Flowering Plants of Kurseong

K.M. Matthew, S.J., F.L.S. is the Director both of The Rapinat Herbarium, Tiruchirapalli (Research base), and of The Anglade Institute of Natural History, Shembaganur, Kodaikanal (Environmental base). Apart from University teaching and research, the lion’s share of his efforts went into the 10-part Flora of the Indian Peninsula east of the Western Ghats, 1976-96, involving over 1,000 field days and 50,000 new collections. The Excursion Flora in English (1991, 1995) and Tamil (1993) was a ‘lab to land’ effort to make the fruits of research reach ordinary people, a door delivery of knowledge. A 3-day, round-the-year, gratis environmental awareness generation programme from The Anglade Institute of Natural History, Shembaganur, Kodaikanl, that has handled over 35,000 trainees since 1984 (students and villagers) has been our best environmental contribution todate. Shola is the bi-annual newsletter that has been appearing regularly since 1988. Environmental research, especially on conservation of rare and endangered plants on which much original information has been collected during field work in recent years, should receive more attention on completion off the Flora volumes in 1997.