Cane and Palmetum

Cane and Palmetum

KFRI Palmetum is a live collection of indigenous and exotic palms, which serves as a facility for educating the public about the need for the conservation of palms.

Palms are woody monocotyledons coming under the family Arecaceae (Palmae). They form a vital component of the forest ecosystem. With their graceful architecture, palms often dominate the landscape of tropical habitats, providing many of the essentials for human life. Palms have been managed by the local inhabitants for food, fodder, handicrafts, thatch and construction materials. Because of their aesthetic value, palms are cultivated for both indoor and outdoor decoration.

There are about 2600 species of palms under 200 genera in the world. In India, 105 species under 22 genera occur in the three major geographical regions viz., Peninsular India, Northeastern India and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Although conservation and sustainable utilization of this resource assume great importance, conservation attempts have yet to receive significant worldwide attention.

KFRI Palmetum was established in Peechi Campus in 2000 and has 145 species of palms under 52 genera. Of these, 80 are indigenous palms, and 65 are exotic species, with 8 species being Critically Endangered, 9 Endangered, 8 Vulnerable and 23 Near Threatened categories as per IUCN standards. The exotic species include those commonly found in Indian parks, gardens, and along avenues. Rare species like Hyphaene dichotoma, Bentinckia condapanna, Bentinckia nicobarica, Rhopaloblaste augusta, Calamus nagbettai, C.brandisii, C. andamanicus, C. vattayila, Wallichia disticha, W.nana, Korthalsia laciniosa, Korthalsia rogersii, Licuala spinosa and mangrove species like Phoenix paludosa and Nypa fruticans are also represented in the collection.