''Crudia zeylanica'' sometimes known as Sri Lanka legume, is a species of plant in the family
endemic to
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. Once thought to be extinct, the plant was rediscovered in 2019.
The ''Crudia zeylanica'' located in the Daraluwa area in Gampaha, was cut down on Tuesday (11 July, 2023) what had once been described as the world´s only known wild specimen of a species of legume, part of ongoing construction of a four-lane expressway.
Rediscovery
Until 2019, this tree had not been seen since 1911, and was known only from the herbarium specimens. Thus, it was listed as
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
by an outdated IUCN Red List assessment. In 2019, the plant was rediscovered in a small plot of forest land located close to the Daraluwa Railway Station in Gampaha in several places in Gampaha District.
Conservation effort
On 7 February 2021, Gampaha Divisional Forest Officer Devani Jayathilaka visited a construction site of the expressway from Kadawatha to Meerigama and discovered a ''Crudia zeylanica'' plant. She immediately prevented the workers from destroying it and informed the personnel regarding the matter. The news made a huge media circus in Sri Lanka, where several authorities cited the value of the tree and prevented it from being cut.
On 10 February 2021, the plant was ordained by the Buddhist clergy from the National Bhikku Front in an effort to protect it.
References
zeylanica
Endemic flora of Sri Lanka
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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