About Solanum Pandeyi:
- It is a species of wild brinjal recorded in the evergreen forest of Middle Andaman.
- It was found growing in the open along the forest edges and was locally known as wild orange eggplant.
- The new species is similar to Solanum lasiocarpum and belongs to the Leptostemonum clade of Solanum.
- Uses of Solanum Pandeyi:
- It was used by an indigenous Negrito tribe, Great Andamanese, for food and medicinal purposes.
- Most seeds and roots are used to treat tooth infection.
- Ripe fruit with jaggery (a natural unrefined sugar), chilli, garlic, ginger, and salt are used to make sour-sweet sauce by the Ranchi and Bengali settler community of the island.
Key Facts of Botanical Survey of India:
- It is India’s apex taxonomic and floristic research institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- It was established on 13 February 1890.
- Function: It provides the scientific foundation for plant conservation, documentation, identification and sustainable use of the country’s plant wealth.
