Key Points
Forty years have passed since the plant species Senna spectabilis, better known as Weeping Cassia, was introduced to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) after being sourced from South and Central America...
In 2010, the Kerala Forest Department officially recognised Senna spectabilis as an invasive species 25 years after being planted..
According to G. Ravikanth, a senior fellow at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), the forest department planted this species in wildlife reserves over the years, unmindful of the impact it would have on wild animals..
The Senna spectabilis is out-competing other plant species for resources in the woods of Kerala and the Bandipur-Nagarhole-Mudumalai region that connects Karnataka and Tamil Nadu..
During the last week of June, the Kerala forest department reached an agreement with the public sector Kerala Paper Products Ltd (KPPL) for the cutting and removal of senna trees from the Wayanad forests..
