ABOUT
Kanakakkunnu
palace is the guest house and entertainment centre for the Travancore royal
princely state. It is the latest and the last Palace built by the royal
Travancore kings in the early 20th century. The palace was one of
the focus points in Trivandrum City before and after the Indian Independence
for social and cultural activities. The palace is located near the
Vellayambalam Road, near PWD Building, Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala
state in South India. Built during the reign of Travancore King Sree Moolam
Thirunal (1885-1924) with the help of Viswabrahmin, and was a rendezvous for
royal banquets. It is now used only for State functions.
The
21 acres palace premises function as the Green Lungs of Trivandrum city and the
palace is listed as a heritage monument by Indian National Trust for Art and
Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and now it is a unique model of conservation of
biodiversity and ecosystem management.
The
present study involves the documentation of Tree and Garden plant species of
Kanakakkunnu Palace premise including the Nishagandhi grounds. The flora of Kanakakkunnu
palace represents the micro unit of biodiversity of the country. This micro
level floristic survey of the smaller regions opens up immense possibilities in
enriching the knowledge of plant wealth from the grass root level. Such floras
of smaller, limited geographical regions are often referred to as ‘Florulas’.
These intensive micro floras will act as the precursors to the District flora
and then to State flora, which ultimately help to revise the national flora.
The study was done by Mr. Akhilesh S.V Nair and Dr. A. Gangaprasad, Department of Botany, University of Kerala, Kariavattom Campus during 2016-2018 time period.
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| Mr. Akhilesh S.V. Nair Dr. A. Gangaprasadf Research Scholar Associate Professor Department of Botany University of Kerala Kariavattom Campus |
