10-05-2025
Conservation programme targets endangered Syzygium alternifolium tree species
Students and teachers from local government schools in Malaiyur Hills, Madurai District, recently participated in an outdoor nature conservation education programme at GREENS Biodiversity Sanctuary in Tiruchi as part of an awareness drive to learn more about conserving Syzygium alternifolium , an endemic and endangered tree species of the Eastern Ghats.
The programme was jointly organised by GREENS and the Department of Botany, Bishop Heber College, in an integrated conservation partnership with Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI), Kew, UK, from April 27 to 28.
Department of Botany head V. Anand Gideon, assistant professor Immanuel Sagayaraj, and Alexander Amirtham, Executive Director of GREENS Biodiversity Sanctuary, led the various activities that included arboretum and pollinator garden walks, tropical dry evergreen forest exploration and talks on ecological awareness.
'Syzygium alternifolium [of the family Myrtaceae] is endemic to southern Eastern Ghats and located only in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Over 40 types of pollinators are associated with this tree. It flowers once in three years, so seed collection is a long-drawn process. Moth larvae tend to feed on the seeds extensively,' Alexander Amirtham, founder and executive director of GREENS, told The Hindu.
The programme concluded with student commitment to act as conservation ambassadors by identifying and protecting Syzygium alternifolium in their native lands, raising nurseries, and educating their communities. 'Botany students from our college will follow this up with data collection on a periodic basis from the sites in Malaiyur Hills,' said Mr. Gideon.
