Abstract not available Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 221-223, 2025 (December)

Plant diversity in botanical gardens plays a vital role in conservation, education, and research, especially in urban areas. This study assesses tree species diversity, regeneration potential and stakeholders’ perception in National Botanical Garden, Mirpur, Dhaka. A total of 220 tree species from 61 families were recorded using a stratified random quadrat method (10 × 10 m). Among these, 59% were native and 41% exotic. The most abundant and dominant species were Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq., Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth., Terminalia arjuna (Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn., and Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites. Shannon-Wiener, Simpson’s, and Margalef’s Diversity Indices were 1.97, 0.82 and 28.2, respectively, indicating moderate diversity and low evenness. Zone 1 of the garden showed the highest diversity, while Zones 1, 9, and 12 had the greatest number of exotics in their top ten dominant species. High Jaccard Similarity between zones suggested repetition in species composition. Regeneration was low, with only seven species showing seedling development. Dipterocarpus alatus Roxb. had the highest seedling density and Hopea odorata Roxb. showed the best recruitment success. Stakeholder surveys revealed strong support for increasing native species, planting more wildlife-supporting trees, and involving experts in garden management. Identified threats include poor planning, exotic dominance, and lack of awareness. Key recommendations include enhancing native diversity, lowering spatial repetition of similar species, introducing rare species, and improving expert-led management to ensure ecological sustainability. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 177-192, 2025 (December)

The present study marks the first molecular characterization of Humaria hemisphaerica F.H. Wigg.) Fuckel from the temperate Oghi forest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, a region known for its ecological richness and underexplored fungal diversity. A comprehensive description of both the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics is included, supplemented with color photographs of fresh ascocarp in natural habitat and microscopic images with main anatomical features. Phylogenetic analysis of the studied sample was conducted using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nrDNA. This analysis supports the taxonomic identification of H. hemisphaerica and confirms its phylogenetic position. Additionally, comparisons are made with closely related taxa that exhibit phenotypic and molecular similarities. This is the first molecular description of this taxon occurring in Pakistan. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 129-137, 2025 (December)

Palynomophological and anatomical characters of the section Mesocentron (Asteraceae) from Türkiye was investigated and compared using microscopically techniques. The studied taxa have radially symmetrical, monad, isopolar, sometimes heteropolar, and generally 3-colporate, occasionally 4-colporate pollen grains. Only prolate pollen shaped pollen grains were observed in all of the studied species. While the colpus and porus morphology of pollen grains were the same in studied taxa the density of spinule on the pollen were changeable. It was observed that the basic anatomical structures of the sections obtained from the trunk anatomy were the same, but it was determined that the cellular sizes differed significantly between species. It has been emphasized that the combined use of pollen and anatomical characters may be effective in distinguishing these species. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 209-220, 2025 (December)

Abstract not available Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 225-229, 2025 (December)

Phlomis sieheana and P. armeniaca species are known as two close taxa that are confused with each other when firstly observed in their natural habitats. In the current investigation, the morphological features of Phlomis sieheana and P. armeniaca belonging to the Lamiaceae family have been revised and their anatomical, palynological and micromorphological features have been presented. The pollen grains of the studied species are monad, isopolar, and radially symmetrical. The pollen shape of P. sieheana is subprolate, while P. armeniaca is prolate-spheroidal. Also, exine sculpture was observed as reticulate-perforate in both species. However, the types of pollen aperture of the species are determined differently. P. sieheana has pollen grains with tricolpate apertures, while P. armeniaca has both tricolpate and syncolpate ones. Nutlet micromorphology contains characters that support the differentiation of species. The nutlet coat is rugulate in Phlomis sieheana and reticulate in P. armeniaca. The characteristics of anatomical, palynological and micro morphological in P. sieheana and P. armeniaca are found valuable supporting the separation of these species. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 161-169, 2025 (December)

Tropical swamp forests are dynamic ecosystems where water quality is closely linked to ecological integrity. The Ratargul Swamp Forest in Bangladesh faces increasing anthropogenic and environmental pressures, but a comprehensive ecological assessment integrating biological and physicochemical indicators is lacking. The present study was conducted to evaluate its ecological status, identify key environmental drivers, and assess the utility of financial groups (FGs) as bioindicators for conservation. In the present study, the ecological condition of the forest was assessed by integrating phytoplankton FGs with the water quality index (WQI) and the chlorophyll-based trophic state index [TSI (Chl)] during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. A total of 54 phytoplankton species were identified from the swamp forest, with Euglenophyta dominating the assemblage. Functional group W1 (Euglena sp., Euglena mutabilis, E. rostrifera, E. viridis, E. oblonga, E.acus, E. polymorpha, E. chordata, E. allorgei, E. deses, Phacus sp., Phacus longicaudus. Strombomonas sp., Synura sp. and Astasia sp.) associated with organic pollution and high biological oxygen demand (BOD), were the most abundant in both seasons, with a marked increase post-monsoon. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), soluble reactive silicate (SRS), and conductivity were the key environmental drivers influencing the composition of FGs. The water quality of the swamp forest was poor, as indicated by the WQI, which was based on the selection of water quality parameters (R² = 0.85). The TSI (Chl) supported the WQI result, indicating the eutrophic status of the forest. The present research findings showed that phytoplankton functional groups, when integrated with water quality indices, offer a robust and sensitive approach to ecological monitoring and planning conservation strategies for tropical swamp forest wetland ecology. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(2): 193-207, 2025 (December)

Sapota (Manilkara zapota is an economically important fruit crop in Bangladesh that was affected by the different types of red colored leaf spot symptoms from 2019 to 2021. The study aimed to characterize red colored leaf spot symptoms of sapota by morphological and molecular analysis. Infected sapota were collected from three southern coastal districts of Bangladesh. Causal organism of the disease was isolated for morphological and molecular characterization. After 24 months of the plantation, about 70% disease prevalence in the experimental areas was recorded. The present investigation suggested that symptoms were caused by Neopestalotiopsis sp. Phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA additionally confirmed Neopestalotiopsis sp. in red leaf spot symptoms of sapota. For further validation, a pathogenicity test was carried out using three isolates on six months old saplings under Net-house conditions, and same symptom was developed in inoculated leaves after 14 days inoculation. The present investigation confirmed the outbreak of sapota red leaf spot disease, caused by Neopestalotiopsis sp. in Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(1): 53-64, 2025 (June)

This study marks the first report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae associated with coconut in Bangladesh, a pathogen known to cause wide range of diseases crippling coconut production worldwide. Two isolates, Lt_BD 1 and Lt_BD 4, were obtained from coconut samples and subjected to comprehensive morpho-molecular and phylogenetic analyses. Morphological observations, including colony characteristics (color, texture, and surface appearance), growth patterns and conidial dimensions and shapes, preliminarily identified the isolates as Lasiodiplodia species. Molecular analysis, through PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, confirmed the identity of the isolates as L. theobromae. A phylogenetic tree, constructed using sequences of the studied isolates alongside 48 reference Lasiodiplodia species (retrieved from NCBI) and one out-group species (Pyricularia oryzae), corroborated this identification. This study provides a foundation for further rigorous research on the diseases of coconut caused by L. theobromae in Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(1): 105-113, 2025 (June)

A few of the plant specimens of the family Lauraceae Juss., previously collected from Bandarban and Habiganj districts and stored in DACB, were identified as Lindera assamica (Meisn.) Kurz and Litsea sericea (Wall. ex Nees) Hook.f. Another few specimens of the family Rubiaceae Juss., recently collected from the Lathitila forest of Moulvibazar during the floristic explorations conducted in the northeast region of Bangladesh, were determined to be Acraranthera tomentosa R.Br. ex Hook.f. These species are new to the flora of Bangladesh. Taxonomic descriptions of these species have been provided, together with information on their ecology, distribution, representative specimens examined, and illustrations or photographs. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 32(1): 115-122, 2025 (June)