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Vallikkaattu Kaavu Sacred Grove
Sree Vana Durga Bhagavathi Temple, Edakkara, Thalakkalathur Panchayat, Kozhikode district, Kerala
India
Active
Single grove
- Location
- Sree Vana Durga Bhagavathi Temple, Edakkara, Thalakkalathur Panchayat, Kozhikode district, Kerala
- Coordinates
- ~11.4°N 75.8°E; ~20 km N of Kozhikode
- Size
- 6.5 ha (largest in Kozhikode district)
- Age / Founded
- Traditional (Kaavu)
- Status
- Active
- Deity & Religion
- Vana Durga Bhagavathi (goddess); Hindu
- Community & Guardians
- Local temple community
- Vernacular name
- Kaavu (Sarpakavu = serpent grove)
- Record type
- Single grove
Cultural practices & uses
Temple worship; 236 medicinal spp (96% of flora)
Plant species
245 species/209 genera/77 families; 44 endemics, 34 threatened; Myristica swamp (Gymnacranthera farquhariana, Myristica fatua var. magnifica, M. malabarica)
Biome & fauna
Kerala lowland incl. rare Myristica freshwater swamp
Threats & protection
34 threatened plants (3 CR, 5 EN); conservation priority
Source
Sreeja & Unni 2016, J. Ecology & Natural Environment, DOI 10.5897/JENE2016.0591