K. S. Manilal
Encyclopedia
Professor Kattungal Subramaniam Manilal, of Kozhikode
, is an Emeritus of the Calicut University, a botany
scholar and taxonomist, who devoted over 35 years of his life to research, translation and annotation work of the Latin
botanical treatise Hortus Malabaricus
. This epic effort brought to light the main contents of the book, a wealth of botanical information on Malabar that had largely remained inaccessible to English
-speaking scholars, because the entire text was in the Latin language.
Despite the existence of Hendrik van Rheede's
Hortus Malabaricus
over the last three centuries, the correct taxonomic identity of many plants listed in Hortus Malabaricus
, their medicinal properties, methods of use, etc., as described and codified by renowned traditional medical authorities of 17th century India remained inaccessible to English language based scholars, until Manilal commenced publication of research papers and books on Hortus Malabaricus
.
Manilal efforts ultimately resulted in an English edition of Hortus Malabaricus
, for the first time, 325 years after its original publication from Amsterdam
. The English edition contains a word by word translation of all the twelve volumes of the book, retaining the original style of language. Medicinal properties of plants are translated and interpreted, with commentaries on their Malayalam names given by Van Rheede. In addition, the correct scientific identity of all plants, acceptable under ICBN are set out along with their important synonyms and basionyms.
Whilst the scope of Manilal's contributions to botany extend far beyond the research and publications around Hortus Malabaricus
, his research work on Hortus Malabaricus
alone are of botanical and socio-historic
significance, and can be broadly classified under two heads:
Manilal has over 198 published research papers and 15 books to his credit as author
and co-author. He and his associates have credits to discovering over 14 species
of flowering plant
s, varieties and combinations new to science
. Manilal is the Founder President of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy
(IAAT).
in Kerala, India.
As a young boy, Manilal’s interest in Hortus Malabaricus
was inspired by his father, whose avid reading habits and enthusiasm for sociology
exposed Manilal to a collection of books, and more specifically newspaper cuttings on Hortus Malabaricus
during late 1940s and 1950s.
Manilal schooled initially at the Government Boys’ High School, Kodungallur
and later at the Government S.R.V. Boys’ High School, Ernakulam
. He enrolled for undergraduate studies in Botany at the Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam
, following which, he secured M.Sc. Botany and Ph.D. Degrees from University Teaching Department, Sagar, in Madhya Pradesh
.
During his post-graduate studies, while on a study tour to the Forest Research Institute
in Dehra Dun, Manilal was able to see, for the first time, a set of volumes of the original Hortus Malabaricus
. This was set of volumes acquired by the Institute’s library during the days of the British Raj
, when the Institute was called the Imperial Forest College. Manilal remarks “it fired my imagination!” on seeing a Latin
book in which the names of plants were also written in native Malayalam language. Manilal maintained his interest in the book through his studies and professional life until 1969, when he commenced serious work on the transliteration of Hortus Malabaricus
.
As Hortus Malabaricus
is a pre-Linnaean
book, the scientific names of plants, equivalent to local Malayalam names, were not included. Since voucher specimens for the book are also not known to exist, the correct identity of many of the plants described was unclear and not verifiable to original specimens. Earlier attempts, over three centuries, by European and Indian botanists to correctly identify all specimens were futile. Under two research projects; one sponsored by the U.G.C.
(1975–1978) and the other by the Smithsonian Institution
(1984–1987), Manilal collected all plants, described in Hortus Malabaricus, from localities in Malabar from where they were originally collected in the 17th century. Specimens were subjected to detailed studies and their correct identities were established in consultation with research institutes in Europe
and USA. Based on this work, initially a concise reference book: An Interpretation of Van Rheede's Hortus Malabaricus, was published (with his collaborators) from Berlin (1988), by the IAPT
. This remains the only book by Indian authors published by them (IAPT) till date and is an essential resource in study on the taxonomy of Southeast Asian plants.
in the compilation of Hortus Malabaricus, was published from Calicut in 1996.
Van Rheede’s motivation to compile a book on the natural plant wealth of Malabar was to prove his belief that Malabar is self sufficient in all requirements of military and commerce and hence that Cochin was better suited to be the south east Asian Headquarters of the Dutch overseas forces, compared to Colombo
in Ceylon.
Information is also available in the text of Hortus Malabaricus not only about the vegetation in 17th century Malabar, but also about the general social conditions prevalent in those days. Significant inferences could also be drawn on some of these matters, indirectly from the data available in the book. Several research papers have been published by Manilal on these topics. Some more, particularly on the different Numerals and Numerical Systems used in Hortus and their sociological implications and significances in the Indian society, are under preparation.
studies in Kerala by training a genre of young taxonomists and identifying and cataloguing local plants in biodiversity-rich South India
. A comprehensive study on the flora
of the Greater Calicut area, consisting of the western sectors of the present day Calicut and Malappuram
districts, covering an area of about 600 km2. was started in 1969. When completed in 1975, this work resulted in recording about one thousand species
of flowering plant
s from the region, including several species recorded for the first time in India and importantly seven species new to science. Based on this work, a book: Flora of Calicut, was published (from Dehra Dun), and was taken as a model for subsequent research in India.
triggered political controversy in Kerala
, due to an impending ecological disaster, the Government of Kerala
appointed an experts’ committee of scientists to study, inventorise and report on Silent Valley’s flora
and fauna
. The experts’ committee reported that the forests there could not be classified as tropical evergreen rainforests and that they contain only 240 species of flowering plants, which are also found elsewhere, and also that the Valley does not possess any new or rare species. Despite protests by environmentalists the State Government was about to go ahead with the project, only awaiting a clearance form the Central Government
. At this juncture, the Department of Science and Technology (India)
accepted Manilal’s proposal to study the flora
of Silent Valley
and also required him to make a general study of the ecological status of the forests.
Over a four-year period commencing 1981, Manilal and research assistants undertook a study that brought to light:
Further Manilal’s study found that the Silent Valley forests fulfilled required parameters of tropical evergreen rainforests and, therefore, could be rightly so classified. His work was soon considered as model of how taxonomists could assist in solving socio-environmental issues; and many scientists and journalists from Europe
, Africa
and South America
visited Silent Valley to study the working of this project.
s and the structure and anatomy
of various floral organs in cash crops such as coconut
palms, grasses (rice
), orchids, compositae (sun flower), rubiales
(coffee
), etc. Many enigmas in these subjects could be solved, and results were published in around 45 research papers. These studies have, besides seeing the flower as the most significant part of the plant, with biological, commercial, aesthetic, evolutionary and taxonomic importance, also promoted success in hybridization and breeding experiments, to create new high-yielding varieties.
(particularly in the Districts of Kollam
and Nagarcoil) have natural deposits of radioactive minerals causing genetic damage to flora and fauna, Manilal undertook studies to familiarise with the techniques of research in the field of radiation ecology. These studies were undertaken at the Marine Biology Laboratory of North Wales University at Menai Bridge
, Wales. The Royal Society of London granted Manilal a Visiting Scientist-ship for this work for two years in 1971-1972.
Two species of marine phyto-planktonic algae
were discovered, which could withstand a very high degree of radioactivity. It was found that these species could absorb and adsorb as much as 40 times their body weight of the radioactive Thorium
compounds from surrounding seawater, and continue to live normally. In the 1970s these findings were farfetched to be accepted for publication in a journal in U.K. However, on Manilal’s return to India, a part of these findings was published in the journal Current Science (1975), by the Indian Institute of Science
. About ten years later, some British scientists did a similar work and their results were published in the prestigious U.K. journal Nature, and wide publicity in the press as a biotechnological break-through. Manilal’s experiments (and the subsequent work by the British scientists) show that such marine planktonic algae could be used to quickly and safely clean up ocean surfaces where radio-active materials have accumulated, by cultivating such algae in a specific area and later removing them from there.
(IAAT). Manilal, as founder Preseident, established IAAT in the year 1990 with its Headquarters located at the Department of Botany, Calicut University, Kozhikode
, India. The IAAT works to promote the science of Angiosperm Taxonomy in India, to provide a common forum for Angiosperm taxonomists in India to organize meetings, hold discussions and exchange ideas on scientific and academic matters, and encourage collaborative work among taxonomists. The IAAT publishes a journal Rheedea (named after Hendrik van Rheede
. The Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy works as an affiliate of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy
.
From 1969 Manilal commenced training research students in Taxonomy
(leading to Ph.D.
degree in the subject), with a view to attain self sufficiency in Taxonomy. During the years 1972-1998, he and his students discovered over 240 new species of flowering plants and several new records for India from Kerala, and published many research papers in Taxonomy in national and international journals.
Research Centre was established by Manilal in Calicut University, with funding from the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources. The Centre does research and field experiments to establish the (taxonomic) identification of fast-growing fuel-wood trees suitable for various agro-climatic zones of Kerala
.
as transliterated by Manilal was published in English and Malayalam languages in 2003 and 2008 respectively. Manilal’s copyright, as author of the English and Malayalam versions, was bequeathed, free of royalties
, to the publishers, the University of Kerala. This assignment of rights was a gesture by Manilal in good faith and in response to a specific appeal from the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala, that the University wanted to generate funds from this publication for utilization of such royalty incomes toward re-publication of old Malayalam classical works, which are out of print, and not forecasted to generate a viable level of income due to limited sale of such classical works.
, was also not invited to this function.
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, is an Emeritus of the Calicut University, a botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
scholar and taxonomist, who devoted over 35 years of his life to research, translation and annotation work of the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
botanical treatise Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
. This epic effort brought to light the main contents of the book, a wealth of botanical information on Malabar that had largely remained inaccessible to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking scholars, because the entire text was in the Latin language.
Despite the existence of Hendrik van Rheede's
Hendrik van Rheede
Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein was a military man and a colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company and naturalist. Between 1670 and 1677 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar and employed 25 people on his book Hortus Malabaricus, describing 740 plants in the region...
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
over the last three centuries, the correct taxonomic identity of many plants listed in Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
, their medicinal properties, methods of use, etc., as described and codified by renowned traditional medical authorities of 17th century India remained inaccessible to English language based scholars, until Manilal commenced publication of research papers and books on Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
.
Manilal efforts ultimately resulted in an English edition of Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
, for the first time, 325 years after its original publication from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. The English edition contains a word by word translation of all the twelve volumes of the book, retaining the original style of language. Medicinal properties of plants are translated and interpreted, with commentaries on their Malayalam names given by Van Rheede. In addition, the correct scientific identity of all plants, acceptable under ICBN are set out along with their important synonyms and basionyms.
Whilst the scope of Manilal's contributions to botany extend far beyond the research and publications around Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
, his research work on Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
alone are of botanical and socio-historic
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
significance, and can be broadly classified under two heads:
- Botanical and Medicinal aspects of Hortus Malabaricus; and
- Historical, Political, Social and Linguistic aspects of Hortus Malabaricus.
Manilal has over 198 published research papers and 15 books to his credit as author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and co-author. He and his associates have credits to discovering over 14 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, varieties and combinations new to science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. Manilal is the Founder President of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy
Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy
The Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy was established by Dr. K. S. Manilal and his colleagues in the year 1990. The IAAT is head quartered at the Department of Botany, Calicut University, Kozhikode, India....
(IAAT).
Birth, early life and interest in Hortus Malabaricus
Manilal was born in Cochin on 17 September 1938. He is one of three children born to his parents; father Advocate Kattungal A. Subramaniam (b:1914~d:1973) and mother K. K. Devaki (b:1919~d:1989). Manilal’s father, K. A. Subramaniam, was besides being a practicing advocate, also a writer, who authored the biography of Sahodaran Ayyapan. Manial’s Kattungal family members are natives of North ParavurNorth Paravur
North Paravur formerly known as Parur is a town, municipality in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is an old and growing municipality. Paravur is the capital of Paravur Taluk in Ernakulam district...
in Kerala, India.
As a young boy, Manilal’s interest in Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
was inspired by his father, whose avid reading habits and enthusiasm for sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
exposed Manilal to a collection of books, and more specifically newspaper cuttings on Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
during late 1940s and 1950s.
Manilal schooled initially at the Government Boys’ High School, Kodungallur
Kodungallur
Kodungallur is a municipality in Thrissur District, in the state of Kerala, India on the Malabar Coast. Kodungallur is located about 29 km northwest of Kochi city and 38 km Southwest of Thrissur, on National Highway 17 . Muziris the ancient seaport at the mouth of the Periyar River was...
and later at the Government S.R.V. Boys’ High School, Ernakulam
Ernakulam
Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...
. He enrolled for undergraduate studies in Botany at the Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam
Maharajas College
The Maharaja's College is one of the biggest centres of learning and higher education in Kerala, India. Located in the heart of Cochin city, it is spread over a campus of on the banks of Vembanad Lake...
, following which, he secured M.Sc. Botany and Ph.D. Degrees from University Teaching Department, Sagar, in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
.
During his post-graduate studies, while on a study tour to the Forest Research Institute
Forest Research Institute
The Forest Research Institute is an institute of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and is a premier institution in the field of forestry research in India. It is located at Dehradun in Uttarakhand. It was established in 1906 and is one of the oldest institutions of its kind...
in Dehra Dun, Manilal was able to see, for the first time, a set of volumes of the original Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
. This was set of volumes acquired by the Institute’s library during the days of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, when the Institute was called the Imperial Forest College. Manilal remarks “it fired my imagination!” on seeing a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
book in which the names of plants were also written in native Malayalam language. Manilal maintained his interest in the book through his studies and professional life until 1969, when he commenced serious work on the transliteration of Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
.
Botanical and medicinal aspects of Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
is a pre-Linnaean
Linnaean taxonomy
Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:# the particular form of biological classification set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his Systema Naturæ and subsequent works...
book, the scientific names of plants, equivalent to local Malayalam names, were not included. Since voucher specimens for the book are also not known to exist, the correct identity of many of the plants described was unclear and not verifiable to original specimens. Earlier attempts, over three centuries, by European and Indian botanists to correctly identify all specimens were futile. Under two research projects; one sponsored by the U.G.C.
University Grants Commission (India)
The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory organisation set up by Union government in 1956, for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education. It provides recognition for universities in India, and provides funds for government-recognised...
(1975–1978) and the other by the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
(1984–1987), Manilal collected all plants, described in Hortus Malabaricus, from localities in Malabar from where they were originally collected in the 17th century. Specimens were subjected to detailed studies and their correct identities were established in consultation with research institutes in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and USA. Based on this work, initially a concise reference book: An Interpretation of Van Rheede's Hortus Malabaricus, was published (with his collaborators) from Berlin (1988), by the IAPT
International Association for Plant Taxonomy
The International Association for Plant Taxonomy promotes an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitates international communication of research between botanists, and oversees matters of uniformity and stability in plant names . The IAPT was founded on July 18, 1950 at the Seventh...
. This remains the only book by Indian authors published by them (IAPT) till date and is an essential resource in study on the taxonomy of Southeast Asian plants.
Historical, political, social and linguistic aspects of Hortus Malabaricus
The compilation and publication of Hortus Malabaricus is intimately connected with the history of India, politics of the 17th century Netherlands and the then social conditions of Malabar. It is also an important source of information, and the oldest printed, authentic document, on the evolution of Malayalam language and script. Manilal studied these aspects for over 35 years bringing to light many interesting facts, some of which were included in his book: Botany & History of Hortus Malabaricus, published from Rotterdam and Delhi (1980). Another book, in Malayalam: A study on the role of Itty AchudanItty Achudan
Itty Achudan Vaidyan, , who is known to have lived during the second half of the 17th century, was a distinguished Ayurvedic physician, from the ancient Kollatt family of traditional Ezhava Ayurvedic Vaidyans of Kerala...
in the compilation of Hortus Malabaricus, was published from Calicut in 1996.
Van Rheede’s motivation to compile a book on the natural plant wealth of Malabar was to prove his belief that Malabar is self sufficient in all requirements of military and commerce and hence that Cochin was better suited to be the south east Asian Headquarters of the Dutch overseas forces, compared to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
in Ceylon.
Information is also available in the text of Hortus Malabaricus not only about the vegetation in 17th century Malabar, but also about the general social conditions prevalent in those days. Significant inferences could also be drawn on some of these matters, indirectly from the data available in the book. Several research papers have been published by Manilal on these topics. Some more, particularly on the different Numerals and Numerical Systems used in Hortus and their sociological implications and significances in the Indian society, are under preparation.
Taxonomic and biodiversity studies in Kerala
Manilal pioneered taxonomic research and biodiversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
studies in Kerala by training a genre of young taxonomists and identifying and cataloguing local plants in biodiversity-rich South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. A comprehensive study on the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of the Greater Calicut area, consisting of the western sectors of the present day Calicut and Malappuram
Malappuram
Malappuram is a municipality in the South Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of 33.61 km2. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Malappuram district. As per the 2011 census Malappuram urban agglomeration is the fourth largest UA in kerala with a total population of...
districts, covering an area of about 600 km2. was started in 1969. When completed in 1975, this work resulted in recording about one thousand species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s from the region, including several species recorded for the first time in India and importantly seven species new to science. Based on this work, a book: Flora of Calicut, was published (from Dehra Dun), and was taken as a model for subsequent research in India.
Research and revelations at Silent Valley
In the 1970s when a proposal to build a hydro-electric project in Silent ValleySilent Valley
Silent Valley may refer to:* Silent Valley National Park, in Palakkad district, Kerala, India*Silent Valley Reservoir, a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland...
triggered political controversy in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, due to an impending ecological disaster, the Government of Kerala
Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India for a period of 5 years. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as real head of the executive. The state...
appointed an experts’ committee of scientists to study, inventorise and report on Silent Valley’s flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
. The experts’ committee reported that the forests there could not be classified as tropical evergreen rainforests and that they contain only 240 species of flowering plants, which are also found elsewhere, and also that the Valley does not possess any new or rare species. Despite protests by environmentalists the State Government was about to go ahead with the project, only awaiting a clearance form the Central Government
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
. At this juncture, the Department of Science and Technology (India)
Department of Science and Technology (India)
The Department of Science and Technology is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India. It was established in May 1971, with the objective of promoting new areas of Science and Technology and to play the role of a nodal department for organising, coordinating and promoting...
accepted Manilal’s proposal to study the flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of Silent Valley
Silent Valley
Silent Valley may refer to:* Silent Valley National Park, in Palakkad district, Kerala, India*Silent Valley Reservoir, a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland...
and also required him to make a general study of the ecological status of the forests.
Over a four-year period commencing 1981, Manilal and research assistants undertook a study that brought to light:
- A record of nearly 1,000 species of flowering plants;
- Seven species new to science;
- Several plants believed to be found only in Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, etc.; - Some species which were believed to be extinct, such as the Malabar Daffodil, which was last seen in 1850 by a scientist named Thomas C. JerdonThomas C. JerdonThomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
in NilgirisNilgiris (mountains)The Nilgiri , often referred to as the Nilgiri Hills, are a range of mountains with at least 24 peaks above , in the westernmost part of Tamil Nadu state at the junction of Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India...
; - Rare medicinal plants until then known to grow only in the islands of Philippines;
- Many endemics of the neighbouring countries, where their existence was threatened, were found to have migrated to these forests for safety.
Further Manilal’s study found that the Silent Valley forests fulfilled required parameters of tropical evergreen rainforests and, therefore, could be rightly so classified. His work was soon considered as model of how taxonomists could assist in solving socio-environmental issues; and many scientists and journalists from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
visited Silent Valley to study the working of this project.
Orchids of Kerala
Detailed studies of the orchid wealth of Kerala were started by Manilal in the late 1970s, including their taxonomy, anatomy, biology and floral evolution, which are essential for any further studies on their hybridisation. During these studies, contrary to the highest expectations, over 215 species of orchids were collected, including species that were till then believed to be extinct, like the ladies' slipper orchid Paphiopedilum druryii.Origin and evolution of the flower
Manilal has led studies on the directions of evolution of flowerFlower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s and the structure and anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
of various floral organs in cash crops such as coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
palms, grasses (rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
), orchids, compositae (sun flower), rubiales
Rubiales
Rubiales was an order of flowering plants in the Cronquist system, including the families Rubiaceae and Theligonaceae. The latest APG system does not recognize this order and places the families within Gentianales....
(coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
), etc. Many enigmas in these subjects could be solved, and results were published in around 45 research papers. These studies have, besides seeing the flower as the most significant part of the plant, with biological, commercial, aesthetic, evolutionary and taxonomic importance, also promoted success in hybridization and breeding experiments, to create new high-yielding varieties.
Radioactive resistant marine phyto-planktonic algae
As the of beaches in southern Kerala and Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
(particularly in the Districts of Kollam
Kollam
Kollam , often anglicized as ', is a city in the Indian state of Kerala. The city lies on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake on the Arabian sea coast and is situated about north of the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram...
and Nagarcoil) have natural deposits of radioactive minerals causing genetic damage to flora and fauna, Manilal undertook studies to familiarise with the techniques of research in the field of radiation ecology. These studies were undertaken at the Marine Biology Laboratory of North Wales University at Menai Bridge
Menai Bridge
Menai Bridge is a small town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford...
, Wales. The Royal Society of London granted Manilal a Visiting Scientist-ship for this work for two years in 1971-1972.
Two species of marine phyto-planktonic algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
were discovered, which could withstand a very high degree of radioactivity. It was found that these species could absorb and adsorb as much as 40 times their body weight of the radioactive Thorium
Thorium
Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....
compounds from surrounding seawater, and continue to live normally. In the 1970s these findings were farfetched to be accepted for publication in a journal in U.K. However, on Manilal’s return to India, a part of these findings was published in the journal Current Science (1975), by the Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science
Indian Institute of Science is a research institution of higher learning located in Bangalore, India. It was established in 1909.-History:After a chance meeting between Jamsetji N...
. About ten years later, some British scientists did a similar work and their results were published in the prestigious U.K. journal Nature, and wide publicity in the press as a biotechnological break-through. Manilal’s experiments (and the subsequent work by the British scientists) show that such marine planktonic algae could be used to quickly and safely clean up ocean surfaces where radio-active materials have accumulated, by cultivating such algae in a specific area and later removing them from there.
Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (IAAT)
Manilal was instrumental in establishing the Indian Association for Angiosperm TaxonomyIndian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy
The Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy was established by Dr. K. S. Manilal and his colleagues in the year 1990. The IAAT is head quartered at the Department of Botany, Calicut University, Kozhikode, India....
(IAAT). Manilal, as founder Preseident, established IAAT in the year 1990 with its Headquarters located at the Department of Botany, Calicut University, Kozhikode
Kozhikode
Kozhikode During Classical antiquity and the Middle Ages, Kozhikkode was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom of the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District...
, India. The IAAT works to promote the science of Angiosperm Taxonomy in India, to provide a common forum for Angiosperm taxonomists in India to organize meetings, hold discussions and exchange ideas on scientific and academic matters, and encourage collaborative work among taxonomists. The IAAT publishes a journal Rheedea (named after Hendrik van Rheede
Hendrik van Rheede
Hendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein was a military man and a colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company and naturalist. Between 1670 and 1677 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar and employed 25 people on his book Hortus Malabaricus, describing 740 plants in the region...
. The Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy works as an affiliate of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy
International Association for Plant Taxonomy
The International Association for Plant Taxonomy promotes an understanding of plant biodiversity, facilitates international communication of research between botanists, and oversees matters of uniformity and stability in plant names . The IAPT was founded on July 18, 1950 at the Seventh...
.
From 1969 Manilal commenced training research students in Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
(leading to Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
degree in the subject), with a view to attain self sufficiency in Taxonomy. During the years 1972-1998, he and his students discovered over 240 new species of flowering plants and several new records for India from Kerala, and published many research papers in Taxonomy in national and international journals.
Biomass Research Centre
A BiomassBiomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
Research Centre was established by Manilal in Calicut University, with funding from the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources. The Centre does research and field experiments to establish the (taxonomic) identification of fast-growing fuel-wood trees suitable for various agro-climatic zones of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
Summary of Manilal’s discoveries
New species and varieties discovered, and combinations established by Manilal and his research associates are summarised are follows:New species discovered in Silent Valley
- Liparis indiraii Manilal & S.Kumar
- Eria tiagii Manilal & S.Kumar
- Hydnocarpus pendulus Manilal, Sabu & Sivar.
- Robiquetia josephiana Manilal & S.Kumar
- Sauropus saksenianus Manilal, P.Kumar & Sivar.
- Cucumella silentvaleyii Manilal, Sabu & Mathew
- Oberonia bisaccata Manilal & S.Kumar
New species discovered under biodiversity studies
- Hedyotis erecta Manilal & Sivar.
- Cinnamomum nicolsonianum Manilal & Shylaja
- Bulbophyllum rheedei Manilal & S.Kumar
- Heliotropium keralense Sivar. & Manilal
- Borreria malabarica Sivar. & Manilal
- Phyllanthus kozhikodianus Sivar. & Manilal
- Habenaria indica S.Kumar & Manilal
New varieties of flowering plants discovered
- Borreria stricta (Linn. f.) K.Schum. var. rosea; Sivar. & Manilal
- Borreria articularis (Linn. f.) F.N.Williams var. hispida Sivar. & Manilal
- Portulaca oleracea Linn. var. linearifolia Sivar. & Manilal
New combinations established
- Thunbergia bicolour (Wight) Manilal & Suresh
- Eria chandrasekharanii (Bharg. & Moh.) S.Kumar & Manilal
Publication of the English and Malayalam versions of Hortus Malabaricus
Publisher’s appeal for donation of royalties
Hortus MalabaricusHortus Malabaricus
Hortus Malabaricus is a comprehensive treatise that deals with the medicinal properties of the flora in the Indian state of Kerala. Originally written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published from Amsterdam during 1678-1693. The book was conceived by Hendrik van...
as transliterated by Manilal was published in English and Malayalam languages in 2003 and 2008 respectively. Manilal’s copyright, as author of the English and Malayalam versions, was bequeathed, free of royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, to the publishers, the University of Kerala. This assignment of rights was a gesture by Manilal in good faith and in response to a specific appeal from the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala, that the University wanted to generate funds from this publication for utilization of such royalty incomes toward re-publication of old Malayalam classical works, which are out of print, and not forecasted to generate a viable level of income due to limited sale of such classical works.
Book-release functions conducted by the publishers
In a recorded interview with Manilal in August 2008, he expressed his regret and frustration at the manner in which the publishers subjected him to digression from the publication project soon after he legally assigned his rights as author. Apparently there was a move to exclude Manilal’s name from the book (2003), but was reinstated on account of questions raised by the academic community. On August 14, 2008, the University of Kerala officials again conducted a function at Thiruvanathapuram to formally release the Malayalam edition of Hortus Malabaricus. The book was released by the Governor of Kerala (also Chancellor of the University), at the function; where due recognition was not given to Manilal as author of the book, nor were arrangements in place to felicitate the author at the function. http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/15/stories/2008081561050300.htm. The former Vice-Chancellor of University of Kerala who initiated the project, B. EkbalB. Ekbal
Dr. Ekbal Bappukunju is a public health activist, a neurosurgeon, and an academic in Kerala, India. He was the vice-chancellor of the University of Kerala during the period 2000–2004...
, was also not invited to this function.
Books authored by K. S. Manilal
- 2008. MANILAL, K.S. Van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus. Malayalam Edition, with Annotations and Modern Botanical Nomenclature (12 Vols.) University of Kerala, Trivandrum. (ISBN 81-86397-82-5)
- 2004. MANILAL, K.S. & C. Sathish Kumar. Orchid Memories: A tribute to Gunnar Seidenfaden. Mentor Books, Calicut & Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, Calicut. (ISBN 81-900324-6-1)
- 2003. MANILAL, K.S. Van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus. English Edition, with Annotations and Modern Botanical Nomenclature. (12 Vols.) University of Kerala, Trivandrum. (ISBN 81-86397-57-4)
- 1998. MANILAL, K.S. & M.S. Muktesh Kumar. A Handbook on Taxonomy Training. DST, New Delhi.
- 1998. MANILAL, K.S. & K. Raveendrakumar. Companion to Gamble’s Flora: Additions to the Flora of Kerala since Gamble (1935). Mentor Books, Calicut.
- 1996. MANILAL, K.S. Hortus Malabaricus and Itty Achuden: A study on the role of Itty Achuden in the compilation of Hortus Malabaricus (In Malayalam). Mentor Books, Calicut/ P.K.Brothers, Calicut.(ISBN 81-900324-1-0).
- 1996. MANILAL, K.S. Directory of Indian Taxonomists. Mentor books, Calicut.
- 1996. MANILAL, K.S. & A.K. Pandey. Taxonomy and Plant Conservation. C.B.S. Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi. (ISBN 81-239-0444-4)
- 1994. Sathish Kumar, C. & K.S. MANILAL. A Catalogue of Indian Orchids. Bishen Singh Mahendrapal Singh, Dehra Dun. (ISBN 81-211-0100-X).
- 1993. MANILAL, K.S. & C. Sathish Kumar. Field Key for the Identification of the Native Orchids of Kerala. Mentor Books, Calicut.
- 1988. Nicolson, D.H.,C.R. Suresh & K.S. MANILAL. An Interpretation of Van Rheede’s Hortus Malabaricus. International Association of Plant Taxonomists, Berlin, Germany/ Koeltz Scientific Books, Konigstein, Germany. (ISSN 0080-0694 Regnum Vegetabile)
- 1988. MANILAL, K.S. Flora of Silent Valley Tropical Rain Forests of India. Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, Calicut.
- 1982. MANILAL, K.S. & V.V. Sivarajan. The Flora of Calicut: The Flowering Plants of the Greater Calicut Area. Bishen Singh Mahendrapal Singh, Dehra Dun.
- 1980. MANILAL, K.S. The Botany & History of Hortus Malabaricus. A.A.Balkema, Rotterdam, Netherlands/ Oxford & IBH, New Delhi. (ISBN 90-6191-071-4).
- 1976. MANILAL, K.S. & V.V.Sivarajan. Flowering Plants of the Calicut University Campus. Calicut University, Kerala. India.