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Context: The Botanical Survey of India, in its publication Plant Discoveries 2020 has added 267 new taxa/species to the country’s flora.

• The 267 new discoveries include 119 angiosperms; 3 pteridophytes; 5 bryophytes, 44 lichens; 57 fungi, 21 algae and 18 microbes.
• In 2020, 202 new plant species were discovered across the country and 65 new records were added.

New discoveries

• Nine new species of balsams (Impatiens) one species of wild banana (Musa pradhanii) were discovered from Darjeeling
• One species each of wild jamun (Sygygium anamalaianum) from Coimbatore and fern species (Selaginella odishana) were recorded from Kandhamal in Odisha.
• This year one new monogeneric family Hanguanaceae has been recorded for the first time from India

Geographical distribution of these species:

• An assessment of the geographical distribution reveals that 22% of the discoveries were made from the Western Ghats followed by Western Himalayas (15%), Eastern Himalayas (14%) and Northeast Ranges (12%).
• India being a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is committed to work towards the prime objective of Global Strategy of Plant Conservation and the newly discovered species may offer potential source of wild edible plants, traditional drugs, cosmetics and wild relative of crop plants.

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