Karunaratne said the particular species had been thought to be limited to research notes as it had not been found anywhere. The research team of Renuka Nilanthi Rajapaksa and Nuwan Chathuranga Jayawardena, engaged in research on plant species at the Department of Wildlife Conservation, also confirmed that the Lotus species was a Strobilanthes rhytisperma. Scientific taxonomy belongs to the genus S. rhytisperma of the genus Strobilanthes, of the family Acanthaceae of the genus Lamiales, and belongs to the genus Tracheophytes. Some 450 species of the genus Strobilanthes, commonly known as Nelu, have been reported from Asia and Australia, including Sri Lanka. Of these, 33 species are recorded from Sri Lanka and 27 of them are endemic species.

Source: The Nation November 18, 2021 01:04 UTC