Renowned botanist K.S. Manilal dies at 86

Eminent botanist and Padmashree awardee K.S. Manilal, celebrated for translating the ancient Latin text Hortus Malabaricus into English and Malayalam, died in Thrissur from age-related ailments, family sources said on Wednesday, 1 January 2025.

He was 86.

He had not been keeping well for some time and breathed his last at a private hospital here, they said.

Kattungal Subrahmanyan Manilal, popularly known as K.S. Manilal, was a former head of the department of botany at the University of Calicut.

His decades-long contributions to botany, particularly his efforts to translate the Hortus Malabaricus, a 17th-century botanical treatise documenting the rich flora of the Malabar region (the south-western coast of India) into English and Malayalam, earned him widespread recognition.

The treatise remains a vital resource for researchers, academicians and students studying the region's botanical history.

Manilal penned several books and published over 200 research papers, besides introducing many new plant species to the general public. He is a recipient of several national and international awards.

The Government of India honoured him with a Padmashree in 2020 for his contributions to the field of science.