Haldwani, Sep 26 : Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Sanjeev Chaturvedi today inaugurated the first Palmetum, specialized botanical park, of Uttarakhand, which is also the biggest in the whole of North India.
The research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has developed the first Palmetum of the state in the premises of Uttarakhand Forest Research Institute located in Haldwani.
The project has been established in an area of approximately 3.00 acres.
Mr Chaturvedi told UNI that “The research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has developed the first Palmetum of Uttarakhand and the biggest one in North India which houses more than 100 different species of Palms out of which around 20 percent are in International Union for conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) red list”.

The Main aim of establishment of Palmetum is to promote conservation, further research and to create awareness about the importance and ecological role of various palm species.
The Palmetum was completed in a period of three years and it has been funded under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme of the Central government with an amount of sixteen lakhs only.
Around 20 species of Palm in this Palmetum are endangered (total number of 4 species are critically endangered, 2 species are endangered, 2 species are vulnerable and 6 species are near threatened as per IUCN categorization, while 1 is rare as per Environmental Information system, 1 is threatened as per Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board and 1 is rare as per Indian Biodiversity Portal. Out of the total palm species, 1 is endemic to Uttarakhand)

Trachycarpus takil (Takil Palm), which is endemic to Uttarakhand, is the only Palm which can survive sub zero temperatures and has been declared as threatened by Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board. Other endangered species include Beaucarnea recurvata (Ponytail Palm), Hyophorbe lagenicaulis (Bottle palm), Dypsis leptocheilos (Red neck palm) and Hyophorbe verschaffeltii (Spindle Palm).
Canna garden with 40 different colours of Canna species is also one of the point of attraction adding to the aesthetic value of Palmetum.(UNI)