A Historical Moment for Sri Lanka’s Plant Biodiversity
Sri Lanka marked a historic milestone in plant biodiversity earlier this month with the launch of “Discovery: Additions to the Flora of Ceylon”, by renowned botanist Dr. Himesh Jayasinghe. Supported by Dilmah as part of its conservation efforts, the book documents plant species never seen before, many from the endangered south-western wet zone of Sri Lanka.
Encompassing almost 700 pages and illustrated with more than 4000 colour photographs, the work presents more than 200 species of Sri Lankan flowering plants that no human eye has recognized before. About 75% of the book is devoted to photographs, with full-page portraits of dozens of the most spectacular wildflowers you are likely ever to see.
The discovery of 150 potentially new species of flowering plants, even in a tropical country, and their announcement in a single work, is perhaps without precedent in this century. It is a signal of hope that all is not lost. Despite the assault on habitats, species, landscapes and entire ecosystems by humans, species have survived, even if only as small populations in isolated locations. Indeed, many of the discovered species are narrow-range endemics, confined to small areas, sometimes to a single location.
Diversity: Additions to the flora of Ceylon emphasizes the need for greater efforts to conserve Sri Lanka’s precious and incredible floral diversity.
“I hope the book will inspire young naturalists to take up the study of botany”, says Dr. Jayasinghe. “There are a lot of discoveries yet to be made. I have photos of several additional possibly new species but have not yet had an opportunity to preserve specimens or photograph them in flower. We are not including these in the book. It would be great to see others making discoveries, too.”
The book is in a way ‘a message in a bottle’ to future botanists. The specimens, illustrations and habitat information needed to carry out the formal taxonomic studies are placed in the public domain.
Click here to learn more or purchase your book.
