❖ The Tamil Nadu government has informed the Madras High Court that the forests
of the state would be made free of one of the invasive weeds — Senna spectabilis
by the next 12 months.
❖ It was introduced to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) after being sourced from
South and Central America.
❖ It is a fast-growing species, particularly on deep soils, and is fire- and termiteresistant and tolerant of strongly acidic soils.
❖ In November 2021, the Tamil Nadu Policy on Invasive Plants and Ecological
Restoration (TNPIPER) experts found 196 alien invasive plant species in forest
areas, of which 23 were ‘priority invasives’.