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Context:
A team of Indian botanists has discovered a new endemic flowering plant species, Portulaca bharat, in the rocky, semi-arid slopes of the Aravalli Hills near Jaipur. The discovery, now published in the international journal Phytotaxa, unveils a previously undocumented element of India’s floristic diversity.
- Discovery and Identification
- Portulaca bharat was first observed by Nishant Chauhan, a researcher and conservationist with the Satpura Biodiversity Conservation Society, during a field visit near the historic Galtaji temple on Jaipur’s outskirts.
- Chauhan collected live specimens from rock crevices in the Galtaji hill region.
- Taxonomic Context
- The genus Portulaca includes 153 species worldwide, mainly in tropical and subtropical zones.
- In India, 11 species are recognized, of which four are endemic.
- Conservation Status
- The species is currently known only from a single location in the Galtaji hills, making it an example of narrow endemism.
- It has been provisionally assessed as “Data Deficient” under the IUCN Red List guidelines due to the absence of population-level data.
