This botanist from Kerala builds a bryophyte brigade for the Western Ghats

Dr Manju C Nair shines a light on the little-known world of bryology, identifies 24 new species, and attracts new blood to the subject that no one in South India quite heeded before

By Rekha Pulinnoli

| Posted on March 5, 2025

Love for tiny plants has taken Dr Manju C Nair (49) places. Recalling one of her field studies, South India’s leading bryologist says, “We were at a sky-kissing height inside the Eravikulam National Park, having trekked almost four hours to the British-built hut ringed by deep trenches. We would stay there for the next 10 days, and move out in groups at 6 am sharp for the Nilgiri tahr census of 2002. By 11 pm, we should be back, as fog would engulf the shola forest. Stepping on to Anamudi Peak at an elevation of 2,695 m was an unparalleled experience.”

Besides the census, Nair had a peeled eye for bryophytes, her subject of study. Ask her what it is, and the quintessential teacher in her says, “You see those tiny plants sticking out of the compound wall? That is it.”

Be it Silent Valley National Park, Agumbe Reserve Forest or Mukurthi National Park, she has it covered, literally. “There were very few women doing field research when I started out. There were none in bryophytes, so it was unsurprising to be the lone woman in the band,” says Nair, an Associate Professor at the Department of Botany of the University of Calicut, who focuses on the Kerala-Karnataka-Tamil Nadu forests of the Western Ghats.

Recollecting a funny episode, Nair says, “Researchers from various disciplines had converged at the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary to prepare a management plan. A makeshift tribal school in the forest was our lodging space. Being the odd woman out, I was invited to an Adivasi hut. As per the custom, men would sleep outside in such cases. In the dim light, I did not quite know where I was. Only in the morning did I realise that I was in the goat shed.”

Nair’s intrepid quest has enriched the global diversity of bryophytes, with 24 new species published and several new additions made to the bryophyte community of the Western Ghats. Awarded the first PhD in bryophytes in Kerala, Nair went on to study them on a mass scale in the Ghats, with 122 published papers and four books to her credit.

“I started venturing into forests in 1994, when I was in the second year of my BSc course. I think I have made over 100 forest trips, many lasting up to 15 days,” beams Nair, who specialises in bryophyte taxonomy, ecology and molecular biology.

Dr Manju C Nair collecting bryophytes from Periya Forest Range in Wayanad

Tracking down tiny giants

Found in abundance in damp and shady areas, bryophytes include mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Depending on the species, these non-tracheophytes have a size range of one µm (micrometre) to 60 cm. The bigger ones blanket forest trees, while smaller ones can survive even in mundane cities.

Bryophytes play a key role in ecological succession, being the first plant to appear in denuded areas or places affected by natural disasters. As climate change accelerates the frequency of floods and landslides, bryophyte presence is the sine qua non of survival. Nevertheless, those in urban landscapes can dwindle due to climate change as the plant is temperature-sensitive.

“Though some species have microscopic roots, they still pierce through rocks and grow. They require very little soil to proliferate. Moss genus Sphagnum forms peat, which is a main ingredient in plant fertilisers, and can be used as fuel source and in various industries,” Nair explains.

Bryophytes are multipurpose resurrection plants. “When cotton scarcity was at its peak during World War II, Sphagnum was used as an absorbent. Even today, it is used during surgery in some places,” she adds.

Bryophytes fix atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms for plants. Management of forest microclimate is another remarkable feature due to the slow release of water absorbed from the atmosphere and soil. Some species can serve as garden beds as well. “We just have to put orchid seeds and fern spores in this bed. They will grow without being watered.”

Some species can indicate pollution or mineral presence. “High presence of bryophytes such as Bryum and Hyophila can signify their ability to absorb heavy metals from that area. Bryophytes do not grow in sand, yet some species are found on riverbanks due to their ability to absorb minerals. We see them grow on painted compound walls because they absorb calcium in the paint,” cites Nair.

Bryophytes surely have many unexplored nuances. “They have high amino acid and phenolic contents that give them anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. To do such analysis, taxonomical classification is a prerequisite. Besides doing this, my team studies bryophyte abundance, their genetic diversity and ecological importance,” she says. However, she cautions that industrial extraction of compounds can trigger species extinction.

From phytophile to phytologist

“We were three sisters, but were never told to sit at home. Winning a prize did not matter to our parents, but participation did. So we would be present for all competitions — be it science, arts or sports,” Nair says.

A native of Thiruvananthapuram, she attended many schools as her father had a transferable government job. “As a kid in Idukki’s Vagamon, my kindergarten was 10 km away. If the only bus did not show up, we would still reach the school on foot… I had a green thumb even then,” she says.

While pursuing botany for graduation and postgraduation at Government Victoria College, Palakkad, taxonomy lecturer Dr K Murugan piqued her interest in bryophytes, then a little-known subject. After completing Bachelor’s in Education in Natural Science in 1999, Nair joined Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi, Thrissur, the same year as a project fellow.

Calicut University Herbarium, a national repository with over 6,000 specimens of bryophytes

“At that time, KFRI had a major project on documenting Kerala’s biodiversity from the available literature. I am not a ‘plant person’, but I did not have to worry about that topic as Manju compiled it,” says Dr PS Easa, a former director of KFRI, who specialises in wildlife and conservation biology.

“She was inquisitive about lesser-known plants. Of course, there was fire in her! I can probably say I have exposed her to experts in the field,” says Easa, who introduced her to Dr PV Madhusoodanan, then a professor at Calicut University specialising in pteridophytes. He would later become Nair’s PhD guide.

“When Manju was an MSc student, I had been to Victoria College as a practical examiner. I had quickly assessed that she was resourceful,” says Madhusoodanan.

Recalling her PhD journey from 2001 to 2005, he adds, “She was self-reliant. She would go to the field on her own. Undoubtedly, she is the best PhD student I ever had.”

Nair continued her postdoctoral studies at Calicut University on Systematic and molecular (RAPD) studies on mosses of Southern Western Ghats from 2006 to 2009. She published three new species during this time. In 2010, she became the first recipient of the Back-to-Lab scheme of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) to study bryophytes of the Northern Western Ghats.

When the study was progressing at KSCSTE-Malabar Botanical Garden & Institute for Plant Science (MBGIPS), Nair became an Assistant Professor at the Zamorin’s Guruvayurappan College, Kozhikode, in March 2011. Henceforth, her designation was changed as principal investigator and the study continued until 2013. Simultaneously, she was a project co-investigator to build a bryophyte conservatory at MBGIPS.

From 2013 to 2016, Nair worked on systematic and molecular characterisation of Fissidentaceae under the Young Scientist Award of DST-Fast Track Scheme. From 2016 to 2019, she did systematic studies on the bryophytes of Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary, another KSCSTE-funded project.

In 2021, she bagged DST-SERB Core Research Grant on morpho-molecular characterisation and phylogenetic analysis of the genus Riccia L. (Ricciaceae; Marchantiophyta). Next March, Nair joined Calicut University as an Associate Professor.

A Fellow of Indian Botanical Society (IBS) and Linnean Society of London, Nair is a recipient of Riclef Grolle Award (2023) from the International Association of Bryologists, and IBS Women Botanist Award (2022). She also bagged Linnean Society’s systematic research fund as early as 2007.

Dr Manju C Nair and her students on a field trip at Periya Forest Range, Wayanad

Creating a resource repository

When Nair launched her PhD studies, there was only one book on bryophytes at the Calicut University library. “But I hit a treasure trove on visiting the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, for a conference in 2002. I took hundreds of photocopies and gained specific knowledge about specimen collection, identification, etc.”

“I have bought books worth around Rs 8 lakh with my own money,” she says.

Her current PhD student Vineesha PM attests this. “When our lab was shifted from Guruvayurappan College to Calicut University in 2022, we carried almost everything. That is when we realised that all these items belonged to her,” she says.

“Going to forests with ma’am is enlightening. She would not only explain about the plant we are studying, but also the associated ones. We might have limited our knowledge to the research topic, but she does not leave anything out,” Vineesha adds.

A voracious reader, Nair has attracted research aspirants towards the topic by publishing her PhD thesis, Eco-systematic studies on bryophytes of Wayanad, Kerala, into a book. Both Vineesha and Nair’s first PhD student Manjula KM regard her as the reason for pursuing the subject.

Six of her students have completed PhD, while another six are in the process. “Unlike many other states, we have a reverse gender gap in research. Most of my PhD students are girls… Only six boys joined my college for MSc Botany in 2023, which reveals the state of affairs,” Nair notes.

A supportive partner has fuelled Nair’s academic success. “Our fields of study are almost the same. The sole distinction now is that only one of us can go forest hopping due to our son’s school schedule,” quips Dr Rajesh KP, a pteridologist and Assistant Professor of Botany at Guruvayurappan College.

Nair would not hesitate to take her son, now in class 12, to the forests when he was child, as she believed work should continue unhindered. So far, her team has identified 800 bryophyte species from Kerala and 1,224 from the Western Ghats. There is still a long way ahead as around 2,500 species are likely present in the Ghats, while the world has around 25,000. Due to their collective effort, Calicut University now boasts of a herbarium (national repository) with over 6,000 bryophyte specimens.

“I have learnt from her what an ideal teacher should be like. She is not a PhD guide for us, but a mentor,” sums up Dr Manjula, now a Junior Scientist at MBGIPS.

About the author

Yams Srikanth is an ecologist whose other interests include science communication, writing and trying to build a better world. When not languishing in front of their laptop, they can be found outside poking at any insect, bird or plant. Their undergraduate degree in Biology and Education, along with a Master’s in Wildlife Biology has given them skills and perspective to help readers appreciate and handle the environmental issues of the Anthropocene. They also write about queer and trans rights and their intersections with STEM and education.