Born: 4 November 1897, India
Died: 7 February 1984
Country most active: India
Also known as: E. K. Janaki Ammal, Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal was a prominent Indian botanist known for her work in plant breeding, cytogenetics, and phytogeography. Her significant research focused on sugarcane and eggplants (brinjal). She co-authored the “Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants” in 1945 with C.D. Darlington, a key contribution to cytogenetics. Dr. Ammal also explored ethnobotany and the medicinal and economic plants found in the rainforests of Kerala, India.
In addition to her primary research, Janaki conducted extensive studies on plant genera like Solanum, Datura, Mentha, Cymbopogon, and Dioscorea, as well as various medicinal and other plant species. She also suggested that the higher rate of plant speciation in the cold and humid northeast Himalayas, compared to the cold and arid northwest Himalayas, could be attributed to polyploidy.
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