THRISSUR: Renowned botanist K S Manilal, who revived the Latin book ‘Hortus Malabaricus’, a landmark 17th-century botanical compendium about the medicinal plants of Kerala, by translating it into English and Malayalam, passed away in Thrissur on Wednesday. He was 86.

Manilal also served as the Head of the Department of Botany at Calicut University. He spent 35 years researching, translating, and annotating ‘Hortus Malabaricus’, the 12-volume compendium published by Hendrik van Rheede, the then Dutch Governor of Cochin.

His passion for science is evident from the efforts he undertook to translate the Latin book into English (2003) and Malayalam (2008), thereby making the vast collection of information accessible to the next generation of science enthusiasts. His leadership in studying and documenting the flora and fauna of the Silent Valley forests was also commendable.

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

In his illustrious career, Manilal authored 200 research papers and discovered 19 new species of plants.

He was the recipient of the E K Janaki Ammal Taxonomy Award (2003) and the Netherlands Government’s highest civilian honour, the Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau, awarded by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2020.