Palpu Pushpangadan: noted ethnobotanist who foregrounded equity within science
Published on: Jan. 11, 2026, 1:22 a.m. | Source: The Hindu
Palpu Pushpangadan and his colleague S. Rajasekharan entered the forests of the Agastya hills in Thiruvananthapuram in 1987 as ethnobiologists, tasked with documenting the region’s rich biodiversity under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE). Within the first few days of fieldwork, an apparently simple observation proved transformative. While the scientists were visibly tired after long treks through the forest, the Kani tribal youth accompanying them as guides showed no signs of fatigue. When he asked the Kani boys about it, Pushpangadan learned that they were chewing the fruits of a forest plant to sustain energy and vitality. After some persuasion—reflecting both the guarded nature of indigenous knowledge and the trust slowly built through engagement—the Kani agreed to share details about the plant. Pushpangadan and the team consumed the berries and experienced a sense of rejuvenation. The plant, known to the Kani as ‘Arogyapachcha (the source of evergreen health)’, was botanically identified as Trichopus zeylanicus travancoricus.
