A new species of Kekatiya plant found from a stream in Sooriyakanda "Morning Side" or "Arunalokaya Adaviya" has been named after the father of free education C.W.W. Kannangara by Galle Wildlife Conservation Association.

The Aponogeton kannangarae plant belongs to extremely rare plant species. Environmentalists point out that this local endemism can be seen only in Sri Lanka.

Environmentalists claim that the new Kekatiya species is found only in two streams in Sooriyakanda area of Sinharaja.

Chairman of Galle Wildlife Conservation Association, said that the species is found in 2012 during an exploration. Four years later, in August 2016 scientists have verified that the new Kekatiya species is endemic to Sri Lanka.