Rare Western Ghats plants, orchids and Rs 5 saplings draw crowds at Siri Sasyotsava in Kadri Park
The three-day horticulture fair features about 150 medicinal plants, endangered species such as guggul, and around 20,000 vegetable saplings raised by the Horticulture Department.
Medicinal, flowering and fruit plants, vegetable saplings and endangered species native to the Western Ghats are on show at the three-day Siri Sasyotsava, organised by the Horticulture Department's Siri Thotagarika Sangha at Kadri Park in Mangaluru.
Plant taxonomist Dr Rashmi K displayed pitcher plants and rare endemic species, including Blyxa mangalensis, an aquatic plant she discovered in Mangaluru, and the critically endangered Commiphora wightii, whose resin, guggul, is used in incense and traditional medicine.
The Horticulture Department raised around 20,000 vegetable saplings, including chilli, tomato, ridge gourd, brinjal and okra, for sale at Rs 5 each. About 150 varieties of medicinal plants were also on display, along with orchids, bonsai, lotus and water lilies.
Stalls by the South Kanara Beekeepers Cooperative Society and the Dakshina Kannada Coconut Farmers Producer Company offered honey, coconut products and handicrafts, alongside millet products, pickles, khadi, clay items and solar equipment.
Source: Deccan Herald. Photo: Aviator423 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
