Kasargod, 12th December, 2025: A recent survey by the Wildlife Trust of India’s Kannur Kandal Project team yielded a breakthrough: they identified the population of the rare white-flowered eastern mangrove (L. racemosa var. racemosa) in Edayilakkad Island, situated in Valiyaparamba panchayat of Kasargod district of Kerala and surrounded by Kavvayi backwaters.

Combretaceae, the angiosperm plant family commonly known as white mangrove is especially important along the tropical marine coastlines, in African savannas and in Asia’s monsoon forests. It includes the Laguncularia, growing along the muddy shores or estuaries, the Lumnitzera (eastern mangroves) as well as the large tree genus Terminaliaand Combretum. Lumnitzera is distributed in the Indo-Pacific region with two species (Lumnitzera littorea and L. racemosa) and a sole natural hybrid (L. x rosea). L. littorea on the other hand ranges between Sri Lanka and the West Pacific, while L. racemosa is ranges between Kenya and West Pacific. The hybrid, L. x rosea, endemic range is between Tropical Asia and the West Pacific. The significant difference between these two species is the difference in flower colour –  L. littorea has red flowers and L. racemosa has white or yellow flowers. Traditionally, the wood of eastern mangrove is used as timber, for bridge construction, charcoal and tannin production etc. In India, L. racemosa is found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Even though the distributional range is vast, the population size is small compared to other mangrove species in the western and eastern coasts of Peninsular India. Similarly, in Kerala, there are four locations where L. racemosa has been recorded, including Payyanur (Kannur), Manjadikari (Alappuzha), Anjuthengu (Kollam) and Veli (Thiruvananthapuram). The population here has a range of 2 to 5 mature individuals in all the locations. However, L. racemosa vanished completely in Payyanur due to a variety of anthropogenic pressures.

Once thought to be locally extinct, the population of the white-flowered eastern mangrove on Edayilakkad Island consists of 40 mature individuals. The species was located within a distance of 500 metres along with true mangroves such as Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata, Bruguiera cylindrica, Avicennia officinalis, A. marina, Acanthus ilicifolius and Excoecaria agallocha. As per the number of mature individuals, it is now the largest population of white-flowered eastern mangrove along the Malabar coast. However, the future of the population is unpredictable since this acreage of mangrove land is owned by local natives of Edayilakkad and lies in close proximity to the beach road. It is necessary that the land is promptly secured for conservation management.

Going forward, this population found by Dr. Sanal C Viswanath and Mr. Naveen Kumar at Edayilakakd will help the team in widening the conservation of the species by taking measures to protect the rarest mangrove species in the Malabar Coast. The healthy plants can also be used to collect propagules, thus helping in restoration projects of this mangrove ecosystem, ensuring both sustainable wetlandsand species conservation.

To ensure the survival of existing mangroves and increase the acreage of such habitats, Wildlife Trust of India’s Kannur Kandal Project has been focusing on mangrove land purchase, ecological restoration of degraded mangrove habitats through community and government participation, outreach and awareness as well as research.