Forest trees of Odisha, India: An updated checklist

Abstract

An exhaustive taxonomic inventory of forest trees of Odisha in the Eastern Ghats of India was made during 2015–2020, which revealed the presence of a total of 501 species of wild and naturalised trees belonging to 284 genera under 80 families. The family Euphorbiaceae was the most species-rich represented by 45 species, followed by Rubiaceae (28), Mimosaceae (27), Moraceae (26) and Meliaceae (23). The genus Ficus (Moraceae) had highest number of 21 tree species, followed by Diospyros (10 species), Syzygium (8 species), Albizia (8 species), Senegalia (7 species), Vitex (7 species) and Terminalia (6 species). Nothopodytes nimmoniana, Alphonsea madraspatana, Lasiococca comberi, Siphonodon celastrineus, Searsia paniculata, Syzygium schmidii, Cassipourea ceylanica, Prunus pygeoides, Sonneratia griffithii, Eriolaena hookeriana var. viridis, Dimorphocalyx glabellus, Garcinia xanthochymus and Litsea glutinosa have been identified as regionally threatened species needing conservation intervention. Cocculus laurifolius is reported here as a new distributional record for the state. Field observation on the occurrence and dominance of tree species in different forest types of Odisha has been discussed. A checklist of the tree species of Odisha is presented in this article, along with the correct botanical name, synonym(s), local name, flowering and fruiting time, locality of occurrence and citation of voucher herbarium specimens.