Latest news with #Melastomamalabathricum


Time of India
24-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Kozhikode declares district symbols through first people's biodiversity declaration
Kozhikode: Athiranni (Melastoma malabathricum) was declared as the flower and Menipponman (Ceyx erithaca) as the bird of Kozhikode district. The Malabar Rose (Pachliopta pandiyana) is the district's butterfly. Eeyakam (Hopea erosa) was declared as the district tree. The Smooth-coated Otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) is the district's aquatic animal, the Pathala Poontharakan (Pangio bhujia) is the fish and the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) is the animal. This is the first people's biodiversity declaration in the state. Although a biodiversity declaration was conducted in Kasaragod under the guidance of an expert committee two years ago, this is the first time it was done through a public study. The declaration was made after incorporating it into the district panchayat's 2024-25 annual plan, forming special expert committees for each category. Nominations were received from the public at the local level under the supervision of these committees and the leadership of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) units, followed by detailed study and analysis.


The Hindu
24-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Kozhikode gets official flower, bird, animal and tree
Melastoma malabathricum (Athirani) has been designated the official flower of Kozhikode district. While Ceyx erithaca (Meniponman) is the official bird, Pachliopta pandiyana (Malabar rose) is the official butterfly. Hopea erosa (Theyyakam) is the official tree, Cycas circinalis (Eenthu) the official heritage tree, Lutrogale perspicillata (Otter) the official aquatic animal, Pangio bhujia (Pathala Poontharakan) the official fish, and Manis crassicaudata (Indian Pangolin) the official animal. The announcements were made at an online event by Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran on Saturday. According to a release, this is the first such declaration after a popular study. It followed the constitution of expert committees and studies by biodiversity management committees at the local level which collected opinion from the people. The project was included in the 2024-25 Annual Plan of the Kozhikode district panchayat. The final list was prepared by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.