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These beautiful strangers now thrive in India
Why it is in news?
- As many as 471 plant species that are alien or exotic — not native to India — are ‘naturalised,’ for they can thrive in the country’s wildernesses by forming stable populations, says a recent report.
- This list of naturalised exotic or alien species, ranging from the common guava (Psidium guajava) to prolific invasives such as lantana (Lantana camara), has been compiled in a recent study published in Biological Invasions, an international journal dedicated to the patterns and processes by which organisms invade ecosystems they are not usually found in.
Ecosystem altered
- Naturalised species reproduce naturally in the environments they colonise.
- Invasive species do this so prolifically that they alter the workings of the natural ecosystems they colonise or invade.
- Lantana, for instance, replaces undergrowth and prevents native undershrubs and plants from surviving.
Findings
- The team also developed the first lists of naturalised plants for each State; these lists reveal that 110 alien plants now naturally occur in more than 31 States in India.
- At 332, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of naturalised exotics, followed by Kerala (290), while Lakshadweep has the least (17).
- The distribution across Indian States of over 20 of these naturalised species (in the list of 471) is unknown.
- A majority of these naturalised plants are herbs such as the invasive Siam weed Chromolaena odorata, native to south and central America.
Source
The Hindu