Volume 27, Issue 80, July - December, 2026

Sonerila kanniyakumariana: A Narrow Endemic Species from the Kalakad– Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India

Packiaraj P^1♦, Supraja N², Premkumar M²

¹PG and Research Centre, Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous) Perungudi, Madurai – 625 022, Tamil Nadu, India
²Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Coimbatore – 641003, Tamil Nadu, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Packiaraj P, PG and Research Centre, Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous) Perungudi, Madurai – 625 022, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT

Sonerila kanniyakumariana is a rare and narrowly endemic species confined to Tamil Nadu, India. The species was originally described by R. Gopalan and A.N. Henry in 1989 based on specimens collected from Upper Kodayar and Muthukuzhivayal in Kanniyakumari District. Following its first documentation, the species remained known from only a few reports within its type localities. The recent extensive field surveys have been resulted in the recollection of the species from Upper Kodayar, Tirunelveli District, extending our understanding of its current distribution and perseverance in their wild habitat. The current study provides efficient information on its taxonomy, phenology, habitat, ecology, geographical distribution, and preservation status, together with a distribution map and photographic documentation.

Keywords: Kalakad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Sonerila, Strict endemic, Tirunelveli.

Species, 2026, 27(80), e16s3293

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Published: 18 July 2026