Abstract
Agumbe, the Cherrapunji of southern India, is a bastion of rich endemic flora. In the present study of random sampling, a total of 570 species of flowering plants were collected belonging to 370 genera and 105 families, including a few endemic and Red Listed medicinal plants such as Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) Roxb., Dipterocarpus indicus Bedd., Dysoxylum malabaricum Bedd. ex C.DC., Elaeocarpus tuberculatus Roxb., Hopea canarensis Hole, Calophyllum apetalum Willd., Adenia hondala (Gaertn.) W.J.de Wilde, and Myristica dactyloides Gaertn. Family Leguminosae contributes the maximum number of species (47 species) followed by Rubiaceae (32 species) and Asteraceae (27 species) and Genera Ficus (9 species), Diospyros (8 species) and Syzygium (7 species) are the dominant genera. Trees (185 species) are the dominant species followed by herbs (162 species), climbers (117 species), shrubs (62 species), grasses and sedges (19 species), epiphytes (15 species) and parasites (10 species).
Highlights
Taxonomic studies and floristic explorations can provide efficient and convenient information regarding the nomenclature, distribution and ecology, utility of various plants species, and about an ecosystem
A total of 570 species of flowering plants belonging to 370 genera and 105 families occur in the present study area
Some species which are endangered need to be conserved for the future
Summary
Taxonomic studies and floristic explorations can provide efficient and convenient information regarding the nomenclature, distribution and ecology, utility of various plants species, and about an ecosystem. India is one among 18 mega biodiversity nations harboring about 4,381endemic species of flowering plants (Nayar, 1996; Shigwan et al 2000; Singh et al 2015). The Western Ghats is one of the two high diversity humid tropical forest tracks in India. The most outstanding feature of the Western Ghats is the formation of tropical rain forests along the windward side facing the Arabian Sea. The tropical climate complimented by heavy precipitation from the south-west monsoon and favorable edaphic factors create an ideal condition for the luxuriant growth of plant life, which can be seen only in a few parts of the world (Gadgil 1996). A rainforest is a dense, wet, and tropical evergreen ecosystem, high in its level of biodiversity. One among the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats is found in the Agumbe region
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