Indo-China joint expedition to find Ayurvedic 'Stoneflower'!

Ahmedabad. Monday, August 3, 2020

Researchers from India and China are jointly exploring the Stoneflower in the forests of the North-East. Researchers have also succeeded in rediscovering some new species of these flowers, which are very important from the point of view of Ayurveda, while retrieving some old species.

This research work from India has been carried out by a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and the Bhopal-based Tropical Ecology and Evolution Lab. Interestingly, when Indian researchers were searching for this herb in the Saramati mountain on the Nagaland border, Chinese researchers from the Chinese side also set out in search of it.

The objective of both the teams was to find a new species of this plant-vine and to re-excavate some plants which had been discovered earlier but had not been seen for years. Now researchers are jointly conducting this operation on the Indo-China border.

The plant, which grows up to half a foot in size, is called the Stone Flower because it grows in the middle of the rock. This flower is also used in making powder and some spices.

During a research expedition, scientists discovered four endangered species of this flower 87 years later. In addition, one species was first recorded in India. The species discovered by researchers from both the countries has been given the joint name 'Didimocarpus synoindix' of both the countries.

There are 25 species of this genus of flowers in India, most of which grow in the forests of the North-East. One species is also found in the dense forests of Kerala. Researchers have found a total of 6 new species during various efforts over the past five years. This species is found in the forests along the Indo-China-Myanmar border.