Kani is a tribe living in the Western Ghats area of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, India. Their use of the forest plant

arogyapacha ''Trichopus zeylanicus'' is a small herbaceous plant, which is one of only two species of its genus, ''Trichopus''. Formerly it was placed in its own family, Trichopodaceae, but is now included in the family Dioscoreaceae. The leaves are about ...

(''

trichopus zeylanicus ''Trichopus zeylanicus'' is a small herbaceous plant, which is one of only two species of its genus, ''Trichopus''. Formerly it was placed in its own family, Trichopodaceae, but is now included in the family Dioscoreaceae. The leaves are about ...

'') as a key ingredient in a herbal remedy called Jeevani was noted by visiting scientists in the 1980s. The formula was eventually developed as a commercial enterprise by Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, with the tribe's Kerala Kani Welfare Trust receiving license fees and royalties. Members have been encouraged to cultivate the plant. A recently discovered species of tree-dwelling

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

has been named ''

Kani maranjandu ''Kani maranjandu'' is a species of tree crab first identified in 2017. ''K. maranjandu'' has, to date, only been observed in the forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India. , it is the only species in the genus ''Kani''. Taxonomy ''Kani m ...

'' after the tribe. ""The Kani tribals are a traditionally nomadic community, who now lead a primarily settled life in the forests of western Ghats of Kerala and Tamilnadu. Kani are mostly inhabitants of the Trivandrum and Kollam Districts in Kerala. The kani tribal traditions are fast disappearing due to urbanization, rapid industrialization and changes in economy. The Proper documentation of tribal knowledge are totally lacking it is also necessary to need scientific study about the traditional knowledge of Kani tribe.(anooj.sl et al.2021) Now Mr. Anooj SL doing the PhD work entitled as ''ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF KANI TRIBES IN WESTERN GHATS OF KERALA'' under the guidance of Dr. G Rajkumar Senior Scientist and HOD PSES Division JNTBGRI Palode.

References

Social groups of Kerala Scheduled Tribes of India {{India-ethno-stub