Dr KS Manilal, the eminent botanist who revived the 17th-century Latin botanical masterpiece Hortus Malabaricus by translating it into English and Malayalam, passed away on Wednesday morning at a private hospital in Thrissur. He was 86.

A former head of the Botany Department at the University of Calicut, Dr Manilal devoted nearly 35 years of his life to researching, translating, and annotating Hortus Malabaricus, originally compiled by Dutch Governor Hendrik Adrian van Rheede.

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This 12-volume work, a comprehensive documentation of Kerala’s medicinal plants, had faded into obscurity until Dr Manilal’s pioneering efforts brought it back to prominence.

His English translation was published in 2003, followed by the Malayalam version in 2008, making this significant work accessible to researchers and the public alike.

Born in Paravur, Ernakulam district, to A Subrahmanian and KK Devaki, Dr. Manilal graduated from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, and completed his PhD at Sagar University, Madhya Pradesh, in 1964.

Throughout his illustrious career, Dr Manilal authored over 200 research papers and discovered 19 new plant species.

In recognition of his contributions to botany and taxonomy, he was honored with the Padma Shri in 2020, the EK Janaki Ammal Taxonomy Award in 2003, and the Netherlands’ highest civilian honor, the Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, conferred by Queen Beatrix.

Dr Manilal’s unparalleled dedication to the field of botany and his monumental work on Hortus Malabaricus leave an enduring legacy.