North India’s biggest Palmetum opened in Nainital district
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand forest department dedicated the state’s first and North India’s biggest Palmetum to the public in the Haldwani area of Nainital district on Sunday. The Palmetum, which took over three years to develop, has over 110 species of palms.
Prof Lalit Tiwari, a professor of Botany from Kumaon University dedicated the Palmetum to the public.
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forests (CCF) and in-charge state forest research wing said the main aim of the establishment of Palmetum is to promote conservation, further research and to create awareness about the importance and ecological role of various palm species.
“The project, which has been established in an area of approximately three acres, was developed over last three years under CAMPA scheme at a cost of ₹16 lakh,” he said.
Elaborating on the details of palm species that have been grown in the Palmetum, Chaturvedi said around four species are critically endangered, two species are endangered, two are vulnerable and six are near threatened as per IUCN categorization, while one is threatened as per Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board and one is rare as per Indian Biodiversity Portal.
“One palm species is endemic to Uttarakhand. It is called Trachycarpus Takil (Takil Palm) and is the only Palm that can survive sub-zero temperature and has also been declared as a threatened species by Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board; other endangered/ threatened species include Beaucarnea recurvata (Ponytail Palm), Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (Bottle palm), Dypsis leptocheilos (Red neck palm) , Hyophorbe verschaffeltii (Spindle Palm) and so on,” he said.
Chaturvedi said Palm species have diverse uses and plays a significant role in many cultures across the world. “Apart from coconuts, many important items come from Palm species like dates, betel nuts, palm oil, acai fruit, Palm wine among others.
In August, Uttarakhand Forest department had dedicated High Altitude Herbal Garden situated at nearly 10,500 feet height and claimed to be the highest herbal garden in India, to public.
The garden spread over three acres has rare Himalayan herbs including Brahma
Kamal, Neel Kamal and Phen Kamal, associated with the trinity of Hindu Gods- Bhahma, Shiva and Vishnu.
On September 12 this year, the forest department’s research wing also dedicated country’s largest open-air fernery, housing around 120 species of ferns to the public.
Ferns are ancient group plants, which were once dominant plants in forests but are now outnumbered by flowering plants.