Research Projects

The genus Lagenandra, a potentially ornamental aquatic/semiaquatic genus within the family Araceae (Cryptocoryneae), comprises about 25 taxa (POWO 2025; Madola et al., 2025) and is distributed in the Indian subcontinent. The distribution ranges from Sri Lanka to tropical northeast India and Bangladesh. In India, the genus consists of nine taxa with major distribution in southern India and one restricted to the north-eastern parts. Lagenandra is traditionally used as a therapeutic agent to relieve pain and inflammation. Extracts from this plant have reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The rhizomes of Lagenandra toxicaria are used to treat bilious problems in traditional medicine because of its diuretic, tonic, and carminative qualities. Furthermore, research has shown that rhizome extracts have antibacterial (Mini & Razeena, 2014) and insecticidal (Selvakumari, 2010) qualities. Furthermore, it has the ability to filter water by absorbing excess nutrients, toxins, and pollutants thereby enhancing water quality and provide a healthier environment for aquatic life (Gaya et al., 2017). Majority of the species have been overexploited from the wild for ornamental purpose, since many are popular ornamental aquatics owing to their pretty leaves and inflorescences (Yakandawala 2012; Madola et al., 2021a, 2021b, 2022). Recently, several new taxa with potentially ornamental plants were described from Sri Lanka and India, that showcases the species richness of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka's biodiversity hotspots. In the Indian scenario, most of the works conducted in the genus Lagenandra were related to taxonomy by different researchers, and those represented single species (Fisher 1938; Sastri 1964; Ramamurti & Rajan 1984; Sivadasan & Babu 1995; Biju et al., 2018; Sivadasan et al., 2001; Mathew et al., 2023). The genetic diversity of the taxa Lagenandra represented in Kerala, was investigated by Prakashkumar et al., (2015), and it was found that ISSR-PCR was an appropriate method for detecting genetic variability. Apart from these few works, there is no comprehensive account on these genera in India regarding the taxonomy, anatomy, pollen morphology, micro-morphology and molecular studies. In addition, many taxa are facing extinction in the near future, mainly due to the anthropogenic activities and frequent natural calamities, especially in the Southern Western Ghats. So, there is an urgent need for the conservation of these species. Apart from that, some species shows high range of variation in their vegetative as well as reproductive characters that leads to confusion in their taxonomy. Therefore, a thorough investigation on this genus, based on field study and live specimens is essential for solving the taxonomic ambiguity. So, the present proposal aims to resolve taxonomic issues and to construct the phylogeny of Lagenandra using morphology, pollen morphology and anatomy along with molecular studies.