Cinchona introduced to the Nilgiris
· Ooty
Cinchona plants brought from South America by Clements Markham's expedition were planted at Ootacamund as a source of quinine.
Quinine, extracted from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, was the main remedy for malaria, and Britain wanted a secure supply. In 1860 a British expedition led by Clements Markham collected cinchona seeds and plants in South America and brought them to British India and Ceylon. In India they were planted at Ootacamund in the Nilgiris by William Graham McIvor. Cinchona plantations in the hills supplied bark for the cinchona febrifuge, although Dutch plantations in Java later outcompeted British Indian production.
