I visited Malabar Botanical Garden, Calicut....

Last week, I had been to Kozhikode to conduct a PhD viva voce examination of a student of Calicut University. The job in Calicut University was over by lunch time.  My return journey being in a Goa-bound night train, I thought of meeting a close friend, a retired professor like me, Prof. P.V. Madhusoodhanan, former Head of Botany, Calicut University, who is currently engaged in developing an ex situ conservatory of ferns and fern allies of Western Ghats at Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences, Kozhikode, Kerala.

Similar to Goa, Calicut is a historic, coastal city. Located in the close proximity about 8 km away from Kozhikode railway station on the south-east direction, the Malabar Botanical Garden (MBG) is a treasure grove of very unique plant-lot, especially aquatic/wetland plants which are otherwise fast depleting throughout our country due to habitat destruction. Prof. Madhusoodhanan arranged my transport to MBG and we spent the whole afternoon together looking at his rare plant collections. It was a great learning... Major attractions at MBG are the following –

Waterlilies (Family Nympheae) are beautiful aquatic plants. The MBG has a collection of nearly 400 species of waterlilies from all over the country. These plants are so delicate that maintenance of them demands right ambient wetness and atmospheric humid temperature. Several of these waterlilies are already in the RET list. It is unbelievable but I saw a tiniest aquatic flowering plant, Ludwigia sedoies, measuring 1-2 mm diam., at MBG.

The MBG has a special herbal garden, named ‘Sanjeevani’, established in a 15 acre sloppy hill. More than 300 varieties of medicinal plants of Western Ghats, regularly used in the Indian traditional medicines and many reportedly endangered ones, are carefully nurtured here. A unique attraction at MBG is a ‘star-forest’, denoting 27 birth stars. The MBG has a vast collection of ornamentals, palms, fruit-trees, bamboos, shade-loving plants, spices and condiments and insectivorous plants.  

Another unique attraction of MBG is presentation of live plants described in the 300 year old monumental work Hortus Malabaricus written by van Rheed (1678-1703) at their ‘Hortus Valley’. The medicinal properties and traditional use of these plants, as described in the book, are displayed making it a heritage knowledge garden.

The Malabar Botanical Garden is an approved centre of research in Botany of the University of Calicut, especially for non-flowering terrestrial plants and aquatic flowering plants. The centre has a brief reference library, field laboratory, herbarium and botanical museum. Prof. Madhusoodhanan has carefully maintained a bryophyte conservatory; I am aware of his deep interest on these primitive, pioneer land-invaded plants. These plants are maintained in a specially erected conservatory with required humidity and temperature.

The Malabar Botanic Garden is an institution of Kerala State Council for Science, Technology & Environment, Science & Technology Department, Government of Kerala, and the contact aggress being Director, Malabar Botanical Garden, Post GA College, Kozhikode 673014, Kerala. www.mbgs.in.  They regularly provide training in horticulture and mushroom cultivation. I urge that those interested in plant wealth of our country should visit this unique conservatory called Malabar Botanical Garden whenever time permits.

D. Jayarama Bhat

With Professor Madhusudhanan at MBG