Palakkad: If you’re wondering what connection former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has with a tiny wildflower in the Western Ghats, here’s your answer - the flower bears his name.

On July 23, as Kerala bid farewell to the late leader, a group of botanists and researchers gathered at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Bulgaria to remember his legacy. A variety of wild Kashithumba (garden balsam) discovered in the forests of the Western Ghats by a team of Malayali researchers has been named Impatiens Achudanandani in honour of the veteran leader.

The first scientific article formally naming the plant was published in PhytoKeys, an international botanical journal based in Bulgaria. It states that the naming recognises Achuthanandan’s contribution to the conservation of the Western Ghats, especially his efforts to protect the Mathikettan Shola forests during his tenure.

The plant is described as a delicate flower with a mix of white and cream petals, marked by a distinctive yellow spot at its centre.

The discovery was made by a team comprising Dr V Suresh, a Botany professor at Government Victoria College, Palakkad; S Arya of University College, Thiruvananthapuram; M G Govind of the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode and W K Vishnu from the Therapeutics Division of the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

The flower was first spotted near streambeds inside the Kallar forest region in Thiruvananthapuram and later in the Silent Valley ranges of Palakkad.