Rare medicinal plant found in Mahiyangana

Disna Mudalige

Duhudu (Celastrus paniculatus) a rare medicinal plant was recorded in a wild ecosystem in Mahiyangana, Sanjeewa Chamikara of the Sri Lanka Nature Forum said.

This medicinal plant is included in the World Conservation Union local red list in 2007. According to the 1999 Sri Lanka red list, this plant was not recorded in a natural ecosystem after 1900, and therefore a severely endangered species.

This plant was identified in a research of medicinal plants carried out by a research group including Piyal Marasinghe, Athula Kanakaratne and Palitha Sri Gigana Arachchi. The project was carried out under the Cultural Affairs Ministry to conserve the traditional knowledge of the indigenous community in Sri Lanka.

Duhudu plant was included in the protected list during the amendment of Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance in 2009, due to its rarity and medicinal value. In Ayurvedic use this plant is referred to as Joshmathi. Seeds of this plant are mainly of medicinal value. The spread of this plant is limited to specific areas, and it is weak in its natural spread. Since the plant is not identified correctly, it gets destroyed from human activities such as chena cultivation and clearing of forest cover.

Several more valuable medicinal plants such as 'Sulvenna' (Desmodium gangeticum) and 'Pusvenna' (Ureria picta) were also identified in this research.