Saskia ernando Gallery T his plant has not come to attention in the past in Sri Lanka but thanks to recent investigations conducted by the researchers from the Faculty of Science at University of Peradeniya, they found that the species is very invasive in the Knuckles Mountain Ranges in the central part of Sri Lanka and have been continuing investigation of this species. The Knuckles Mountain Range was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO at the World Heritage Conference in Brazil July 31, 2010. Now the time has come to do some investigations on this plant in Sri Lanka. My recent visit to Sri Lanka found the species already established in the central mountain regions such as in Kandy, Gampola, Ginigathena, Bulathkohupitiya, Dedugala and Nawalapitiva areas. Austroeupatorium inulifolium is similar in appearance to podisinghomaran or Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata) and belongs to the same plant family asteraceae, but grows at higher ele- vations. It is a neotropical plant widely distrib- uted in its native South America from Panama, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil to Argentina. Austroeupatorium is a perennial spreading scrambling shrub which grows up to 2-5m. Stems are covered with dense short hairs and moderately branched. Leaves are simple and opposite below becoming sub-opposite or alter- nate above. Leaf petiole is 1-2 cm long, leaf blades are ovate to narrowly oblong, 7 -14 cm long, 2.5 - 8 cm wide, acuminate at apex, margins are serrate, 3 veined starting from well above base, hairy, pale green beneath. Flowers are ter- minal or arising from upper nodes. Floral heads are 2-3 mm diameter, 5-6 mm long. Each head comprising 3-4 series of involucral bracts enclosing 10-15 creamy white florets with corol- las 4-5 mm long, flowers fragrant. Seeds (ach- enes) oblong. angular, 1.5 mm long with a whitish pappus 4 mm long. Seeds are spread by wind, water, via animals humans and vehicles. Austroeupatorium is an aggressive species that rapidly colonizes areas cleared for planting new crops, agricultural fields, fallow fields, waste lands and roadsides, natural forests, grasslands, riparian zones, wetlands. It is listed as an “agricultural” and “environ- mental weed” in the Global Compendium of Weeds. It is a serious weed in the Philippines where it forms very dense thickets in rubber, tea and rosella plantations, upland rice plantations and clearings in secondary forest. The Dutch introduced it to Western Sumatra to smother illuk in rubber plantations. In 1935, local farmers began to plant A. inufolium cut- tings in illuk on their farms for 3- 4 year fallows. Compared to illuk A. inufolium provides much more organic materials and readily available N and P to the next crop. Keep an eye on this plant in the country. If it hasn’t distributed around the country, it is bet- ter to include it under the “invasive plants list” in Sri Lanka and eradicate the plant from small areas. Eradication is achievable in their early stages of the colony. Even though this plant is sweeping and marching along through central mountains in Sri Lanka adversely affecting biodiversity and ecosystems process of unique environment spe- cially in knuckles, the plant is yet to be identi- fied as an invasive in the country by relevant authorities, Dr. Lalith Gunasekera, Invasive Plants Specialist Melbourne, Victoria Australia In keeping with the theme where the focus is environment and its beauty, the Environmental Foundation (EFL) has come out with a stunning pictorial calendar for 2011. In fact, it is the third consecutive calendar highlighting the biodiversity of the country. As in previous years, EFL hopes to raise funds for their conservation efforts through the sale of these calendars. The calendar contains beautiful images of Sri Lanka’s natural heritage, including shots of Kudrimalai in Wilpattu, Sinharaja, Horton Plains, Kumana, Starfish in Kalpitiya and underwater images of the ocean off Colombo. Each photograph highlights an issue faced by that ecosystem while aiming to educate the general public on the merits of protecting the environ- ment. A spokeswoman of EFL says funds raised through the sale of the calendar supports them to fight for environmental conservation through liti- gation. She says the ongoing litigation against illegal constructions within the Wilpattu National Park is made possible by the funds raised through the sale of the Calendar for Conservation 2010. This 12 page square calendar is printed on FSC certified paper using vegetable oil based ink and contains UV spot varnish on each photograph. The photographers include, Vimukthi Weeratunga, Devaka Seneviratne, Ifham Raji, Deshan Tennekoon, Darshana Jayawardena, Manjula Wijeratne and Studio Times Limited. Anyone can become part of EFL’s efforts to pro- tect and preserve Sri Lanka’s natural heritage by purchasing a calendar. Copies priced at Rs. 700 are available at Environmental Foundation, Barefoot, ODEL, Gandhara, Vijitha Yapa, M.D. Gunasena, Sarasavi Bookshops,Keells Supermarkets – Crescat, Union Place and Kohuwala. (IN) Family: Asteraceae Botanical name: Austroeupatorium inulifolium Common name: Suddha ‘Suddha’: Silent destroyer of the Knuckles Mountain Range EFL produces a stunner Friday 31st December, 2010 3