The present study was undertaken to explore the diatom wealth of water bodies from the holy shrine Mahanandi and a water tank nearby Nandyal adjacent to Mahanandi, Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India located between 15.4709° N, 78.6255° E. the algal samples were collected in different seasons. The preliminary taxonomic evaluation yielded 35 diatom taxa belonging to 17 genera viz. Bacillaria (1), Cocconeis (1), Craticula (2), Cymbella (5), Diploneis (1), Epithmia (1), Eunotia (1), Fragilaria (2), Gomphonema (6), Gyrosigma (2), Mastogloia (1), Nitzschia (1), Pinnularia (1), Rhopalodia (1), Surirella (2), Tryblionella (2) and Ulnaria (2).
Experiments were carried out to establish in vitro culture using terminal and lateral buds of the endemic tree Baccaurea courtallensis of Phyllanthaceae which presented formidable difficulties. Besides the profuse phenol exudation, cultures were infected with intense fungal contamination. Efforts directed to control the schedule by adjusting the concentration of disinfectants NaOCl and HgCl2 with additional rinsing of explants with 70% ethanol and pre-soaking of shoots in various concentrations of the fungicide Bavistin never fetched any success. The intricately connected fungus seems to have found a niche amidst the leaf primordia in shoot apices and the axillary crevices of the nodal regions completely establishing itself in cultures. Perplexed with no remedy in sight, an interesting attempt of quick surface washing with 70% acetone was introduced in the surface sterilization schedule. Fresh explants were quickly rinsed with 70% acetone, followed by 0.1% mercuric chloride, 1% bavistin along with 4% PVP in succession and later wash with sterile distilled water enabling effective establishment of culture. Callus formation was observed on MS and WPM supplemented with auxin and cytokinin. Callus induction from the nodal region was observed at all concentrations and combinations of PGRs supplemented. Maximum induction of callus was obtained from MS medium augmented with BAP 4μM alone and in combination with IBA 1 μM +TDZ 4 μM.
In this communication, Glyphochloa forficulata, Glyphochloa maharashtraensis are recorded from the Satpuda ranges of Khandesh region, Maharashtra, India very first time. Description and photos of both species have been provided for easy identification.
Calvatia booniana commonly known as Western giant puffball is described from the Botanical garden of Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam as a new record in India. The identification of the species was supported by the morphological characteristics of the specimens which were compared with the specimen collection from Europe (Spain) and Asia (Iran and Nepal) and Oregon (USA).
Two species of the genus Bacopa (B. monnieri and B. procumbens) were studied for examination of cytomorphological and palynological characteristics as well as the screening of phytochemical from the Malwa region of Punjab during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. Primarily both species are differentiated based on morphological features then identity was authenticated by examination of chromosome number. There is a great difference in chromosome number between the two species (B. monnieri, 2n=64; B. procumbens, 2n=22). Pollen size of B. monnieri is larger (22.5 × 21.25 μm to 27.5 ×25 μm) with less viability (77.87%) whereas in case of B. procumbens pollen size is small (15 × 13.75 μm to 17.5 × 16.25 μm) with high viability (88.75%). The phytochemicals of both species are almost similar with minor variations. This study will be helpful for scientists in the identification of these important medicinal plant species. The phytochemical profile throws light on medicinally important compounds which will be utilized by pharmaceutical departments for the development of appropriate drugs.
This study established relationships between tree slenderness coefficient (used as an index of resistance of trees to windthrow) and some stand characteristics of three major tree species used for plantation establishment in some part of North-western Nigeria. Tree measurements for diameter at breast height (DBH) and total tree height were conducted on 60 randomly selected temporary sample plots (TSP) of 20 × 20 m, while tree slenderness coefficient (TSC), basal area (BA), and tree volume were computed from the field data. Pearson correlation was used to establish a relationship between TSC and other tree variables, while nonlinear regression analysis was used in developing models for predicting TSC from DBH and tree height. Results from descriptive statistics indicate that there were low slenderness coefficient values across the three species under study. TSC was found to be negatively correlated with tree DBH, BA, and volume but positively correlated with tree height. Five candidate models were selected as base models to predict TSC from DBH alone and result from the nonlinear regression analysis revealed that the exponential function produced better fit statistics and it was further modified to include an additional tree variable (height). Results of the regression model that includes additional tree variables have better fit statistics compared to those models (base models) without additional tree variables. An exponential function model is recommended for estimating TSC from DBH and tree height for the three major plantation-grown species in North-western Nigeria.
A general review on the major studies in sacred groves with respect to world and India. It also dealt with the studies on the bryophytes in sacred groves.
Occurrence of an epiphytic orchid species viz. Acriopsis liliifolia (J. Koenig) Ormerod was recorded from more than ten countries of the world, but there is no previous report from Bangladesh. Recently it was collected from Fasiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary at Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh, a tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen type of forest close to the coast, and reported here as a new distributional record for Bangladesh. Detailed taxonomic description of the species along with phenology, ecology, geographical distribution, and medicinal value is provided here with illustration and photograph. The species is listed as Critically Endangered in Singapore. In Bangladesh, it may be categorized for time being as Data Deficient according to International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red Listing criteria.
The present study was carried out in riverine ecotone of Tons and Pabber rivers which are tributary of river Yamuna in Garhwal Himalaya to understand the edge effect on distribution and structure of plant community patterns. The study was done at an altitude of 900 m to 1300 m to identify the plant diversity and community structure of riverine ecotone areas within a stretch of 64 km. In total Seventeen (N=17) tree species twenty one (N=21) shrub species, thirty-eight (N=38) species of herbs and three (N=3) species grasses were identified. Mallotus philippensis, Alnus nepelensis, and Pinus roxburghii were found to be dominant threes having 35.7%, 14.9% and 13.6% representation in total tree population. Out of nine (N=9), sample sites Mallotus philippensis and Pinus roxburghii were having the highest densities and relative densities in five (N=5) sites. Rubus elipticus was dominating shrub species with 16% representation followed by Zanthoxylum armatum 12.2%, Adhatoda vasica 10.3% and Agave cantula 9.3%. Rubus elipticus and Zanthoxylum armatum.were having the highest numbers in sites where the slope was gentle and soil conditions were not sandy. Whereas Adhatoda vasica was more uniformly distributed and was found growing uniformly in riverine sandy soil areas Agave cantula preferred the southern and western aspects with rocky slopes and poor soil conditions. In grasses, Carex infuscata was having highest dominance (43.64), in herbs Trifolium repens was having the highest dominance (21) followed by Cannabis sativa (20.92), Cynodon dactylon (17.8) and Verbascum thapsus (10.71). Species diversity indices used in the study was the Shannon Index, the value of diversity indicated by H' was 2.44 which indicates that the herb diversity in the ecosystem is uniformly distributed, no single herb species is dominant, whereas the dominance value which is 0.11 corroborate the diversity of the ecosystem. The value of Shannon wiener (H') index for shrub species was 1.58 which indicates that the majority of shrub (66.6%) species are distributed uniformly except Berberis lycium, Clerodendrum phlomidis, Euphorbia royleana, Indigofera heterantha, Lantana camara, Woodfordia fruticosa and Viburnum cotinifolium.
Present study was carried out in four different forest types (Sal, Pine, Oak and Deodar) of Kumaun Himalaya along altitudinal gradient 650 to 2200 m asl. A total 337 species of vascular belonging to 280 genera and 98 families were recorded from the present study. Of these, 303 species were Angiosperms (252 Dicotyledons and 51 Monocotyledons), 3 Gymnosperms and 31 Pteridophytes and their distribution in different life forms, i.e., trees (53 spp.), shrubs (74 spp.), herbs (196 spp.) and climber (14 spp.). Among angiosperms Asteraceae (37 spp.) was dominant family followed by Poaceae (24 spp.), Fabaceae (24 spp.) and Lamiaceae (21 spp.). In Gymnosperms only two family (Pinaceae and Cupreceae) was recorded. A total of 31 species of Pteridophytes were recorded from present study. 49 species recorded in IUCN criteria (2022–23) one species were Vulnerable one near threatened and 47 were under least concern.
The present study is a contribution to the knowledge of fungal species of food interest exploited by the population of Funa district, in Kinshasa city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aim was to assess the knowledge of Funa district community in mushroom species diversity sold in the market. The mycological surveys were conducted between December 2019 and January 2020. In the study, we used survey-participation technique. A survey-participation was used as a technique, which is a non-probabilistic method where the interviewees were randomly selected. The sample size was of 81 participants. Qualitative and quantitative methods supported by ethnomycological surveys were used to collect data. Out of 81 people interviewed, 97.5% were women; food use was predominant with 93.8%; 80.2% of participants reported that mushrooms were difficult to preserve due to their perishable nature; and 96.2% of participants felt that mushrooms were only available during the dry season. The sale of sporophores in FUNA District remains the only method of supplying households and local markets. Nevertheless, mushrooms are a valued commodity in women's trading activities in Funa District. More studies are needed to have a clear view on different species consumed by the Kinshasa people and create a database of edible mushrooms consumed in DRC. Furthermore, it is required to assess the knowledge of different Congolese tribes to increase the knowledge of ethnomycology and assess their in vitro medicinal activities against different pathologies.
In the present study, distribution, morphology, biological activity, nutritional value, and traditional usage of Capparis species in general and Capparis zeylanica L. in particular are described. Different plant species are utilized in various Ayurvedic medicine formulations. Ancient texts including Shushrut, Dhanwantri, Nighantu, Kshem Kutulhan, and Madanpal highlight the medicinal benefits of Capparis. The paper presents the morphological characteristics and biological activity of the underused climber Capparis zeylanica for ethnomedicinal and socio-religious purposes.
Plant community's distributions are determined by topographic factors, soil composition, and physical factors. This study intended to investigate plant community assembly along topography, age, and disturbance gradients. The higher altitude forest patches of the wombera district were classified into pioneer, intermediate, and climax based on age gradients, canopy height, and layer. Each age classes ranked into disturbance gradients: Intact, medium, and highly disturbed based on intensity, frequency, and severity of disturbances. Every 150–300 meters, transact lines were laid along altitudinal gradients, and plots were laid every 100–150 m along transects. Woody plants' cover abundance, height, and DBH were measured from 54 (20 × 20 m each) nested sampling plots. In five (5 m × 5 m) quadrates nested in the larger quadrates, shrubs, seedlings, and saplings were recorded. In 5 (1 m × 1 m) quadrates nested in the 5 m × 5 m quadrates, herbs and grass species were collected. Agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis and nested ANOVAs with R software were used to identify plant communities and analyze the relationship between plant richness and diversity along age and disturbance gradients. Woody (85) and herbaceous (65) species were classified into three plant communities. Age (Succession) and disturbance gradients were also determinates of pant communities. Plant species diversity and richness significantly varied along age and disturbance gradients. The RDA result showed that the variation of species distribution and plant community formation was related to age, altitude, and disturbance. The maximum species diversity was found in patches of moderately disturbed forest, followed by intact and highly disturbed forest patches along with disturbance gradients.
The present study is the addition of Chrysopogon hamiltonii from Poaceae as a new record to the grass flora of Telangana. In addition to this, ecology and distribution have been provided.
Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is the simplest and cost-effective tool used for the analysis of the genetic fidelity of in vitro propagated plants of Tinospora cordifolia. A high-quality genomic DNA free from any contaminants, was isolated from five genotypes by the modified CTAB method. Out of 30 random decamer primers, OPA-02, OPA-03, OPA-09, OPA-10, OPB-02, OPB- 04, OPB-09 and OPK-06 showed fingerprints. Out of total 27 scored bands, 26 produced were monomorphic bands (96.2%) and one was polymorphic band (3.8%). The highest number of bands (6) were produced by OPA -03 and OPK-06 and minimum number of bands (1) was produced by OPB -04. The amplicon size varied from 200 bp to 1500 bp. A coefficient similarity value ranging from 0.87–0.93 was obtained. Maximum similarity value 0.93 was exhibited by both the genotypes namely, SB1 and SB3. From the present study, it has been concluded that the RAPD analysis can be used to check the genetic fidelity in the micro propagated plants of Tinospora cordifolia.
Helvella atra is a large apothecial ascomycetous fungus under the family Helvellaceae of order Pezizales of sub-class Pezizomycetidae, class Pezizomycetes and division Ascomycota which is commonly called black saddle fungus. A study was carried out from April 2017 to November 2020 in different districts of Mizoram for collection and identification of Macrofungi. During the study Helvella atra was described based on macro and micro morphological characters for the first time from Mizoram, Northeast India. So, this is the first record of Helvella atra for Northeast India.
The diversity of Saxicolous lichens with their rock strata has been investigated in the rural area of Kashmir to enrich the lichen inventory in the region. The study also focuses on the quantification of the regional distribution of lichens. A total of 32 lichens belonging to 10 families and 15 genera, with each species having an average 60–70% of consistency, were found occurring on the sedimentary rocks. The diversity and relationship of particular lichen groups (e.g. Nitrophytic, Acidophytic, Neutrophytic) with growth forms (e.g. crustose, foliose, fructicose) and substratum, and with environmental variables in the habitat suggest that Lichens can act as an indicator of environmental quality in the given area. The significant variability in the spatiotemporal patterns of lichen diversity and growth indicates the crucial role of microhabitat conditions and associated micro-environmental conditions, which in turn drive the biodiversity of saxicolous lichens in the region.
Recalcitrant seeds are remarkably short-lived and therefore are difficult to be successfully stored with respect to the ex situ conservation. Litchi seed embryonic axes were desiccated before cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen (direct immersion). Microscopic investigations were undertaken on Litchi embryonic axes in response to the desiccation and freezing sensitivity. Evidences shows that cryopreservation has a disruptive effect at the cellular level in Litchi.
A morphological study of the three Kalanchoe species in the subfamily Kalanchoideae of the family Crassulaceae in Nigeria was carried out.The qualitative and quantitative morphological attributes of the species were recorded with the aim of documenting and identifying the characters that can be used to delimit the species.Fresh samples of the flower of Kalanchoe crenata (Andr.)Haw, Kalanchoe lanceolata (Forsk.)Pers, and Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.)Oken were collected and subjected to morphological studies.Qualitative and quantitative attributes were recorded.Data gotten from quantitative attributes were subjected to least significance difference test (LSD) for mean separation and further subjected to single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA) and principal component analysis (PCA).Unifying attributes such as petals and sepals, four in number, were recorded.Attributes that can be used to delimit the species such as petal color were recorded.
: Heterotis rotundifolia and Dissotis erecta were comparatively studied to evaluate their macro-morphological, foliar epidermal and palynological features. Standard materials and methods were employed to carry out the studies. The leaf shapes, surfaces, margin, apex and base of the two species are elliptic, glabrous, entire, acute, acute and oblique respectively. The mean values of the leaf length of Heterotis rotundifolia is 3.23 cmand Dissotis erecta is 3.57 cm while the mean values of the leaf width are 1.96 cm in Heterotis rotundifolia and 1.31 cm in Dissotis erecta . Anisocytic stomata are recorded only on the abaxial surface of Heterotis rotundifolia while tetracytic stomata are common on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of Dissotis erecta . Stomata are not recorded on the adaxial surface of Heterotis rotundifolia . Cell shapes of the two species studied are mainly pentagonal in all the surfaces except on the abaxial surface of Heterotis rotundifolia where it is isodiametric. Trichomes are absent on the epidermal surfaces. The anticlinal wall patterns are straight and undulate on the surfaces. The pollen grains observed in the two species were tricolpate. The two species which are common in Southeastern Nigeria can easily be differentiated macro-morphologically by their habits and colour of their standard petals. Foliar epidermal features are also of great importance for their differentiations. The palynological report here may be novel since there is no earlier report of pollen features found on the two species studied .
