because it is known from only two small sites covering eight square kilometres.
• The fern belongs to the family Pteridaceae and was identified during a taxonomic revision of ferns in southern India.
• Pteris madhusoodananii has stiff, leathery leaves with a lustrous, deep green colour and a prominent lobe at the base of its lower segments.
• Its pinna-pinnule architecture, with smaller leaflets arranged along the stem, distinguishes it from closely related ferns.
• Scanning electron microscopy revealed that its spores have a narrow, wavy-edged belt called a cingulum, unlike the smooth, wider belts of similar species.
• The researchers confirmed the new species using physical measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and DNA sequencing.
• The species is named in honour of Professor Dr P. V. Madhusoodanan, former Head of the Department of Botany at the University of Calicut.
• The known habitats of Pteris madhusoodananii are unprotected and threatened by road construction, logging, and conversion of forest to farmland.