Dharamsala, July 1
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered, wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. That’s what scientists at the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT), a CSIR center at Palampur, have got down to doing — to find out if “Synedrella vialis” is indeed of good virtue or a cousin of the infamous Congress grass, the noxious weed that is suspected to have traveled to India with the wheat imported from America.
Synedrella vialis is also a native to South America, brought here, probably, by some tourist and has spread its cover in Kangra Valley.
Dr P. S. Ahuja, director of IHBT, said a survey revealed the presence of Synedrella, an invasive species and a perennial herb. Its spread and impact on the flora and fauna in the state is yet to be studied.
It is believed that Synderalla has also been sighted in other parts of the country. A fond traveller it is.
