About Pteris madhusoodananii:
- It is a new species of fern.
- It was discovered within the misty Kolli hills of the Eastern Ghats in Tamil Nadu.
- It has been immediately classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ due to its extremely small habitat and the threat of human encroachment.
- While it looks similar to other ferns in the Pteris family, Pteris madhusoodananii is characterised by stiff, leathery leaves with a lustrous, deep green colour.
- Unlike its closest relatives, it features a very prominent lobe at the base of its lower segments and a unique pinna-pinnule architecture, in which its smaller leaflets are arranged along the stem.
- At a microscopic level, its spores possess a narrow, wavy-edged belt called a cingulum, a feature distinct from the smooth, wider belts found on similar species.
