A qualitative and quantitative morphological study of the three species of Bryophyllum and two Kalanchoe species in the subfamily Kalanchoideae was carried out to find out characters that may be useful in the identification, classification and also to solve some taxonomic problems within the subfamily Kalanchoideae. Vegetative parts from the various species were collected and subjected to morphological studies. Both qualitative and quantitative characters were recorded. Quantitative data were subjected to the least significance difference test (LSD), single linkage cluster analysis (SLCA) and principal components analysis (PCA). Unifying and diagnostic characters that are of taxonomic importance were recorded. The unifying characters propose that two genera in the Subfamily Kalanchoideae should be merged into a genus Kalanchoe with sections or subgenera under it.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.