India Identified as Early Centre of Jamun Evolution: New Study

A new study has revealed that Jamun originated much earlier than previously believed, with India playing a central role in its evolutionary history. The research traces the origin of the genus Syzygium to the ancient supercontinent East Gondwana around 80 million years ago, challenging earlier theories that linked its origin only to Australia or Southeast Asia.

The study highlights inconsistencies between earlier fossil evidence and molecular phylogenetic estimates that suggested a more recent origin (~51 million years ago). It also re-evaluates fossil findings from India dating between 60 and 20 million years ago, which had not been comprehensively studied before.

Researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) discovered new fossil evidence from the Kasauli Formation in Himachal Pradesh. These included 11 well-preserved fossil leaves from the Early Miocene (~20 million years ago), identified as a new species named Syzygium paleosalicifolium.

Further analysis of older fossil records suggests that the genus Syzygium was already present in India as early as the Eocene (~55 million years ago), indicating a long and continuous evolutionary presence in the region.

The findings suggest that from India, the genus later dispersed to Southeast Asia and Australia, significantly revising the biogeographic history of this ecologically and economically important plant group.

Source: PIB