403 forbidden forbidden you don't have permission to access this resource. apache/2.4.54 (ubuntu) server at www.banglajol.info port 443 wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91, 2007 (december) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. chlorococcales moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colwell3,4,5 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: chlorococcales, new records, phytoplankton, ponds abstract this study presents three species from each of schroederia, monoraphidium and ankistrodesmus, two species and one variety of dictyosphaerium, two varieties of pediastrum, and tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta, chlorotetraedron polymorphum, myrmecia aquatica, oocystis tainoensis, nephrocytium spirale, kirchneriella irregularis, coelastrum indicum and scenedesmus similagineus. these taxa have been reported from some ponds of mathbaria of pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts in bangladesh. introduction chlorococcales comprises a large number of species which are predominantly aquatic and found to be most common in occurrence in samples of phytoplankton. they are mostly unicellular but may form colonies of rather definite shape. all of them have a characteristic in common that they are unable to multiply via vegetative cell division. at vegetative state the multiplication is generally carried out by autospore formation (prescott 1982, huber-pestalozzi 1983). in bangladesh, islam and khatun (1966) first reported some species of chlorococcales from some polluted waters of dhaka city. later on, islam and begum (1970) performed another voluminous work on this order from dhaka district. few more research works carried out in the later period have also added to the new reports for this group (e.g., islam 1969, 1973, islam and saha 1975, islam and zaman 1975, islam and aziz 1977, 1979, 1987, islam and khair 1978, chowdhury and khair 1983, islam and begum 1987, islam and alfasane 2001, islam and irfanullah 2001) and the total number of species so far reported is about 250. in the present study, 22 taxa of chlorococales have been newly recorded for bangladesh. the taxa were encountered in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur district and bakerganj of barisal district between 2004 and 2006. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh belonging to 1corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 2international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 3johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland, usa. 4centre of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland, usa. 5university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 84 khondker et al. cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae, synurophyceae and the members of the order volvocales from the same study areas have been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007a,b). materials and methods plankton concentrates, obtained by passing and sedimenting a definite volume of sample water through plankton net and by lugol's solution in pyrex glass bottle, respectively, were used for the present systematic analyses. the sampling was carried out from 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj and mathbaria, respectively, in between 2004 and 2006. details of the sampling procedure and descriptions of the sites have been published in khondker et al. (2006). taxonomic enumeration twenty-two taxa of chlorococcales belonging to eight families were identified from the pelagic plankton communities of different ponds of mathbaria and bakerganj. an illustrated account of these species is presented in this paper. for the systematic arrangement, huber-pestalozzi (1983) has been followed. division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: chlorococcales family: palmellaceae 1. chlorotetraedron polymorphum (mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald) mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald [syn.: pseudotetraedron polymorphum mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald] (figs. 1a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 128, 34: 12c) cells solitary, somewhat tetrahedral or polyhedral. chloroplast single, lying in close contact with the cell wall, pyrenoid single, seldom many. cells 10-19 µm in diameter, without processes, process 4 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 4, 09.08.2004, station no. 8, 06.09.2004. 2. myrmecia aquatica g.m. smith (figs. 2a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 144, 41: 3) cells solitary, ovoid, spherical, sometimes irregularly pyriform. cell wall thin with mamillate thickening on one side. chloroplast parietal, placed little away from the mamillate margin. cells 8-10 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 85 figs. 1-25. 1a-c. chlorotetraedron polymorphum, 2a-b. myrmecia aquatica, 3. schroederia antillarum, 4. s. planctonica, 5a-b. s. spiralis, 6. padiastrum boryanum var. brevicorne, 7. p. simplex var. sturmii, 8a-b. dictyosphaerium granulatum, 9a-b. d. pulchellum var. minutum, 10. d. tetrachotomum, 11. oocystis tainoensis, 12. nephrocytium spirale, 13a-b. monoraphidium arcuatum, 14. m. fontinale, 15. m. tortile, 16-17. ankistrodesmus bernardii, 18. a. densus, 19. a. stipitatus, 20. kirchneriella irregularis, 21. tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta, 22-24. coelastrum indicum, 25. scenedesmus similagineus. (bar = 10 µm) 86 khondker et al. family: characiaceae 3. schroederia antillarum kom. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 251, 74: 2) cells solitary, pale green in color, elongated spindle, curved; both the cell ends straight, hyaline and sharply pointed. cells with pointed ends 25 µm long and 2 µm wide. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004. 4. schroederia planctonica (skuja) philipose [syn.: characium planktonicum skuja] (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 250, 72: 3f) (fig. 4) cells solitary, pale green in color, spindle-shaped, central portion bulged out, tips sharply pointed, thin, elongated, both the cell ends almost straight. chloroplast with 1-2 or later on more pyrenoids. mother cells show laterally divided protoplasts probably prior to the zoospore production. cells without pointed ends 15 × 11 µm, ends 23 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 29.11.2004. 5. schroederia spiralis (printz) korš. [syn.: ankistrodesmus nitzschioides var. spiralis printz.] (figs. 5a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 252, 74: 4b) cells solitary, pale green in color, spindle-shaped. both the cell ends sharply pointed and spirally bent. chloroplasts lie adjacent to the cell walls, parietal, with distinct pyrenoids. cells including spiral ends 35 µm long and 3 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. family: hydrodictyaceae 6. pediastrum boryanum var. brevicorne a. br. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 296, 86: 5c) coenobia mostly compact and without perforation, (a single perforation is evident in the present specimen), 8-32-celled, cell wall lightly granulated, peripheral cells with two stubby processes, central cells nearly quadrangular. coenobia 30.6 µm in diameter; individual cells 11.4 × 10.2 µm. mathbaria, station no. 4, 04.07.2005. 7. pediastrum simplex var. sturmii (reinsch) wolle [syn.: pediastrum sturmii reinsch] (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 288, 84: 2b) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 87 coenobia without perforation, 16-celled, cell wall regularly granulated, each peripheral cell with a single medium-sized process, central cells nearly quadrangular. coenobia 38 µm in diameter. peripheral cells 12.7 × 5.1 µm; central cells 4.6 × 3.5 µm. mathbaria, station no. 4, 04.07.2005. family: botryococcaceae 8. dictyosphaerium granulatum hind. (figs. 8a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 354, 106: 1c) colonies 4-16-celled, seldom with more cells, surrounded by a colorless mucilage sheath. cells ovoid, broadly ovoid or spherical. chloroplast single, bowl-shaped, pyrenoid present. cell wall yellowish to brown, beset with irregularly arranged granules. colonies 37 × 32 µm; individual cells 5 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004. 9. dictyosphaerium pulchellum var. minutum defl. (figs. 9a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 354, 105: 3) colonies 4-16-celled, cells spherical, mucilage envelope not visible, cells loosely arranged. cells 5 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 3, 11.10.2004. 10. dictyosphaerium tetrachotomum printz (fig. 10) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 355, 107: 2) colonies free swimming, mostly irregular, approximately 30 µm in diameter, no mucilage envelope. cells weakly ovoid to spherical. chloroplast single, lateral, bowlshaped, always with a pyrenoid. individual cells 3 µm in diameter. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. family: oocystaceae 11. oocystis tainoensis kom. (fig. 11) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 501, 20: 1) cells elliptical, ends bluntly pointed, very seldom single, mostly 2-4-16-celled colonies. polar thickenings invisible, in younger cells pyrenoid present. colonies 14 × 8 µm, individual cells 5 × 3 µm. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 88 khondker et al. 12. nephrocytium spirale beck-mannag. (fig. 12) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 538, 157: 3) colonies 4-8-celled, elliptic to oval. cells spiral, more or less cylindrical, curved or screw-like, embedded in a colorless mucilage. colonies 12 × 10 µm, individual cells 5 µm long (under curved condition) and 1.5 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. family: chlorellaceae 13. monoraphidium arcuatum (korš.) hind. [syn.: ankistrodesmus arcuatus korš.] (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 634, 177: 3) (figs. 13a-b) cells solitary, thin, spindle-shaped, more than 20 times longer than broad, ends gradually narrowed to a sharp point, curved like a circle. chloroplast lie adjacent to the cell wall, pyrenoid absent. cells 25-30 µm long (under curved condition), about 1.0-1.5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 24.05.2004; bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. 14. monoraphidium fontinale hind. (fig. 14) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 632, 177: 26) cells solitary, elongated spindle, almost straight to lightly curved, ends not so sharply pointed. cell wall hyaline, smooth. chloroplast lie adjacent to the cell wall, pyrenoid absent. cells 20 µm long, about 5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. 15. monoraphidium tortile (w. & g.s. west) kom.-legn. [syn.: ankistrodesmus tortilis w. & g. west] (fig. 15) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 631, 176: 2) cells solitary, elongated spindle, nearly 10 times longer than broad, straight or seldom lightly bent. cell ends gradually tapered to a pointed tip. chloroplast lies adjacent to the cell wall. pyrenoid absent. cells 21 µm long, about 2 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004. 16. ankistrodesmus bernardii kom. (figs. 16-17) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 687, 193: 3a,d) colonial, cells in the colony form bundle, 2-8-many cells bound together in a single colony. cells very narrow, elongated, thin, ends pointed. many-celled colony 40.6 µm in diameter, individual cell 30.0 µm long and 0.8 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004, 30.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 89 17. ankistrodesmus densus korš. (fig. 18) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 687, 193: 2c) colonial, cells in the colony joined end to end and alternately to form an elongated filamentous structure. colorless thin mucilage may be present. colonies 101.6 µm long and 5 µm broad. individual cells 38 µm long and 2.5 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 8, 11.07.2005. 18. ankistrodesmus stipitatus (chod.) kom.-legn. [syn.: raphidium fasciculatus status stipitatus chod.] (fig. 19) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 684, 191: 2b) solitary or in 2-4-8-celled colonies. cells elongated, straight, very thin, sharply pointed at both ends, light green. individual cell 40.0 µm long and 1.5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 19. kirchnerella irregularis (g.m. smith) korš. [syn.: kirschneriella lunaris var. irregularis g.m. smith] (fig. 20) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 668, 186: 4a) colonial, 4-16-(32)-celled, seldom solitary. cells in the colony are arranged in a group of 4. individual cells bent in a half-circle fashion, spindle-shaped, at the end gradually tapered, somewhat pointed or having a blunt end. chloroplast lies adjacent to the cell wall. a single pyrenoid may be present. colonies 25.6 µm long and 12.9 µm broad; individual cells 5 µm long and 1.5-2.0 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 1, 15.06.2004. 20. tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta woloszyńska (fig. 21) (prescott 1982, 263, 59: 9-10; yamagishi and hashizume 1989, 79, 5:18o) cells solitary, 4-angled, angle smooth, tipped with spine, spine single, angles in one plane. cells deeply constricted on both sides, each of the 4 lobes tipped with a spine. cells quadrate in outline, isthmus is bordered by a widely open sinus, 40 µm wide (including spines) and 14 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004. family: coelastraceae 21. coelastrum indicum turn. (figs. 22-24) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 737, 205: 5) 90 khondker et al. colonies spherical, free-living, (8)-16-32-(64)-celled. cells spherical with angled undulated margin, triangular holes present in the colony. chloroplast single, lies adjacent to the cell wall. colonies 34-40 µm in diameter; individual cells 4-6 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004, 09.11.2004. family: scenedesmaceae 22. scenedesmus similagineus hortob. (fig. 25) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 856, 231: 5) coenobia 2-4-(8)-celled, linear, sometimes lightly bent. individual cells elongated ovoid to spindle shaped, poles rounded, with small papillae like dents. cell wall smooth. coenobium (2-celled) 9 × 9 µm; individual cells 9 µm long and 4 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 1, 15.06.2004. acknowledgements the research, as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’, was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. the suggestions made by an anonymous reviewer were very helpful. references chowdhury, s.c. and khair, a. 1983. the phytoplankton members of kaptai lake, chittagong hill-tracts. iii. chlorophyceae. chittagong univ. stud. pt. ii. 7(2): 125-131. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1983. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 7. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: chlorococcales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-1044. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969. a preliminary report on the phytoplankton and other algae of chittagong hilltracts. j. asiatic soc. pak. 14(3): 343-363. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973. freshwater algae of bangladesh. i. chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae and chrysophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b. 21(1): 69-84. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001. new records of some freshwater planktonic algae for bangladesh: species of treubaria, goniochloris, tetraedriella and tetraplektron. bangladesh j. bot. 30(1): 131-134. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1977. studies on the phytoplankton of the karnaphuli river estuary. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 1(2): 141-154. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 91 islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b. 27(2): 105-122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1987. new record of algae from bangladesh. ii. genus radiococcus schmidle (chlorophyta). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplankton of dacca district. j. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227-271, pls. 1-8. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1987. new records of algae from bangladesh. iii. genus pseudobohlinia (chlorococcales). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2001. some new records of algae for bangladesh: cyanarcus, chloremys, myrmecia, selenodictyum, tetraplektron and pseudostaurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 1-7. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khair, a. 1978. report of some phytoplankton from lake kaptai, chittagong hilltracts. dacca univ. stud. b. 26(2): 53-61. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and saha, j.k. 1975. limnological studies of the ramna lake at dacca. dacca univ. stud. b. 23(2): 39-46. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga. iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. prescott, g.w. 1982 (reprinted). algae of the western great lakes area. otto koeltz sci. publ., wgermany, pp. 1-977. yamagishi, t. and hashizume, s. 1989. morphological variability on some freshwater algae. nihon univ. fac. agri. j. bot. 25: 73-84. (manuscript received on 5 august 2007; revised on 5 september 2007) moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colw abstract introduction cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae, synurophyceae an materials and methods taxonomic enumeration division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: chloroco family: palmellaceae family: characiaceae family: hydrodictyaceae family: botryococcaceae family: oocystaceae family: chlorellaceae family: coelastraceae family: scenedesmaceae acknowledgements references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 67-69, 2007 (june) short communication curvularia harveyi shipton : a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and arju yasmin2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: curvularia harveyi, maize, bangladesh maize (zea mays l.) is one of the three most popular cereal crops of the world. it occupies an important position in the world economy and is traded as a food, feed and industrial grain crop. but disease is the most important obstacle for maize production. every year various kinds of diseases cause yield loss of maize. in bangladesh, so far 28 different diseases of maize have been reported and most of these are caused by fungi. twenty species of fungi were recorded on maize in bangladesh (bari 2004, yasmin 2007). however, very little work has been done regarding the etiology of the disease and identification of the pathogens. recently, a study was undertaken to find out the association of fungi with maize plant grown in bangladesh (yasmin 2007). during the isolation of fungi from the infected leaf of maize, a hyphomycetes fungus curvularia harveyi shipton was found associated with the sample examined which is a new record for bangladesh. the isolated fungus was identified following ellis (1971). so far it was recorded on triticum from australia. curvularia species mainly cause small necrotic or chlorotic spots on the leaf of maize plant. these are the causal agents of leaf spots, leaf blight, kernel rot, root rot, seedling blights, grain lesions and deformation (ellis 1971). before the present communication, 12 species of curvularia with one variety have been reported from bangladesh by various workers: c. affinis, c. geniculata, c. pallescens (akhter 2001), c. brachyspora, c. eragrostidis, c. fallax, c. penniseti, c. prasadii, c. stapeliae (haque 2006), c. lunata, c. lunata var. aeria (shamsi et al. 2003), c. clavata and c. senegalensis (akhter 1993). taxonomic description of curvularia harveyi is given below. curvularia harveyi shipton (plate 1) colonies fluffy, olivaceous black. conidiophores solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, often geniculate, pale to dark brown, septate, 56-95 µm long, 4.0-5.6 µm thick, often swollen at the base. conidia with 3 septa, dark brown, almost straight or slightly curved, at the third cell from the base is larger and darker than the others, end cells subhyaline or pale brown, smooth, 24-43 × 9.2-15.6 µm. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zohams@aitlbd.net 2e-mail: arju_yasmin@hotmail.com 68 shamsi and yasmin specimen examined: isolated from the infected leaves of zea mays l. (poaceae), botanical research garden, curzon hall, university of dhaka, 24 september 2005, a. yasmin, 3. plate 1. curvularia harveyi. a. infected leaf of maize (zea mays); b. culture plate; c. photomicrograph of the mycelia, conidia and conidiophores; d. camera lucida drawings of the fungus: i) conidiophore and ii) conidia. curvularia harveyi 69 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. jadu lal karmoker, chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities for carrying out the present work and prof. m.r. khan of the same department for his cooperation, suggestions, encouragement and helping in microscopic and digital photography. references akhter, r. 1993. a study of some dematiaceous hyphomycetes associated with dead plant parts. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 56. akhter, s. 2001. taxonomic studies of some dematiaceous hyphomycetes associated with diseased plant parts. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 74. bari (bangladesh agricultural research institute) 2004. gam o vuttar prodhan rog somuho abong tar protiker (major diseases of wheat and maize and their control) (in bangla). publication no. bklt02/2004-05. plant pathology department, bari, dhaka. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 608. haque, j. 2006. study of fungi associated with some selected vegetables of bangladesh. m.s. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 64. shamsi, s., khan, a.z.m. nowsher a., shahjahan, a.k.m. and miah, s.a. 2003. fungal species associated with sheaths and grains of sheath rot affected rice varieties from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(1): 17-22. yasmin, a. 2007. fungi associated with infected maize plant (zea mays l.) and chemical control of the selected pathogenic species. m.s. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 72. (manuscript received on 11 march 2007; revised on 7 april 2007) a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 185-194, 2009 (december) review paper © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran b. zarei-darki1 department of biology, islamic azad university, falavarjan branche, esfahan, iran. keywords: algal flora; taxonomic quotient; water body; iran. abstract algal floristic work carried out in iran between 1853 and 1981 have been reviewed and compared with the results obtained in a series of recent studies (2000-2007). algal samples for the recent studies were collected mainly from different inland aquatic habitats. on the basis of data from published and the recent studies, the systematic list of algae shows the occurrence of 1304 species and 1559 infra-specific taxa in iran. however, 1213 species (1443 infra-specific taxa) revealed from the recent studies included 812 species (979 infra-specific taxa) as new reports for iran (63% of the total species recorded). analysis on taxonomic structure of algal flora of iran testifies its richness. the basic parameters of a regular diversification of flora, values of genera quotient, spectra of leading taxa confirm that the highest percentage is contributed by bacillariophyta (43%) of the total number of specific and infra-specific taxa followed by chlorophyta (25%), cyanophyta (15%) and euglenophyta (8%). on an interrelation among divisions of algae, the algal flora of iran appeared to be closer to that of turkmenistan. introduction preserving biological diversity needs research on species richness of certain taxonomic groups in different administrative and natural territories. so far, the algal diversity of iran has been investigated very insufficiently. according to compere (1981) l. rabenhorst (1853) reported first several species of freshwater diatoms (bacillariophyta) from south persia, iran but without mentioning habitats. in 1842, soil samples were collected by kotschy from the territories between percipolis, shiraz and bushehr which cover modern provinces, namely fars, esfahan, bahtiaria and cheharmehal, busher. later ehrenberg studied them and revealed 45 species of algae (ehrenberg, 1854), out of which, 29 species became valid. in 1899, j.b. petersen identified 8 species of algae studying samples collected by o. paulsen from the purlieus of tehran (petersen, 1930). later on, d.a. tarnogradskiy collected 9 samples from the anzali swamp in november 1922 and woronichin (1925) published 13 species of algae from those collections. the first remarkable studies on the algal flora of iran by löffler (1959, 1961) appeared 100 years after the very first report by rabenhorst (l.c.). the works of löffler can be considered as the first authentic study on the algal flora of iran. later on, hirano (1973) and wasylik (1975) reported 406 infra-specific taxa. from the soil algae of sahara-gobi desert area, 29 species from the arid soils have been mentioned for iran (novichkova-ivanova, 1980). 1 e-mail: zareidarki@iaufala.ac.ir; zarei@mail.ru 186 zarei-darki in autumn of 1972, the belgian multi-purpose expedition investigated deserts of the central, eastern and middle iran, mainly dašt-e kavir, dašt-e lut and hollow jazmuriyãn. botanist of the above-mentioned expedition j. leonard collected samples of algae, which became a subject of study in p. compere’s work (compere, 1981). the samples of algae were collected from 21 different places and about 300 species and varieties were presented. of these 66% was diatom, 17% green and 14% blue-green algae. two species of diatom nitzschia curvata compere, n. iranica compere and one form navicula egregia hust. fa. elongata compere were described as new to science (compere, 1981). till 2000, an estimated 580 algal taxa were known from iran. a series of studies on algae of iran was conducted between 2000 and 2007 based on 535 samples collected from 125 water bodies from all over iran (dogadina et al. 2002; zarei-darki, 2002, 2004 a, b, 2006, 2007). the habitats included 64 rivers, 19 reservoirs, 19 ponds, 7 lakes, 2 swamps, 2 karizes (a kind of artificial underground channel), 2 water-falls, and 10 springs of which 6 were thermal with water temperature ranged from 34-52°с (fig. 1). fig. 1. schematic map of iran with sampling sites: deciduous vegetation (dcv), steppe mountain vegetation (smv), friganoid mountain vegetation (fmv), desert vegetation (dv), complex vegetation of deserted coastal lowlands (cvdcl), meadow-salt marsh vegetation of southern coast of caspian sea (mvcs), ● – author’s collections (2000-2007); ▲the literary data. taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 187 the present paper attempts to analyze the taxonomic structure of algal flora of iran based upon published information starting from l. rabenhorst to p. compere (18531981) and also data obtained from recent studies based upon samples collected between 2000 and 2007 by the author. the algal flora of georgia (chkhaidze, 1987), turkmenistan (kogan, 1973), central asia (muzafarov, 1965), vietnam (tien, 1982) and ukraine (wasser and tsarenko, 2000; tsarenko and petlevanniy, 2001) were also compared with that of iran. overall algal diversity of iran algae from different water bodies of iran revealed the occurrence of 1213 species and 1443 infra-specific taxa (infra-specific taxa), which included 812 species (979 infraspecific taxa) as new report for iran (about 63% of the general species diversity). but 91 algal species (116 infra-specific taxa) from the previous studies on the territorial boundary of iran could not be confirmed in the recent studies. so, by adding 91 species and 116 infra-specific taxa as obtained from the literature survey to the data accumulated in the recent studies, the total number of algal species now reached 1304 (1559 infraspecific taxa) for iran (table 1). the algal species of iran belong to 8 divisions, 15 classes, 37 orders, 96 families and 262 genera (table 1). among the divisions, bacillariophyta is the largest followed by chlorophyta, cyanophyta and euglenophyta. the percentage of each division is given in table 2. in the following sections, classification of zerov (1972) is followed. diversity within algal divisions cyanophyta has made up almost 15% of the total number of specific and infraspecific taxa of iran (table 2). the recent studies revealed 174 species including 201 infra-specific taxa. about 126 taxa appeared as new reports from iran. from literary data the wide-spread cyanophytic species belonged to the genera gloeocapsa (kütz.) hollerb., merismopedia (meyen) elenk., microcystis (kütz.) elenk., oscillatoria vauch., phormidium kütz. and synechocystis sauv. some sporadically recorded cyanophytes are synechocystis pevalekii erceg. (parišãn lake), microcystis testacea (näg.) elenk. (lirbāzār rudgā river), aphanothece nostocopsis skuja (parišãn lake), chamaesiphon incrustans grun. (toroq reservoir), phormidium paulsenianum boye-pet. (orumiyeh lake), ph. toficola (näg.) gom (šatt-e mongãr lake), microcoleus sociatus w. et g.s. west (mahallãt thermal spring), anabaena azollae straburg (anzali swamp), and rivularia aquatica (de wild.) geitl. (vošmgir reservoir). euglenophyta is the fourth largest division in iran in terms of species and infraspecific numbers. in the research conducted during 2000-2007, 121 euglenoid taxa were recorded as new reports. earlier, four species of euglenoid algae recorded by wasylik (1975) and compere (1981) were also found to occur in the present investigation. 188 zarei-darki taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 189 190 zarei-darki euglena anabaena mainx was found only in halil rud river and e. mutabilis schmitz was recorded both from halil rud and minãb rivers; while e. oxyuris schmarda in a number of rivers, reservoirs, ponds and swamp habitats (water temperature 16-28°с, рн 6.5-8.0). trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein emend. defl. var. duplex defl. occurred in qešlāq river and hasanlu reservoir. the occurrence of chrysophyta is known only from the recent studies. the most frequently occurring and wide-spread species are dinobryon divergens imhof., kephyrion rubri-claustri conr. and lagynion triangulare (stokes) pasch. occasionally occurring species include chrysococcus оrnatus pasch., dinobryon sertularia ehr., d. sociale ehr., kephyrion valkanovii huber-pest. and pseudokephyrion schilleri (schill.) conr. altogether 56 species and 58 infra-specific taxa of xanthophyta have been recorded in the recent studies; but the occurrence of species like botrydiopsis eriensis snow, botryochloris minima pasch. (novichkova-ivanova, 1980) and vaucheria sessilis (vauch.) d.c. (woronichin, 1925) reported in previous studies could not be confirmed. the majority of xanthophytа representatives was noted seldom, and a few of these species, namely arachnochloris striata pasch., chlorothecium clava pasch., stipitococcus apiculatus prescott and tetraedriella impressa pasch., were recorded only in šãdgãn pond, and mohammad ãbãd and sivand rivers, and anzali swamp, respectively. diatoms (bacillariophyta) dominated in all the investigated water bodies of iran. more than 90% of species and infra-species (i.e. 479 species and 612 infra-specific taxa) were revealed by the recent studies with 217 species (303 infra-specific taxa) as new records for iran. some of the newly recorded diatom species of iran are aulacoseira italica (ehr.) sim., cyclotella bodanica grun., c. caspia grun., diatoma ehrenbergii kütz., eunotia diodon ehr., melosira lineate ag., m. undulata (ehr.) kütz. var. normannii arn., stephanodiscus astraea (ehr.) grun., synedra gaillonii (bory) ehr. and thalassiosira bramaputrae (ehr.) hak. out of 36 species of dinophytes, only two were known before (löffler, 1961; wasylik, 1975), namely ceratium hirundinella (o. müll.) bergh. and peridiniopsis oculatum (stein) bourr. dinophytes represented in the plankton of qešlāq river and reservoir, sanandaj city were glenodinium lemmermannii zach., gonyaulax polyedra stein, gymnodinium palustre schill., peridiniopsis charkowiensis (matv.) bourr., p. oculatum (stein) bourr., peridinium aciculiferum lemm. and p. pseudolaeve lef. no species of cryptophyta was recorded for iran before the recent studies. most frequent cryptophytes are chroomonas acuta uterm., ch. coerulea (geitl). skuja, ch. rosenbergae hub.-pest., cryptomonas borealis skuja, c. marssonii skuja and c. parapyrenoidifera skuja. taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 191 chlorophyta is the second largest algal division in iran. class chlorophyceae occupies leading position among other classes of green algae and is represented by 9 orders, 27 families, 209 species and 221 infra-specific taxa. as a result of processing samples from polytypic water bodies of iran during 2000-2007, 200 species (211 infraspecific taxa) were identified, of them 165 species (176 infra-specific taxa) are new for the country. frequently occurring species are chlamydomonas angulosa dill, ch. snowiae printz, coelastrum microporum näg. in a. br., dunaliella minuta lerche, kirchneriella irregularis (g. sm.) korsch., micractinium pusillum fres., monoraphidium irregulare (g. sm.) kom.-legn. in fott, oocystis borgei snow, pediastrum boryanum (turp). menegh., planctococcus sphaerocystiformis korsch., scenedesmus acuminatus (lagerh.) chod., s. ellipticus (w. et g. s. west) chod., s. quadricauda (turp.) breb., schroederia setigera (schröd.) lemm., tetraedron minimum (a. br.) hansg. and tetrastrum triangulare (chod.) kom. from the order chlorodendrales under the class prasinophyceae, two species, namely tetraselmis arnoldii (pr.-lavr.) norris, hori & chihara and t. contracta (carter) butcher, were recorded from rivers, reservoirs and swamps. among the new findings from ulvophyceae, noteworthy species are geminellopsis fragilis korsch., klebsormidium dissectum (gay) ettl et gärtn., stichococcus bacillaris näg., ulothrix flacca (dilw.) thur., u. zonata (web. et mohr.) kütz. and uronema confervicolum lagerh. from zygnematophyceae, mougeotia sphaerocarpa wolle, spirogyra bogeana trans., s. condensata (vauch). kütz., s. ellipsospora trans., s. micropunctata jao, s. pratensis trans., zygnema insigne (hass.) kütz. and z. pectinatum (vauch.) ag. have been recorded for the first time in iran during recent studies. charophyceae known earlier (compere, 1981) have also been found to occur during the recent studies. chara gymnophylla a. br. was found to grow within water temperature 14-28°с, рн 6.5-7.0 in the halil rud river and šatt-e mongãr lake, and ch. vulgaris l. emend. wallr. in halil rud river, šãdgãn pond and gãvxuni swamp (14-28 °с, рн 6.5-8.5). for the first time in iran, chara uzbekistanica hollerb. was found in the šatt-e mongãr lake and gãvxuni swamp (20-28°с, рн 6.5-8.5). however, nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. could not be recorded in the recent studies. taxonomic quotients it is known that the factor which testifies connection between number of species, genera and families determines the ‘face’ of flora with the greatest clarity (tolmachev, 1974). 'proportions of flora' and generic factor concern to a group of parameters of taxonomic diversity. the s/f (species/families) is estimated as a ratio between the number of species and number of family of a particular group (e.g. class); g/f (genera/families) and s/g (species/genera) are determined in a like manner. generic factor shows generic 192 zarei-darki richness of algal flora by species and infra-specific taxa. according to some authors, richer floras differ from less rich floras by higher values of these parameters (shmidt, 1980, 1984). additionally, generic factor is considered as a factor of taxonomic diversity that does not depend on area. comparison of genera quotient values among divisions shows that the greatest specific richness is seen in bacillariophyta followed by euglenophyta, cryptophyta and cyanophyta (table 1). in spite of high number of species in algal flora, chlorophyta occupies sixth place. apparently, it is explained by the presence of the large number of genera with little species number, e.g. 84 genera represented only by one or two species out of 116 total genera in iran’s algal flora. for the algal flora of iran as a whole, rather high values of general genera quotient (4.9) (table 1) testifies the richness of investigated flora. such conclusion is proved to be true by the comparison of values of the genera quotient for some other floras. for example, genera quotient was 2.8 for system of lake chany (safonova, 1973), and 3.8 for water bodies of yakutia (vasilieva, 1989). comparison of algal flora of iran with those of other countries table 2 shows a comparison of taxonomic spectrum of algal flora of different countries with that of iran. the choice of the countries was arbitrary. the only generalized data brought in the literature (muzafarov, 1965; kogan, 1973; tien, 1982; chkhaidze, 1987; wasser and tsarenko, 2000; tsarenko and petlevanniy, 2001) were used in the paper. the compared countries and regions rather differ on the terrain, natural settings, remoteness from iran, a degree of a level of algal flora knowledge and many other attributes. however, ostensibly such comparison is useful to reveal general regularity and characteristic features in the algal structures of these regions. absolute values of all comparable floras differ markedly and indeed depend on degree of algal study in the country. therefore, proportion (in %) a division occupies in the total algal flora was preferred than its absolute value. in all the compared floras as presented in table 2, the basic role is played by two divisions, namely chlorophyta and bacillariophyta, occupying top two positions in taxonomic spectra. contribution of these two divisions in the algal flora of iran looks very close to the algal flora of turkmenistan. this can be explained by the geographical location and presence of the general orographical and climatic attributes of the two countries. in other floras, the 1st place is occupied by the green algae considerably leaving behind diatoms as it is evident in the flora of ukraine range. in all the compared floras, the 3rd place in taxonomic spectra is occupied by blue-green algae. it is evident that the diversity of cyanophyta in some neighboring geographical regions (turkmenistan, central asia) is very high compared with iran. but contrary to it, in iran, luxuriant growth of cyanophyta is common in the rice fields and obviously a study on these taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 193 habitats could add a few more taxa to the list of iran. parameters of the relative contribution on other divisions of algae when compared, the data obtained for iran shows a concurrence with the data of other floras in most cases. acknowledgement the author expresses sincere gratitude to prof. t.v. dogadina under whose direction the present piece of research was carried out. references chkhaidze, r.i. 1987. material k analizu algoflory gruzii (material to analyze of algal flora of georgia). tez. dokl. vsesous. conf. “aktualnie problem sovremennoy algologii”. nauk. dumaka, kiev, pp. 1-82. 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(in russian) novichkova-ivanova, l.n. 1980. pochvennye vodorosli fitocenozov saharo-gobiiskoi pustynnoi oblasti (soil algae of sahara-gobi desert region). nauka. leningrad, pp. 1-256. (in russian) petersen, j.b. 1930. algae from o. olufsen’s second danish pamir expedition 1898-1899. dansk. bot. ark. 6(6): 1-60. rabenhorst l. 1853. die süsswasser-diatomaceen. e. kummer, leipzig, pp. 1-72 + pls 1-10. safonova, t.a. 1973. sovremennoe sostoyanie izuchennosti algoflori zapadnoy sibiri (modern condition of a level of study of algal flora in the western siberia). an sssr vsesouz. botan. obsh., leningrad, pp. 196. (in russian) shmidt, v.m. 1980. statisticheskie metody v sravnitelnoy floristike (statistical methods of comparative floristic). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-176. (in russian) shmidt, v.m. 1984. matematicheskie metody v botanike (mathematical methods of botany). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-288. (in russian) tien, z.d. 1982. flora vodorosley vodoemov vietnama (algal flora of water bodies in the vietnam). abstract of phd thesis, institute of botany a. sc uzbekistan. tashkent, pp. 1-474. (in russian) tolmachev, a.i. 1974. vvedenie v geografiyu rasteniy (introduction to geography of plants). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-243. (in russian) 194 zarei-darki tsarenko, p.m. and petlevanniy, o.a. 2001. dopolnenie k raznoobraziyu vodorosley ukrainy (addition to diversity of algae of ukraine). kholodny int. of botany nat. a. sc. ukraine, pp. 1-130. (in russian) vasilieva, i.i. 1989. vodorosli vodoemov criolitozony sssr: sistematicheskiy sostav, ekologia, rasprostranenie (na primere yakutii) (algae of water bodies in cryolite zone of ussr: taxonomic composition, ecology, distribution). kishenev, pp. 1-50. (in russian) wasser, s.p. (ed.) and tsarenko, p.m. 2000. raznoobrazie vodoroslei ukrainy (diversity of algae in the ukraine). algologia 10(4): 1-309. (in russian) wasylik, k. 1975. notes on the freshwater algae of iran. fragm. flor. geobot. 21(3): 369-397. woronichin, n.n. 1925. spisok presnovodnyh vodoroslei, sobrannyh d.a. tarnogradskim v okrestnostyah bolota enzeli (list of freshwater algae collected by d.a. tarnogradskiy in the neighbourhood of anzali swamp). travaux de la station biologique du caucase du nord 1(1): 43-44. (in russian) zarei darki, b. 2002. algae of biological ponds (esfahan province, iran). bull. kharkiv nat. agr. univ. ser. biology, kharkiv, 9(1): 96-101. zarei darki, b. 2004a. algae of water bodies of iran. phd thesis, kholodny int. of botany nat. a. sc. ukraine. кiev, pp. 1-664. zarei darki b. 2004b. chrysophyta of water bodies of iran. int. journal on algae 6(1): 12-20. zarei darki, b. 2006. bacillariophyta vodoemov irana (bacillariophyta of water bodies of iran). algologia 16(2): 246-260. (in russian) zarei darki, b. 2007. diatomic algae of lakes of iran. proceedings of international conference of youth scientists on ‘actual problems of phycology’, kiev, ukraine, 17-21 october 2007, pp. 34-35. zerov, d.k. 1972. ocherk phylogenii bessosudictykh rasteniy (phylogenetic sketch of the avascular plants). naukova dumka press, kiev, pp. 1-316. (in russian) (manuscript received on 1 august 2008; revised on 5 june 2009) taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran introduction references microsoft word s-2. bjpt 17-11_new variety of dimaria_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 237–240, 2017 (december) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of dimeria connivens hack. (poaceae) from india k. chandramohan1 and p.v. prasanna2 botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad-500 048, india keywords: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana; eastern ghats; poaceae; satkosia. dimeria robert brown (1810) is well known paleotropical genus belonging to poaceae (andropogoneae dimeriinae) (clayton and renvoize, 1986). globally, it is represented by c. 65 species distributed in tropical asian region and in india by c. 40 species (bor, 1953, 1960; clayton and renvoize, 1986; clayton et al., 2006; kiran raj, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2015, 2016). dimeria is characterized by equal and divergent binate racemes with laterally compressed spikelets. while exploring the plant wealth of satkosia tiger reserve, first author has collected an interesting dimeria species from banigoccha reserve forest, mahanadi wildlife division. after critical examination of the specimens with available literature and comparison with allied species, it is revealed that the species is distinct from dimeria connivens and therefore, recognized it as a new variety of dimeria connivens hack. a key to the varieties of d. connivens in india is also provided. taxonomy dimeria connivens hack. var. roxburghiana k.c. mohan & prasanna, var. nov. (plate 1). diagnosis: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana is similar to var. connivens, but differs in habit, number and length of the racemes, broadly winged corky upper glume and linear-lanceolate lower lemma (table 1). type: india, odisha, nayagarh, satkosia tiger reserve, 20° 24' 15.5" n; 084° 44' 09.3"e, 201 masl elevation, 30 september, 2016, chandramohan 8354 (holotype: cal!; isotype: bsid!). annuals. culms erect, 40–50 cm high; nodes hairy, clothed with leaf sheath. leaf sheath terete, margins pilose with tubercle based hairs, 2.0–2.5 cm long, loose, uppermost spathiform; ligule membranous, ciliate at apex, 0.5–0.6 cm long; leaf blade linear-lanceolate, 7–9 × 0.2–0.3 cm, glabrous on both sides and tubercle based hairy along margins, margins more or less wavy, acuminate at apex. racemes 2 or 3, erect,eventually divergent, 4.2–7.0 cm long. rachis narrowly winged, triquetrous, ciliate along margins, 0.9–1.0 mm wide, zig-zag. spikelets solitary, up to 4.1 × 1.2 mm, falling entire at maturity; pedicels thick, 0.3–0.4 mm long, glabrous; raceme internodes 1 mm long; callus oblong, minute, hairy. lower glume linear-lanceolate, 3.5–3.8 × 0.2–0.3 mm long, acute to acuminate at apex, sub-coriaceous, 1-keeled, pilose along keel, margins hyaline, ciliate on outer surface. upper glume elliptic-oblong, 4.1–4.3 × 0.9–1 mm, acute at apex, sub coriaceous, 1-keeled, winged all along the keel, pilose, margins hyaline, ciliate on outer surface. florets 2; lower barren, epaleate, upper bisexual.lower lemma lanceolate, 1.8–1.9 mm, hyaline, acute, margins ciliate towards the apex. upper lemma elliptic, 2.8-3.0 × 0.8-1.0 mm, 2-lobed at apex, awned from the sinus, 1-nerved; awn geniculate, 10-11 mm long. stamens 2; anthers 1 mm long. palea very narrow. caryopsis lanceolate, 2.0–2.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm, brown.                                                              1corresponding author. email: kolaganicm@gmail.com 2botanical survey of india, central national herbarium, howrah-711 103, india 238 chandramohan and prasanna plate 1. dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana var. nov. a. habit; b. rachis; c. spikelet; d. lower glume; e. upper glume; f. upper lemma; g. lower lemma: h. caryopsis. a new variety ofdimeria connivens hack. 239 flowering and fruiting: september – october. etymology: the species is named after william roxburgh, the father of indian botany. distribution and ecology: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana is collected from the single locality from satkosia tiger reserve with few individuals. it grows in open rocky slopes in deciduous forests in association of dimeria mooneyi and striga angustifolia. conservation status: as per the iucn guidelines version 4.0 (iucn, 2014), the species falls under the category data deficient (dd), as it is known from a single location and its population is scanty. table 1. morphological comparison between dimeria connivens var. connivens and dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana. characters dimeria connivens var. connivens dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana habit culms 10–40 cm long culms 40–50 cm long leaf blades confined to the base of the culms, sometimes all along culms; blade 0.5–7.5 cm long all along culms; blade 7–9 cm long raceme 2, 3–6 cm long 2 or 3, 4.2–7.0 cm long rachis c. 0.5 mm wide; triquetrous in section c. 1 mm wide; more or less circular in section lower glume narrowly ovate linear-lanceolate upper glume oblong, narrowly winged all along keel elliptic-oblong, broadly winged all along the keel lower lemma narrowly obovate, acute at apex, 1.0–1.3 mm long linear-lanceolate, acute at apex, 1.8–1.9 mm long key to the varieties of dimeria connivens 1. rachis c. 0.5 mm wide; lower glume narrowly ovate; lower lemma narrowly obovate, 1.0–1.3 mm long. d. connivens var. connivens rachis c. 1 mm wide; lower glume linear-lanceolate; lower lemma linear-lanceolate, 1.8–1.9 mm long. d. connivens var. roxburghiana acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india and dr. l. rasingam, scientist in-charge, botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad for facilities. permission and logistic support provided by pccf (wl) and officials of odisha state forest department are gratefully acknowledged. references bor, n.l. 1953. notes on asiatic grasses xi. the genus dimeria r. br. in india and burma. kew bull. 7: 553−592. bor, n.l. 1960. the grasses of burma, ceylon, india, and pakistan (excluding bambuseae). pergamon press, london. brown, r. 1810. prodromus florae novae hollandiaeetinsulae van diemen, 1. j. johnson, london, 204 pp. clayton, w.d. and renvoize, s.a. 1986.genera graminum. grasses of the world. kew bull. add. ser. xiii. 389 pp. 240 chandramohan and prasanna clayton, w.d., vorontsova, m.s., harman, k.t. and williamson, h. 2006 (onwards). grassbase – the online world grass flora.<http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html>. retrieved on 2 march 2015. iucn. 2014. iucn red list categories and criteria, version 2. iucn species survival commission. kiran raj, m.s. 2008. taxonomic revision of the sub-tribe dimeriinae hack.: andropogoneae (poaceae panicoideae) in peninsular india. ph.d. thesis (unpublished).university of calicut, india, pp.1−409. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., veldkamp, j.f., alfarhan, a.h. and amal tamimi, a.s.m. 2015. a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. (poaceae: andropogoneae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 47–54. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., dileep, p. and alfarhan, a.h. 2016. a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq.(poaceae) from india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 27–31. (manuscript received on 20 january 2017; revised on 25 september 2017) microsoft word 09. bjpt 16 69_edt_231117-1.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 205–214, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants associated with a slight change in elevation abeer al-andal, mahmoud moustafa1,2 and suliman alruman1 department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: rapd; issr; mixed rapd; schinus molle l. abstract this study examined the degree of variations in dna fingerprints associated with slight altitudinal change of schinus molle grown in abha region, saudi arabia. seven populations from schinus molle plants located at 2193.0, 2246.0, 2197.7, 2441.0, 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 meters had been investigated. the degree of genetic variability was evaluated using random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd), mixed rapd and intersimple sequence repeat markers (issr). the genetic similarity coefficients from rapd analysis revealed the maximum similarity value (89.9%) was between population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m. the genetic similarity coefficients from mixed rapd primers displayed the highest similarity value (87.6%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2197.7 m. similarity coefficients from issr analysis revealed the highest similarity value (86.2%) among populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2441.0 m and at 2250.6 m. super tree analysis (rapd + mixed rapd + issr) showed the highest similarity value (85.5%) between population at 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m. in conclusion, marker systems including rapd, mixed rapd and issr, alone or combined can be effectively used in determining the genetic relationship among schinus molle plants even at very close populations. introduction abha region has a specialized environmental condition among all other areas in the kingdom of saudi arabia which have an indirect effect on the weed plants growth. s. molle plants (family, anacardiaceae) are among the most common weed in saudi arabia especially in tharawat mountains. the tree of s. molle plant is an evergreen, dioecious, grows up to 20 meters in height. flowers are small, with yellowish white petals and all plant parts especially fruits having strong aroma (lim, 2012). s. molle is common weed in south america and recently into many tropical and subtropical countries (olafsson et al., 1997). in abha region, s. molle tree has been planted in many areas as in valleys, public gardens and for house decorations. after that, the plant became a common weed in many areas of abha city growing beside road and next the wall of houses as it is reproduced by seeds. s. molle plant showed to be resistant to the harsh environmental condition such as high temperature, cold and increasing soil salinity (lim, 2012). in addition, s. molle plants usually used for the restoration of degraded areas and showed tolerance to heavy metals (doganlar et al., 2012; pereira et al., 2016). toward this approach examine the genetic diversity of s. molle plant is highly needed as no reports available. in recent years, a number of randomly amplified polymorphic dna–polymerase chain reaction (rapd-pcr) and inter-simple sequence repeat–polymerase chain reaction (issr-pcr) markers had been used to study genetic diversity among plant species. for example, rapd 1corresponding author. email: mfmostfa@kku.edu.sa 1research center for advanced materials science (rcams), king khalid university, abha, saudi arabia. 2department of botany, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt. 206 al-andal et al. technique was successfully applied genetically to distinguish among ocimum spp. (vieria et al., 2003), to study the genetic diversity in monodora myristica (uyoh et al., 2014) and various population of ziziphus spina-christi l. (moustafa et al., 2016). issr technique was used to study genetic diversity of the lens spp. (fikiru et al., 2007), and genetic relationships of chukrasia spp. (wu et al., 2014). therefore, the aim of this research is to study genetic diversity of s. molle plants growing at close locations in abha region, ksa. to the best of our knowledge, there are few reports indicating the use of mix primer to estimate the genetic diversity among plant /or to study plant dna fingerprint. therefore, this study also aimed to check the status of dan fingerprints using mixed primers. materials and methods plant material seven locations at various elevations in abha region, ksa,include 2193.0, 2246.0, 2197.7, 2441.0, 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 meters have been selected (fig. 1). at each site, random samples of young fresh leaves from s. molle trees having a height 1500 cm had been collected. fig. 1.sampling sites in abha region, ksa. site (1), (2193.0); site (2), (2246.0); site (3), (2197.7); site (4), (2441.0), site (5), (2372.0), site (6), (2250.6) and site (7), (2175.0 m). taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 207 extraction the genomic dna from leaves of s. molle plants genomic dna was extracted from fresh young leaves of s. molle plants by using dneasy plant mini kit. dna concentration was estimated by a thermo scientific™ biomate 3s uvvisible at 260 nm. pcr amplification eight rapd, nine issr and eight mixed rapd markers were used in this study (table 1). pcr reaction consists from 1 x gotaq green master mix, 4 µl from each primer, 20 ng of genomic dna and nuclease-free water to get a final 25 µl volume. ptc 200 peltier thermal cycler (mj research usa) adjusted as follows: initial degree at 94°c for 5 minutes followed by forty nine cycles at 92°c for 1 minute, primer annealing temperature at 29°c for 1 minute, extension at 72°c for 2 minutes and final process for primer extension at 72°c for 7 minutes. an equal amount of each amplified product of 20 ul was separated by electrophoresis using 1.3 % agarose gels in 0.5x tbe buffer. stained gel with ethidium bromide was photographed by gel documentation system using uv transilluminator at 365 nm (hashemi et al., 2009). each experiment was repeated three times and molecular weight of rapd-pcr, mixed rapd-pcr and issr-pcr fragments were estimated using marker 1 kb dna ladder between 250 to 10,000 bp. table 1. rapd, mixed rapd and issr primers. rapd primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') oligo 342 gagatccctc oligo 345 gcgtgacccg oligo 349 ggagccccct oligo 33 ccggctggaa opk-8 gaacactggg opj-1 cccggcataa oligo 214 catgtgcttg oligo 213 cagcgaacta mixed rapd primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') oligo 203+oligo 342 cacggcgagt+gagatccctc oligo 203+ oligo 345 cacggcgagt+gcgtgacccg oligo 203+oligo 42 cacggcgagt+ttaacccggc oligo 203+oligo 349 cacggcgagt+ggagccccct oligo 203+oligo 214 cacggcgagt+catgtgcttg oligo 203+oligo 213 cacggcgagt+cagcgaacta oligo 203+oligo 33 cacggcgagt+ccggctggaa oligo 203+opk-8 cacggcgagt+gaacactggg issr primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') primer (3) tggatggatggatgga primer (4) cacacaca cacaca ag ubc 823 tct ctc tct ctc tcc ubc 824 tct ctc tct ctc tcg ubc 826 aca cac aca cac acc hb 14 ctc ctcctc gc primer (1) gagagagagagagagac primer (2) gagagagagagagagagagag hb 11 gtg tgt gt gtgtcc 208 al-andal et al. data analysis all scored fragments gained from rapd-pcr, mixed rapd-pcr and issr-pcr were manually recorded as present (1) or absent (0). matrix of similarity based on binary-double zeros s3, and squared euclidean distance was used to calculate the distances and to generate dendrogram (sneath and sokal, 1973). polymorphism percentage was estimated by calculating polymorphic bands/total number of bands. results rapd analysis rapd primers produced a total of 109 scorable bands from genotypes of s. molle, out of which 23.0 (21.1%) were found to be polymorphic, 1.00 (0.91%) to be monomorphic bands and 85.0 (77.9%) to be unique bands. primer oligo 345, yielded the maximum number of bands (20.0 bands) while the lowest number of bands (3.00 bands) obtained from primer oligo 214. the percentage of polymorphism ranged from 0.00% (primer oligo 33 and primer oligo 214) to 57.1% (primer oligo 342). the maximum number of unique bands (17.0 bands) was recorded from primer oligo 33, while the lowest number of unique bands (3.00 bands) from the primer oligo 342 and primer oligo 214 (table 2 and fig. 2 panel a). the genetic similarity coefficients (table 3) revealed that the maximum similarity value (89.9%) was between population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m, while the least similarity value (72.5%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2372.0 m. dendrogram analysis (fig. 3 panel a) showed that population at 2193.0, 2197.7 and 2441.0 m found to be forming one cluster whereas population at 2246.0 m separated from them in a single cluster while population at 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 m found to be forming another one cluster. table 2. polymorphism of eight rapd primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % oligo342 7.00 4.00 0.00 3.00 57.1 oligo 345 20.0 7.00 0.00 13.0 35.0 oligo 349 17.0 5.00 1.00 11.0 29.4 oligo 33 17.0 0.00 0.00 17.0 0.00 opk-8 19.0 3.00 0.00 16.0 15.7 opj-1 13.0 1.00 0.00 12.0 7.69 oligo 214 3.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 0.00 oligo 213 13.0 3.00 0.00 10.0 23.0 total 109 23.0 1.00 85.0 20.9 mixed rapd analysis mixed rapd primers generated a total of 100 reproducible bands of which (19.0%) were polymorphic bands, (81.0%) unique bands, and no any monomorphic bands (table 4 and fig. 2 panel b). primer opk-8 produced the highest number of bands (21.0) while primer oligo 42 gave the minimum number of bands (3.00). primer oligo 33 showed the highest percentage value of polymorphism of 50.0% and the zero polymorphism rate gained from the primer oligo 42 and taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 209 primer oligo 214. the maximum number of unique bands were (18.0 bands) gained from primer opk-8, while the minimum numbers were (3.00) gained from primer oligo 42. table 3. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on rapd markers. 2193.0 m 2246.0 m 2197.7 m 2441.0 m 2372.0 m 2250.6 m 2175.0 m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.7614 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8216 0.7821 1.00 2441.0 m 0.7956 0.7684 0.828 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7399 0.7251 0.7753 0.8022 1.00 2250.6 m 0.8404 0.828 0.8705 0.8705 0.8821 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7471 0.7326 0.7821 0.7956 0.7821 0.899 1.00 the genetic similarity coefficients displayed the highest similarity value (87.6%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2197.7 m, while the least similarity value (72.6%) was recorded between population at 2372.0 m and population at 2175.0 m (table 5). resulted dendrogram showed that populations at 2193.0, 2246.0 and 2197.7 m found to be forming one cluster whereas population at 2441.0 m and population at 2372.0 m clustered together as well as population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m (fig. 3 panel b). table 4. polymorphism of eight mixed rapd primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % oligo 342 17.0 3.00 0.00 14.0 17.6 oligo 345 16.0 6.00 0.00 10.0 37.5 oligo 42 3.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 0.00 oligo 349 15.0 1.00 0.00 14.0 6.66 oligo 214 10.0 0.00 0.00 10.0 0.00 oligo 213 8.00 1.00 0.00 7.00 12.5 oligo 33 10.0 5.00 0.00 5.00 50.0 opk 8 21.0 3.00 0.00 18.0 14.2 total 100 19.0 0.00 81.0 17.3 issr analysis a total of 231 counted bands were generated by using the nine issr primers from s. molle genetic materials (table 6 and fig. 2 panel c). sixty-two polymorphic bands (26.8%), 1.00 (0.43%) monomorphic bands, 168 (72.7%) unique bands with polymorphism rate 23.2% were recorded. primer ubc 826 generated the maximum number of bands (63.0), while primer ubc 824 showed the minimum number of bands (6.00). primer (1) showed the highest rate of polymorphism (51.4%) and primer (3) showed the least rate numbers (4.54%). the highest number of unique bands (46.0) was recorded from primer ubc 826, while the least number of unique bands (5.00) resulted from primer ubc 824. 210 al-andal et al. resulted genetic similarity coefficients exhibited the highest similarity value among populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m recording 86.2%, while the least similarity value between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2175.0 m with value of 69.1% (table 7). a dendrogram pattern revealed that population at 2193.0 m and population at 2246.0 m formed one cluster whereas the populations at 2197.7 m, 2441.0 m, 2250.6 m and 2372.0 m found to be in another cluster and population at 2175.0 m formed out-group from the in-group including populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2197.7 m, 2441.0 m, 2250.6 m and 2372.0 m (fig. 3 panel c). table 5. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on mixed rapd markers. 2193.0-m 2246.0-m 2197.7-m 2441.0-m 2372.0-m 2250.6-m 2175.0-m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.8701 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8439 0.8764 1.00 2441.0 m 0.8235 0.8439 0.8571 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7654 0.7879 0.8024 0.8372 1.00 2250.6 m 0.7952 0.7879 0.8166 0.8235 0.75 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7578 0.7654 0.8095 0.7879 0.7261 0.8166 1.00 table 6. polymorphism of nine issr primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % primer (3) 22.0 1.00 0.00 21.0 4.54 primer (4) 26.0 5.00 0.00 21.0 19.2 ubc 823 18.0 5.00 0.00 13.0 27.7 ubc 824 6.00 1.00 0.00 5.00 16.6 ubc 826 63.0 16.0 1.00 46.0 25.3 hb 14 30.0 12.0 0.00 18.0 40.0 primer (1) 35.0 18.0 0.00 17.0 51.4 primer (2) 20.0 3.00 0.00 17.0 15.0 hb 11 11.0 1.00 0.00 10.0 9.09 total 231 62.0 1.00 168 23.2 table 7.genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on issr markers. 2193.0 m 2246.0 m 2197.7 m 2441.0 m 2372.0 m 2250.6 m 2175.0 m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.8621 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8123 0.8123 1.00 2441.0 m 0.8093 0.7906 0.8304 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7969 0.7713 0.7874 0.8392 1.00 2250.6 m 0.8093 0.7713 0.8304 0.8621 0.8333 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7273 0.6912 0.7514 0.7411 0.7131 0.7874 1.00 taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 211 super tree analysis (rapd + mixed rapd + issr) a combined analysis using pooled rapd, mixed rapd and issr data showed that there are 20.5 % polymorphism among studied population growing at various height. the highest similarity values (85.5%) was found between populations at 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m and the lowest similarity values between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2175.0 m (71.9%) table (8). resulted dendrogram revealed that population at 2193.0-m and population at 2246.0-m clustered together whereas populations at 2197.7, 2441.0, 2250.6 and 2372.0 m found to be forming one cluster while population at 2175.0 m separated from them in a single cluster (fig. 3 panel d). table 8. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on combined analysis. 2193 m 2246 m 2197.7 m 2441 m 2372 m 2250.6 m 2175 m 2193 m 1.00 2246 m 0.8406 1.00 2197.7 m 0.822 0.8204 1.00 2441 m 0.8092 0.7978 0.836 1.00 2372 m 0.7761 0.764 0.7879 0.8298 1.00 2250.6 m 0.814 0.7895 0.8375 0.8557 0.8282 1.00 2175 m 0.7393 0.7191 0.7727 0.7658 0.7338 0.8235 1.00 fig. 2. rapd, mixed rapd and issr profiles of s. molle plants. lane 1, 2193.0; lane 2, 2246.0; lane 3, 2197.7; lane 4, 2441.0; lane 5, 2372.0; lane 6, 2250.6; lane 7, 2175.0; m-1kb dna ladder. 212 al-andal et al. fig. 3.dendrogram based on rapd, mixed rapd, issr and super tree data of s. molle. taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 213 discussion this research article reports the use of the rapd, mixed rapd and issr makers to the s. molle plant and revealed its efficiency to determinate the dna fingerprints. also it revealed that rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers could be used alone or in combination to estimate the genetic diversifications of s. molle plants. polymorphism rate obtained either from rapd, mixed rapd, issr or from combined analysis all showed that there was high genetic variability among s. molle at a very close distance populations. the percentage of polymorphism almost same to that detected in other examined plants that they have a wide genetic variability. for example, adawy et al. (2004) and hussein et al. (2005) found that rapd polymorphism rate in various egyptian date palm cultivars (phoniex dactylifera l.) is in the range of 25.2% and for issr technique in the range of 28.6%. among the studied pistacia vera (l.) various cultivars polymorphism rate based on issr markers was 46.4% and 100% among mangifera indica (l.) based on issr markers (noroozi et al., 2009; souza et al., 2011). radp, mixed rapd and issr showed various degrees in their ability to detect the diversifications among populations of s. molle plants. this variation may be due to that the genome s. molle plants having a considerable number of alleles per locus/or loci that vary in their distribution. izzatullayeva et al. (2014) reported that such difference between rapd and issr markers due to the fact of abundant nature of microsatellites that results from slippage in dna replication. this explains why this plant can be found in various habitats vary from salinity soil to alkalinity soil and in different temperature condition ranging from very low to very high (lim, 2012). in this study, total number of unique bands obtained from issrpcr of s. molle plant more than that of rapd-pcr and mixed rapd-pcr. the results also showed that issr fingerprinting had a high number of scored bands and high polymorphic percentage rate. this in agreement with earlier studies showed that issr fingerprinting was more efficient than the rapd assay in assessing genetic variation in arthrocnemum macrostachyum (saleh, 2011). again this variation among rapd, mixed rapd and issr probably due to that amplified profiles of pcr of rapd, issr, or mixed rapd originated from different variable numbers of repetitive and non-repetitive sequence on the genomes of s. molle plant (thormann et al., 1994). the presence of monomorphic bands from rapd-pcr or from issr-pcr indication to the sharing characters based on the dna fragment in genomic s. molle plants. cluster analysis based on rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers individually or combined showed that the three markers differ from each other in the manner of distributing s. molle populations. in our study, the amount of genetic similarity among various populations of s. molle plants based on rapd markers were in range between 72.5% to 89.9% and for mixed rapd between 72.6% to 87.6% and for issr 69.1% to 86.2% and for the sum of all data between 71.9% to 85.5%. these values to some extent are in accordance with the basis proofed by weier et al. (1982) that operational taxonomic units between 85 to 100% among the same plant species and more than 65% between the same plant genus. in conclusion, our study confirms that there were a wide genetic diversity among s. molle plants that can be evaluated by using rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to king abdul-aziz city for science and technology (kacst) for providing financial support (no.at-36-305). references 214 al-andal et al. adawy, s.s., hussein, e.h.a., el-khishin, d., saker, m.m., mohamed, a.a. and el-itriby, h.a. 2004. genotyping egyptian date palm cultivars using rapd, issr, aflp markers and estimation of genetic stability among tissue culture derived plants. arab j. biotech.8: 99-114. doganlar, z. b., doganlar, o., erdogan, s. and onal, y. 2012. heavy metal pollution and physiological changes in the leaves of some shrub, palm and tree species in urban areas of adana, turkey. chem spec bioavailab 24: 65-78. fikiru, e., tesfaye, k. and bekele, e. 2007. genetic diversity and population structure of ethiopian lentil (lens culinaris medikus) landraces as revealed by issr marker. afr. j. biotechnol. 6: 1460-1468. hashemi, s.h., mirmohammadi-maibody, s.a.m., nematzadeh g.a. and arzani, a. 2009. identification of rice hybrids using microsatellite and rapd markers. afr. j. biotechnol. 8: 2094-2101. hussein, e.h.a., adawy, s.s., ismail, s.e.m.e. and el-itriby, h.a. 2005. molecular characterization of some egyptian date palm germplasm using rapd and issr markers. arab j. biotechn. 8: 83-98. izzatullayeva, v., akparov, z., babayeva, s., ojaghi, j. and abbasov, m. 2014. efficiency of using rapd and issr markers in evaluation of genetic diversity in sugar beet. turk. j. biol. 38: 429-438. lim, t.k. 2012. edible medicinal and non-medicinal plants: volume 1, fruits: schinus molle. springer, netherlands, 153-159 pp. moustafa, m.f., hesham, a., quraishi, m.s. and alrumman s.a. 2016. variations in genetic and chemical constituents of ziziphus spina-christi l. populations grown at various altitudinal zonation up to 2227 m height.genet. eng. biotechnol. 14: 349-362. noroozi, s., baghizadeh, a. and javaran, m.j. 2009. the genetic diversity of iranian pistachio (pistacia vera l.) cultivars revealed by issr markers. bio di con. 2: 50-56. olafsson, k., jaroszewski, j.w., smitt, u.w. and nyman, u. 1997. isolation of angiotensin converting enzyme (ace) inhibiting triterpenes from schinusmolle. planta med. 63: 352-355. pereira, m. p., rodrigues, l. c. a., corrêa, f. f., castro, e. m., ribeiro, v. e. and pereira, f. j. 2016. cadmium tolerance in schinus molle trees is modulated by enhanced leaf anatomy and photosynthesis. trees30: 807-814. saleh, b. 2011. efficiency of rapd and issr markers in assessing genetic variation in arthrocnemum macrostachyum (chenopodiaceae). braz. arch. biol. technol. 54: 859-866. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification. w.h. freeman and company, san francisco, california, ca, usa. souza, i.g.b., valente, s.e.s., britto, f.b., de souza, v.a.b. and lima, p.s.c. 2011. rapd analysis of the genetic diversity of mango (mangifera indica) germplasm in brazil. genet. mol. res. 10: 3080-3089. thormann, c.e., ferreira, m.e., camargo, l.e.a., tivang, j.g. and osborn, t.c. 1994. comparison of rflp and rapd markers to estimating genetic relationships within and among cruciferous species. theor appl genet 88: 973–980. uyoh, e.a., umego, c. and aikpokpodion, p.o. 2014. genetic diversity in african ntmeg (monodora myristica) a ccessions from south eastern nigeria. afr. j. biotechol. 13: 4105-4111. vieira, r.f., goldsbrough, p. and simon, j.e. 2003. genetic diversity of basil (ocimum spp.) based on rapd markers. j. amer. soc. hort. sci. 128: 94-99. weier, t.e., stocking, c.r., barbour, m.g. and rost, t.l. 1982. botany: an introduction to plant biology. john wiley and sons, new york. wu, c., zhong, c., zhang, y., jiang, q., chen, y., chen, z., pinyopusarerk, k. and bush, d. 2014. genetic diversity and genetic relationships of chukrasia spp. (meliaceae) as revealed by inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers. trees 28: 1847-1857. (manuscript received on 6 june 2016; revised on 28 october 2017) microsoft word s-2. 22-08.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 159-161, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern of bauhinia nervosa and b. wallichii (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae) m.k. pathak1, m. bhaumik and s. bandyopadhyay botanical survey of india, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india keywords: bauhinia, testa surface pattern, scanning electron microscopic studies scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern of some species of bauhinia (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae) have been undertaken by trivedi et al. (1980), gunn (1991), kaur et al. (1992), bandyopadhyay et al. (1993), and bandyopadhyay and thothathri (1996a, b). the present paper describes the testa surface patterns of bauhinia nervosa (wall. ex benth.) baker and b. wallichii j.f. macbr., which have not been studied earlier. mature seed samples were obtained from specimens deposited in the herbarium of the botanical survey of india, eastern circle, shillong (assam) and central national herbarium, howrah (cal). the light microscopic photograph was taken with the help of an olympus szx 12 microscope with photographic attachments. for scanning electron microscopic studies the seeds were cleaned with cotton soaked in absolute ethanol, air dried and mounted on metallic stubs after correctly orienting them (gunn 1991). observations were made with quanta 200 in the high vacuum mode at an applied voltage of 12.5 kv. in case of b. nervosa the scanning electron micrographs were captured from the central part of the seed and those of b. wallichii from the periphery of the seed. specimens examined: bauhinia nervosa, k. & j. hills, dawki forest, 13.2.1942, g. k. deka 20926 (assam). b. wallichii, arunachal pradesh, dibang valley, along the ephipani river, near malo basti, 250 m, 13.8.2000, m.k. pathak & m. bhaumik 2724 a (cal). observations bauhinia nervosa. seeds brown, 1.9-2.2 × 1.5-1.9 × 0.3 cm, suborbicular to ovateoblong, with scar mark of unequal funicular aril-lobes running along 7/8 of its circumference. to the naked eye and under light microscope the testa surface appeared to be faintly wrinkled. with the help of scanning electron microscope it was found to be pitted (figs 1a, b). the pits were closely situated and varied in size. they were angular to elongated, sometimes more or less circular, but rarely slit-like. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mithileshkp@yahoo.com 160 pathak et al. bauhinia wallichii. seeds brownish black, c 2.4 × 2.0 × 1.1 cm, ovate-orbicular, with scar mark of funicular aril-lobes running along 7/8 of its circumference. to the naked eye the testa surface appeared to be more or less smooth with fine cracks all over the testa surface. under light microscope the testa surface appeared to be somewhat striated (fig. 1c). with the help of scanning electron microscope the testa surface was found to be rugulate (fig. 1f) with very prominent fracture lines (?) (figs 1d, e). the central portion of the seed was also rugulate, but not as prominent as on the periphery. a few tuberculate structures (fig. 1d) and shallow circular depressions (fig. 1e) were also found on the periphery. figs 1a-f. bauhinia nervosa: a, b. scanning electron micrographs of testa surface pattern; b. wallichii: c. light microscopic photograph of testa surface pattern, d-f. scanning electron micrographs of testa surface pattern. arrows in d & e point a tuberculate structure and a shallow depression, respectively. scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface 161 there are about 300 species of bauhinia in the world (wunderlin et al. 1987), but so far scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern have been carried out only on about 4% of them. studies on many other species are, however, certainly necessary to assess the taxonomic value of the ultramicroscopic pattern on the seed surface of the genus. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the director, botanical survey of india for providing necessary facilities and encouragement, and to the scientist, in-charge, scanning electron microscopy unit for allowing to use the microscope. the authors are also grateful to g.k. upadhyay, senior research fellow, botanical survey of india for taking the photograph of the seed of bauhinia wallichii with the help of light microscope and the anonymous reviewer for his helpful suggestions. references bandyopadhyay, s. and thothathri, k. 1996a. sem studies on the testa surface pattern of some species of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 93: 116-118. bandyopadhyay, s. and thothathri, k. 1996b. sem studies on the testa surface pattern of two species of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 93: 120-121. bandyopadhyay, s., thothathri, k. and sharma, b.d. 1993. on an interesting collection of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from arunachal pradesh. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 90: 120. see errata in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 90: 326. gunn, c.r. 1991. fruits and seeds of genera in the subfamily caesalpinioideae (fabaceae). u.s. department of agriculture. technical bulletin no. 1755: 16, 200-205. kaur, h., singh, r.p., pal, a. and sahai, k. 1992. morphology, spermoderm pattern and anatomy of some bauhinia species (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. indian bot. soc. 71: 135-138. trivedi, b.s., bagchi, g.d. and bajpai, u. 1980. studies on seeds and spermoderm structure of bauhinia. phytomorphology 30: 11-16. wunderlin, r., larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1987. reorganization of the cercideae (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae). biol. skr. 28: 1-40. (manuscript received on 13 june 2008; revised on 17 july 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 93-100, 2007 (december) application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of the genus entada (fabaceae) in taiwan sheng-zehn yang1, yu-ying feng and fu-ya yeh2 department of forestry, national pingtung university of science and technology, 1 shuehfu road, neipu, pingtung 91201, taiwan key words: entada, non-metric multidimentional scaling, numerical taxonomy, ordinal cluster analysis, ordinal scaling abstract the importance of a mathematically correct treatment of ordinal information has not sufficient been emphasized. since ordinal cluster analysis (ordclan) and non-metric multidimentional scaling (nmds) are order-invariant, an attempt has been made to illustrate the previous taxonomic treatments of three species of entada adans. (fabaceae) of taiwan by these two methods. the genus entada is represented in taiwan by e. koshunensis hayata et kanehira, e. phaseoloides (l.) merr. and e. rheedii spreng. in this study, 29 morphological characteristics and 14 operational taxonomic units (otus) representing these three species were selected to construct a primary mixed data matrix. due to incomplete and limited herbarium specimens, the same local specimens were combined to form 14 otus from 62 specimens preserved in several taiwan herbaria. the characters were measured on binary nominal, multistate nominal, ordinal, and quantitative scales. ordclan and nmds based on gower’s index were used to evaluate the relationship among the three entada species from the primary matrix. the cluster dendrogram and the ordination of otus showed that the genus entada obviously can be divided into three groups representing three existing species, therefore, agreed with previous taxonomic analyses. introduction nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio data types are usually used in numerical taxonomy or vegetation ecology (anderberg 1973). the methodological sequence implied by exploratory analysis of ecological data includes sampling, data collection, resemblance matrix calculation, and classification or ordination (podani 2005). each move between these levels of abstraction can be carried out by applying either an ordinal (o, sequence-/rank-based) or a metric (m, difference-/ratio-based) scale and methodological paths, such as m-m-o, o-m-o, o-m-m, o-o-m, m-o-m, m-o-o, o-o-o, are implied. in these paths ordinal and metric properties are confounded. switching from m scale to o scale, some information is always lost and actual differences between distances become neglected, while changing from o scale to m scale, the increase of information may not be mathematically correct (krauth 1986, dale 1989, podani 2005). future multivariate analysis should be ordinal in nature so that the order of dissimilarities can be considered by algorithm. thus, the sequence o-o-o is the best combination for the 1corresponding author. e-mail: yangsz@mail.npust.edu.tw 2fooyin university. 151 chinhsueh road, taliao, kaohsiung 831, taiwan. 94 yang et al. processing of ordinal data because this path can maintain the consistency of the analysis and the overall statistic precision. however, very few reports emphasized the importance of a correct treatment of ordinal information in explanatory data analysis in the past decade. multivariate analysis is most problematic when ordinal variables appear together with other scale types in the data. however, this obstacle can be solved by extending gower's general coefficient of similarity to ordinal data types, facilitating cluster and multidimensional scaling (podani 1999). ordinal cluster analysis (ordclan) proceeds in the same manner as agglomerative clustering method. non-metric multidimentional scaling (nmds) (kruskal 1964) relies on the ordinal information and represents a good alternative to the metric procedures (podani 2000, 2005). in nmds, any change in the dissimilarity matrix of objects have no impact on the final ordination that the first two axes usually provide a fairly good representation of objects or variables. gordon (1999) suggested that the name ordinal scaling is more appropriate than non-metric scaling. these two methods are order invariant and this property ensures that the results are independent of changes not affecting ordinal relationships (podani 1999, 2005, 2006). in taiwan, three species of entada adans. (fabaceae), namely e. koshunensis hayata et kanehira, e. phaseoloides (l.) merr. and e. rheedii spreng. occur (yang et al. 2005), of which e. koshunensis is endemic. entada is frequently found among riverine vegetation and the segments of its pods are dispersed by water. the terminal pinnae of the entada species are modified into tendrils and the stems are often more than 30 cm in diameter. the plant can grow extremely quickly towards the light and has the ability to entangle trees (nielsen 1992). as the leaflets and flowers of the three entada species are very similar in shape and the specimens preserved in taiwan herbaria are few and incomplete, these characteristics are the factors that obviously influence academic decisions in identifying the species. the aims of the present study are to provide a primary mixed data matrix (podani 2001) and use multivariate analysis by ordclan and nmds to affirm the results of previous taxonomic treatments (ho 1985, huang and ohashi 1993, yang et al. 2005). materials and methods sixty-two voucher specimens of entada species deposited in three herbaria of taiwan, namely provincial pingtung institute (ppi), national taiwan university (tai), taiwan national museum (tnm), were used and the same local specimens were combined to represent the fourteen operational taxonomic units (otus). twenty-nine morphological characters (character states, variables) were selected to distinguish the three species of the genus (table 1). otus 1-5 were the species identified as e. koshunensis, 6-10 identified as e. phaseoloides, and 11-14 identified as e. rheedii. the characters were measured on binary nominal, multistate nominal, ordinal, and ratio application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 95 scales. the binary nominal data type involves a categorization without numerical values or ranks. it involves two states, such as presence/absence of data or black/white coded as 1/0. the multistate nominal data type involves three states or more, such as red/blue/black. the ordinal data type can be placed in rank order along a continuum. some of the abundance scale for recording vegetation data belongs to the ordinal data type. the ratio data type includes real quantitative values, and thus, the differences between values of objects can be compared (podani 1994). for example, the presence of table 1. four scales describing 29 character states of the genus entada in taiwan. b: binary nominal, m: multistate nominal, o: ordinal, q: quantitative. character states data type values or scales character states data type values or scales 1. leaflet midrib, petiolelet hairs b 0. absent 1. present 14. leaflet pairs no. q no. 2. seed surface sculpturing b 0. absent 1. present 15. leaflet thickness q mm 3. seed surface luster b 0. absent 1. present 16. leaflet length q mm 4. seed around furrow b 0. absent 1. present 17. leaflet width q mm 5. inflorescence axis hairs b 0. absent 1. present 18. leaflet petiole length q mm 6. leaflet base b 0. regular 1. oblique 19. pinnule rachis length q mm 7. inflorescence b 0. spike 1. raceme 20. inflorescence length q mm 8. seed shape b 0. round 1. elliptic 21. petal length q mm 9. endocarp texture b 0. parchment-like 1. woody 22. sepal length q mm 10. seed color b 0. brown 1. blackish-brown 23. stamen length q mm 11. seed surface b 0. flat 1. convex 24. legume section length q mm 12. leaflet shape m 1. oblique-ovate 2. obovate-elliptic 3. obliqueelliptic 25. legume section width 26. endocarp thickness 27. seed length q q q mm mm mm 13. leaflet apex o 1. mucronate 2. mucronateemarginate 3. emarginate 28. seed width 29. seed thickness q q mm mm hairs is binary nominal (0 = absent, 1 = present); the outline of leaflets is multistate nominal (1 = ovate, 2 = oblique-ovate, 3 = obovate-elliptic, 4 = oblique-elliptic); the leaflet apex is ordinal (1 = mucronate, 2 = mucronate-emarginated, 3 = emarginate); and leaflet pairs, inflorescence length, petal length, legume section length or width, seed thickness, and endocarp thickness are ratio scale. the ratio scale variables are obtained as table 2. the primary mixed data matrix composed of 29 character states and 14 operational taxonomic units (otus) of taiwan entada genus. states 1-11: binary nominal, 12: multistate nominal, 13: ordinal, and 14-29: quantitative. otu state 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 10 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 3 3 13 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 3 2 1 2 2 3 3 14 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 5 15 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 16 57.5 56.0 65.0 41.0 61.0 72.5 46.5 39.0 72.5 61.5 45.0 39.0 50.5 44.0 17 37.5 25.0 27.5 23.5 26.5 40.5 22.0 18.0 32.5 28.5 22.5 14.0 23.0 16.5 18 5.0 3.9 5.5 6.0 3.7 4.5 3.7 1.8 3.5 5.0 2.2 2.5 2.3 1.8 19 35.0 85.0 83.0 60.0 62.5 73.0 51.5 60.0 60.5 64.0 95.0 90.0 81.0 101.0 20 200.0 180.0 195.0 230.0 165.0 215.0 195.0 109.0 185.5 290.0 185.0 205.0 225.0 132.5 21 2.0 2.5 3.1 3.9 2.4 3.2 3.1 1.6 3.2 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.3 22 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.9 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.1 1.3 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.8 23 4.5 3.9 2.6 3.1 4.3 6.0 2.6 8.0 8.0 4.2 5.7 5.9 5.3 4.0 24 55.0 50.0 54.5 52.0 45.0 93.5 41.0 74.5 74.5 103.0 72.0 58.5 68.5 67.0 25 40.0 61.5 59.0 61.5 54.0 77.0 54.5 91.5 90.0 56.5 81.0 71.5 34.0 33.0 26 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 1.1 1.1 0.4 3.4 4.5 3.2 3.8 27 40.5 38.2 38.0 46.0 46.7 61.5 38.0 54.0 71.0 55.0 41.5 40.0 36.3 34.2 28 34.0 37.9 37.0 43.0 43.5 52.0 37.0 50.0 50.0 64.0 39.0 41.0 36.2 35.1 29 18.2 18.1 18.0 19.0 19.9 23.5 18.0 15.0 15.0 18.0 20.0 12.0 16.7 15.1 application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 97 an average from five replicate samples from the same otu. a primary mixed data matrix was made by 14 objects (otus) and 29 character states (table 2) for the explanatory analysis. gower's formula was used to calculate the primary mixed data into dissimilarities, which were in turn subject to nmds and the application of ordclan (program syntax 2000, podani 2001). single link (sl, nearest neighbor) method was selected because sl possesses the property of order invariance (hubert 1973, boberg and salakoski 1993). a dendrogram of ordinal cluster analysis of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 otus has been constructed. for evaluating the correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix, the cophenetic correlation coefficient was measured: the higher the correlation, the better the representation of distances in the hierarchy. if the value is larger than 0.9, the correlation is high, if the value is lower than 0.74, the correlation is not significant (sneath and sokal 1973). the results of nmds will show the first two most important dimensions about the otu distribution pattern and measure final stress value. the stress value of zero indicates perfect fit of the ranked ordination distances to the original distances. results and discussion the dendrogram obtained by ordclan is presented in fig. 1. three groups are recognized from the threshold line between the dissimilarity values of 0.288-0.378. the first group is composed of the otus 1-5, the second group comprises otus 6-10, and the third group is composed of the otus 11-14. the cophenetic correlation coefficient of 0.933 shows a significant correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix. the nmds solutions for the first two dimensions are shown in fig. 2. the final stress of 0.0304 indicates that the rank order of distance in the new space follows the original rank order as closely as possible. the points representing e. koshunensis are distributed along the middle-lower side; points in the upper-left of the ordination are e. phaseoloides; points in the upper-right of the ordination are e. rheedii. this otu ordination (fig. 2) is very close to the dendrogram obtained by ordclan (fig. 1). given the few and incomplete herbarium specimens of entada in taiwan herbaria, there are controversial opinions concerning the taxa of the genus in taiwan (ho 1985, huang and ohashi 1993, yang et al. 2005). the results from ordclan and nmds indicate that three groups can be clearly distinguished from one another and the endemic species e. koshunensis is indeed different from the others and truly exists in taiwan. this result is close to the results of yang et al. (2005). otu 8 is composed of three specimens, which were collected from mainland china and submitted to the tnm herbarium during the exchanging process. the point of otu 8 is distributed in the upper-left near the second group (e. phaseoloides) (fig. 2). indeed, these three specimens collected from mainland china have some different characteristics, 98 yang et al. such as leaflet size and shape, however, the evidence is not clear enough to be able to separate otu 8 from the second group. the difference of the characteristics may be influenced by the geographical location or the environmental conditions of the microhabitat. we suggest that these three specimens belong to the species e. phaseoloides. nielsen (1992) showed the ranges of various species of entada in asia, but fig. 1. dendrogram of ordinal cluster analysis of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 operational taxonomic units (otus). the cophenetic correlation coefficient = 0.933, showing a significant correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix. in his work e. phaseoloides was not distributed in taiwan. despite few different characters among five otus of the second group (fig. 2), the present study confirms that the range of e. phaseoloides includes the taiwan area. deciding on an appropriate correct treatment of ordinal information is still complicated by contrasting opinions presented in the literature (e.g. podani 2006, van der maarel 2007). however, the dissimilarity coefficient should be compatible with ordinal variables and the subsequent ordination of clustering methods should consider only the rank order of dissimilarities (podani 2005). the idea of o-o-o sequence is very important for multivariate exploratory analysis and extending gower's general coefficient of similarity to ordclan and nmds will meet this excellent path and obtain good results. according to the ordclan and nmds results, it is obvious that taiwan entada surely includes three independent taxa. entada koshunensis truly exists in the fragmented land of hengchun peninsula with few populations, e. phaseoloides is widely distributed application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 99 in central taiwan and more abundant than the other two species, and e. rheedii is rare just found in southern taiwan. fig. 2. non-metric multidimentional scaling, for dimensions 1 and 2, of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 operational taxonomic units (otus). otus 1-5: e. koshunensis, 6-10: e. phaseoloides, and 11-14: e. rheedii. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the herbaria of ppi, tai and tnm for loaning the specimens. they express their appreciation to mrs. m. willis for the manuscript revision. they also thank the anonymous reviewer for his comments. most of all, the authors really appreciate dr. j. podani for discussions and comments on methodological sequence. references anderberg, m.r. 1973. cluster analysis for applications. john wiley, new york, usa, pp. 1-359. boberg, j. and salakoski, t. 1993. general formulation and evaluation of agglomerative clustering methods with metric and non-metric distances. pattern recogn. 26: 1395-1406. dale, m.b. 1989. dissimilarity for partially ranked data and its application to cover-abundance data. egetatio 82: 1-12. v gordon, a.d. 1999. classification. (2nd. ed.) chapman and hall, london, uk, pp. 1-252. 100 yang et al. ho, f.c. 1985. notes on the genus entada of taiwan. j. taiwan museum 38(1): 75-80. huang, t.c. and ohashi, h. 1993. leguminosae. in: the editorial committee of the flora of taiwan (2nd ed.), fl. taiwan 3: 169-171. the editorial committee of the flora of taiwan, taipei, taiwan. hubert, l.j. 1973. monotone invariant clustering procedures. psychometrika 38: 47-62. krauth, j. 1986. classification procedures for ordered categorical data. in: gaul, w. and schader, m. (eds.), lassification as a tool of research, pp. 249-255. elsevier, amsterdam, the netherlands. c cl a kruskal, j.b. 1964. nonmetric multidimentional scaling: a numerical method. psychometrika 29: 115-129. nielsen, i.c. 1992. mimosaceae (leguminosaemimosoideae). in: foundation flora malesiana. fl. malesiana ser. i, 11(1): 176-181. rijksherbarium/ hortus botanicus, leiden university, the netherlands. podani, j. 1994. multivariate analysis in ecology and systematicsa methodological guide to the syn-tax 5.0 package. the hague, spb academic publishing bv, pp. 1-316. podani, j. 1999. extending gower’s coefficient of similarity to ordinal characters. taxon 48: 331-340. podani, j. 2000. introduction to the exploration of multivariate biological data. backhuys, leiden, the netherlands, pp. 1-407. podani, j. 2001. syn-tax 2000. computer programs for data analysis in ecology and systematics. user’s manual. scientia, budapest, hungery, pp. 1-53. podani, j. 2005. multivariate exploratory analysis of ordinal data in ecology: pitfalls, problems and solutions. j. veg. sci. 16: 497-510. podani, j. 2006. braun-blanquet’s legacy and data analysis in vegetation science. j. veg. sci. 17: 113-117. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical assification. w. h. freeman and company, san francisco, usa, pp. 1-573. van der maarel, e. 2007. transformation of cover-abundance values for appropriate numerical treatment lternatives to the proposals by podani. j. veg. sci. 18: 767-770. yang, s.z., hueng, s.h., huang, c.c. and chiang, s.s. 2005. the taxonomy of entada genus in taiwan. q.j. chinese for. 38(3): 255-266. (in chinese with english summary) (manuscript received on 4 september 2007; revised on 17 october 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12, 2007 (june) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. volvocales moniruzzaman khondker*, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam1, r. bradley sack2, anwar huq3 and rita r. colwell2,3,4 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: phytoplankton, new records, bangladesh, volvocales, ponds abstract this study presents 21 species of chlamydomonas, four species of carteria, two species of each of nephroselmis, pyramidomonas and scherffelia, and collodictyon triciliatum, polytoma minus, tetrachloridium ? allorgei and tetraselmis cordiformis. these species have been reported from some ponds of mathbaria of pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts in bangladesh. introduction the members of the order volvocales under the class chlorophyceae show a common single character i.e., motility both in vegetative and reproductive phases of life. their frequent occurrence in the samples of freshwater plankton is another common feature. few of them e.g., chlamydomonas sp., carteria sp., heteromastix angulata, pandorina morum, volvox sp., etc. form blooms and discolour water. the group is represented by 974 species worldwide (huber-pestalozzi 1961). in bangladesh, the first research work on volvocales dates back to 1966 when professor a.k.m. nurul islam and one of his research students momena khatun studied the plankton of some polluted ponds of dhaka city (islam and khatun 1966). in that study they reported nine species of volvocales. later, islam (1974) reported three species of pleodorina and four species of volvox from bangladesh. including few more systematic works on volvocales published later in bangladesh, the total number of species reported are 38 (islam and khatun 1966, islam 1974, islam and khondker 1993, 1994, 1997, islam and alfassane 2002). in the present study, 35 species of volvocales have been newly recorded for bangladesh. the species were encountered in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur district and bakerganj of barisal district between 2004 and 2006. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh belonging to cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae from the same study areas have been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007). *corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 1international center for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 2johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland. 3center of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland. 4university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 2 khondker et al. materials and methods the species have been described by studying concentrated samples of plankton collected by a net and also by sedimentation technique. for the purpose water samples from 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj and mathbaria, respectively have been used (khondker et al. 2006). all the investigated water bodies were pond ecosystems except one river channel (station no. 5, bakerganj) and the sampling was carried out in between 2004 and 2006 (khondker et al. 2006). taxonomic enumeration in the present study, 35 species of unicellular volvocales belonging to nine genera under three families were identified from the pelagic plankton communities of different ponds of mathbaria and bakerganj. an illustrated account of these species are presented in this paper. for the systematic arrangement, huber-pestalozzi (1961) has been followed. division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales family: polyblepharidaceae 1. pyramidomonas inconstans hodgett (fig. 34) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 19, 2: 12c) cell shape strongly variable, elliptic-ovoid, posterior end rounded; periplast distinct, chromatophore occupying the whole cell, pyrenoid single, basal; cells 6 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 4, equal in length, 7 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 29.11.2004. 2. pyramidomonas montana geitler (figs. 36a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 18, 2: 9) cells elongate ovoid, posterior rounded, truncated square, gradually widened from posterior to anterior; chromatophore massive, two contractile vacuoles present at the top; cells 12-19 µm long and 8-11 µm broad; flagella 4, little more longer than the body length, 13-15 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 08.02.2005. 3. collodictyon triciliatum carter (figs. 23a-b) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 181, fig. 93) cells pale green in colour, broadly ovoid, anterior end wide and rounded, posterior end gradually narrowed to a blunt end; protoplast vacuolated; cells 18 µm long and 13 µm wide; flagella 4, long, inserted at the anterior end, about 1-1½ the size of the body length. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 3 mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 4. tetrachloridium ? allorgei (bourr.) huber-pestalozzi (fig. 25) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 31, 5: 23a) cells spindle or elongated pear shaped, posterior end rounded, anterior gradually narrowed to a blunt conical end; chromatophore large, parietal plate; cells 13 µm long and 6 µm broad; flagella 4, about 5 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.01.2004. family: nephroselmidaceae 5. nephroselmis angulata (korsch.) skuja (fig. 28) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 58, 11: 49a) cells laterally depressed, subhexagonal, periplast distinct, firm. chromatophore large, dark green in colour, completely occupied the cell except the area below the flagella. cells 6 µm long and 4.5 µm broad; flagella 2, unequal in length, longer one 23 µm and shorter one 7 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 03.05.2004. 6. nephroselmis discoidea skuja (fig. 29) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 59, 11: 50) cells strongly compressed laterally, to some extent discoid; cells 5 µm long 7 µm wide; flagella 2, unequal in length, longer one 13 µm long and shorter one 9 µm long. periplast smooth, colourless; chromatophore bowl shaped with a basal pyrenoid, bright green. bakerganj, station no. 6, 29.11.2004. family: chlamydomonadaceae 7. polytoma minus pascher (fig. 33) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 497, 104: 692) cells elongate ovoid, gradually narrowed towards apex, posterior end broadly rounded. cells small, 6 µm long and 4 µm broad; flagella 2, long, about 12 µm long. cell wall not distinct, delicate, without papilla, contractile vacuoles and small starch granules present. bakerganj, station no. 3, 29.11.2004. 8. carteria globosa kors. (figs. 1a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 85, 16: 59) 4 khondker et al. cells spherical, membrane hyaline and delicate, without papilla; chromatophore large, positioned somewhat in the middle of the cell, anterior portion of the chromatophore reaches closer towards cell wall from where flagella originates. pyrenoid large, occupied in the basal region. cells 13-19 µm long, 11-18 µm broad, protoplast 1015 µm long and 9-14 µm broad; flagella 4, somewhat equal the body length or 1½ times than body length, 11-12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 4, 12.07.2004, 06.09.2004. 9. carteria huberi christen (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 88, 17: 63) cells weakly ovoid to broadly ellipsoidal, posterior end widely rounded, also the anterior end widely rounded or slightly tapered. cell membrane very thin, without papilla. chromatophore sturdy, pyrenoid round. cells 10 µm long and 8 µm broad. flagella 4, somewhat equal to body length or slightly longer, 15 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004. 10. carteria peterhofiensis kiss. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 98, 20: 78a) cells ellipsoid-cylindric or ovoid cylindric; anterior widely rounded, extreme top somewhat flat, posterior end also rounded. cell membrane strong, hyaline, smooth and prominent. protoplast massive, moved away from the cell membrane, almost placed centrally. cell 31 µm long and 17 µm broad, protoplast 22 µm long and 15 µm broad; flagella 4, originates from the terminal portion of the protoplast and then crosses the hyaline area further across cell membrane, flagella not always body length, 20 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 01.11.2004. 11. carteria radiosa korsch. (figs. 4a-d) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 311, fig. 178: 1) cells spherical, wall prominent and thick, papilla present, flagella arises surrounding papilla. chloroplast cup shaped, massive, lobed, proceeding radially from a central large pyrenoid. cells 8-18 µm long and 8-18 µm broad; flagella 4, 12-17 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 29.03.2004, 12.07.2004, 11.07.2005. 12. scherffelia deformis skuja (fig. 30) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 133, 26:128a) cells pear shaped, posterior end broadly rounded, anterior end narrowly rounded, blunt. chromatophore 2, light green, laterally placed. cells 8 µm long and 7 µm broad; flagella 4, 5 µm long. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 5 mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.01.2004. 13. scherffelia pelagica skuja (fig. 31) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 132, 26: 126b) cells broadly ovate, posterior end slightly narrowed or rounded, membrane thin, colourless. chromatophore parietal, light to yellow green without pyrenoid. cells 8 µm long, 7 µm broad; flagella 4, about equal to body length. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. figs. 1-11. 1a-c. carteria globosa, 2. c. huberi, 3. c. peterhofiensis, 4 a-d. c. radiosa, 5. chlamydomonas acidophila, 6. chla. opulenta, 7. chla. angulosa, 8. chla. botryopara, 9a-b. chla. cylindrica, 10a-b. chla. foveolarum, 11a-f. chla. globosa. (bars =10 µm). 6 khondker et al. 14. chlamydomonas acidophila nyg. (fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 361, 71: 440) cells relatively small, elongate ovoid, or elliptical or spindle shaped. cell membrane delicate or fine, papilla absent. chromatophore delicate, adjacent to the cell wall, central area blank, pyrenoid absent. cells 6 µm long and 3 µm broad; flagella 2, 8-9 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, r-10 (?). figs. 12-26. 12a-c. chlamydomonas gloeopara, 13. chla. indica, 14. chla. inflata, 15. chla. multitaeniata, 16. chla. elliptica, 17a-e. chla. cylindrus, 18. chla. pertyi, 19a-d. chla. planoconvexa, 20a-c. chla. pulchra, 21. chla. pulsatilla, 22a-b, 24. chla. reinhardi var. minor, 23a-b. collodictyon triciliatum, 25. tetrachloridium ? allorgei, 26a-b. chlamydomonas speciosa. (bars =10 µm). new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 7 15. chlamydomonas angulosa dill (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 188, 36: 92b) cells broadly elliptic, anterior and posterior end widely rounded, membrane shining, strong, prominent, papilla wide. cells 18 µm long and 13 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 29.11.2004. figs. 27-36. 27a-d. chlorogonium elongatum, 28. nephroselmis angulata, 29. n. discoidea, 30. scherffelia deformis, 31. s. pelagica, 32a-b. tetraselmis cordiformis, 33. polytoma minus, 34. pyramidomonas inconstans, 35. chlamydomonas iyengari, 36a-d. pyramidomonas montana. (bars = 10 µm). 8 khondker et al. 16. chlamydomonas botryopara rodhe et skuja (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 305, 62: 373) cells spherical ovoid and ellipsoidal, lightly asymmetric, in one side more convex. flagella body length or 1½ longer than body length, papilla present. cells 8 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 17. chlamydomonas cylindrica chod. (figs. 9a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 223, 45: 245) cells cylindrical, 4 times longer than breadth, anterior and posterior ends rounded, sometimes from posterior towards anterior end gradually narrowed. cell length fully occupied by a light green chromatophore. cells 14 µm long and 3 µm broad; flagella 2, 11 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 3, 31.07.2004. 18. chlamydomonas cylindrus (pasch.) gerloff (figs. 17a-e) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 313, 68: 385) cells cylindrical, sometimes weakly bent, about 3 times as long as broad, both posterior and anterior end rounded, cell membrane delicate, papilla present, sometimes it may be absent. cells 8-9 µm long and 3-4 µm broad; flagella 2, about equal to body length, 5-10 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 19. chlamydomonas foveolarum skuja (figs. 10a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 293, 59: 342) cells somewhat spherical, membrane delicate, colourless, smooth, without terminal papilla. chromatophore thin, light green. cells 7-8 µm in diameter; flagella 2, delicate, about double the body size, here 12 µm long, mathbaria, station nos. 3 & 6; 16.08.2004, 30.08.2004. 20. chlamydomonas globosa snow (figs. 11a-f) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 157, 37: 132) cells mostly spherical, sometimes weakly ellipsoidal, small, cell membrane prominent, anterior papilla absent. cells 5-9 µm in diameter; flagella 2, longer than body length, 5-12 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 3 & 4, 12.07.2004, 29.11.2004; mathbaria, station nos. 4 & 5, 16.08.2004, 13.09.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 9 21. chlamydomonas gloeopara rodhe et skuja (figs. 12a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 276, 56: 330) cells broadly elliptic, both the anterior and posterior ends rounded. cell membrane delicate, anterior papilla may be absent, if present weakly developed. chromatophore cup-shaped, pyrenoid lateral. cells 8-10 µm long, 6-7 µm broad; flagella 2, prominent, about equal to body length or little longer, 9-15 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 2, 06.09.2004, 04.10.2004, 29.11.2004. 22. chlamydomonas indica mitra (fig. 13) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 423, 89: 554; iyengar and desikachary 1981, 287, fig. 162) cells ellipsoid to oval, posterior end rounded but not uniformly, posterior sub-laterally depressed, papilla present, prominent. chloroplast thin, occupied cell fully. cells 10 µm long and 6 µm broad; flagella 2, emerging from the margin of the papilla, 10 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 09.08.2004. 23. chlamydomonas inflata skv. (fig. 14) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 430, 90: 569) cells elliptical or ovoid, membrane very thin, nucleus in the middle. cell 6 µm long, 4 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 19.07.2004. 24. chlamydomonas iyengari mitra (fig. 35) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 274, 154: 1) cells spherical to somewhat oblong, wall thin, posterior end broadly rounded, anterior end gradually narrowed to a truncate transparent papilla. cell 7 µm long, 5 µm broad; flagella 2, 6 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. 25. chlamydomonas multitaeniata kors. (fig. 15) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 272, 149: 2) cells ellipsoid to ellipsoid-cylindric, anterior and posterior poles rounded, papilla prominent, chloroplast large, striated, with a rounded central pyrenoid. cell 18 µm long and 13 µm broad; flagella 2, not more than body length, 12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 12.07.2004. 26. chlamydomonas opulenta pasch. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 333, 68: 406) 10 khondker et al. cells elongated pear, anterior end smoothly rounded, both the lateral walls of the cell as well as protoplast depressed, then gradually tapered to an almost narrowed but blunt end; cell wall delicate, transparent but prominent. chloroplast massive, drawn quite a distance from the posterior end towards the inner half of the cell. cell 71 µm long and 28 µm broad; protoplast 51 µm long and 18 µm broad; flagella not found. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 27. chlamydomonas elliptica korsch. (fig. 16) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 270, 54: 317) cells ellipsoidal, both sides rounded, membrane delicate, papilla thick, sharp. chromatophore massive with a large pyrenoid. cell 15 µm long and 9 µm broad; flagella 2, half of the body length. mathbaria, station no. 3, 16.08.2004. 28. chlamydomonas pertyi gor. (fig. 18) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 155, 27: 129) cells spherical, both sides rounded, membrane thin, hyaline, double layered. chromatophore massive. cells 22 µm long and 21 µm broad, body wall somewhat warty; flagella not found. mathbaria, station no. 1, 03.05.2004. 29. chlamydomonas planoconvexa lund (figs. 19a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 318, 65: 387f; iyengar and desikachary 1981, 292, 165: 8-9) cells elliptic or lanceolate, dorsiventral, symmetrical in one view, both anterior and posterior ends rounded or pointed, anterior somewhat narrower, papilla small, laterally placed. cells 6-10 µm long and 3-4 µm broad; flagella 2, as long as body length, 8-13 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004; mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 30. chlamydomonas pulchra skv. (figs. 20a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 233, 46: 264) cells broadly elliptic, cell membrane firm, papilla absent. pyrenoid single, large, round, placed almost in the middle. cells 12-13 µm long and 10-11 µm broad; flagella not found. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 4, 12.07.2004, 13.06.2005; mathbaria, station no. 5, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 11 31. chlamydomonas pulsatilla woll. (fig. 21) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 156, 27: 131) cells broad, elliptic-ovoid, posterior widely rounded, membrane often firm. cells 10 µm long and 9 µm broad; flagella 2, closer to body length, 6 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 01.11.2004. 32. chlamydomonas reinhardi dang. var. minor nygaard (figs. 22a-b, 24) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 164, 29: 144a) cells spherical to short-ellipsoidal, smaller in size, anterior and posterior ends broadly rounded or slightly narrowed, membrane delicate, no true-papillae but plasmapapilla present. cells 4-6 µm long and 3-5 µm broad; flagella 2, 5 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, 02.06.2004; mathbaria, station no. 6, 19.07.2004. 33. chlamydomonas speciosa korsch. (figs. 26a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 230, 46: 259a) cells elliptical to elongate ovoid, both the anterior and posterior ends blunt or the posterior may be broadly rounded, membrane delicate but easily visible, anterior portion not very sharply narrowed. cells 8-10 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 2, about equal to body length or little shorter, 10 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 12.07.2004. 34. chlorogonium elongatum dang. (figs. 27a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 470, 97: 645m) cells elongated, spindle form, shape highly variable, 9-15 times as long as broad, posterior end pointed, sharp, hyaline; chromatophore large, free at the posterior end, pyrenoid single, large. cells 28-38 µm long and 3-5 µm broad; flagella 2, somewhat equal to half of the body length, 7-15 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 6, 12.07.2004, 27.01.2005. 35. tetraselmis cordiformis (carter) stein (figs. 32a-b) (dillard 1989, 23, 4: 1) cells cordiform, anteriorly broadened and moderately compressed, anterior end posses a small depression, papilla absent; chloroplast a massive cup, pyrenoid single. cells 16-17 µm long and 12-14 µm braod; flagella 4, 10-12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004, 29.11.2004. 12 khondker et al. acknowledgements the research as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled 'epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh' was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international center for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. references dillard, g.e. 1989. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 1. chlorphyceae: volvocales, tetrasporales and chlorococcales. bibl. phycol. vol. 81. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 202 + pls. 37. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1961. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 744 + pls. 157. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974. freshwater algae of bangladesh. vii. flagellates: volvocales. bangladesh j. bot. 3(2): 7-15. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1993. some unicellular flagellate algae of bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 75-79. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1994. new records of algae from bangladesh. iv. heteromastix and gonyostomum. bangladesh j. bot. 23(2): 199-223. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1997. new records of some flagellate algae for bangladesh-5, chlamydomonas, pascherina, pyrobotrys, cryptomonas and chilomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 13-23. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. iyengar, m.o.p. and desikachary, t.v. 1981. volvocales. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi. pp. 531. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. (manuscript received on 12 march 2007; revised on 28 march 2007) moniruzzaman khondker*, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, m r. bradley sack2, anwar huq3 and rita r. colwell2,3,4 abstract introduction materials and methods taxonomic enumeration division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocal family: polyblepharidaceae family: nephroselmidaceae family: chlamydomonadaceae acknowledgements references microsoft word s-1. ss.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 91-93, 2009 (june) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama – a new dematiaceous hyphomycetes record for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and zuhra yasmin department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: bipolaris australiensis; new record; bangladesh. an anamorphic fungus bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama was found associated with felled, painted timber. the fungus was isolated following “streaking” method on pda medium (cab, 1968). cladosporium sp., pestalotia sp. and trichoderma viride pers were also found along with b. australiensis. earlier, bipolaris spicefera (bainier) subrum. was recorded on rice (shamsi, 1999) and b. sorokiniana (sacc.) shoem on wheat (ali-hydar and fakir, 1992; ahmed and hossain, 2003) from bangladesh. bipolaris australiensis is a new record for bangladesh. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama, mycologia 73: 88-96, 1981. (plates 1, 2) colonies blackish-green, velvety on pda medium at room temperature between 24 and 29ºc at ph 6. hyphae brown, smooth septate. conidiophores solitary, flexous or geniculate, septate, chocolate brown, 57-138 × 4.5-6.3 µm. conidia straight, ellipsoidal or oblong, rounded at the ends, chocolate brown, mostly 3-pseudoseptate, rarely 4 or 5pseudoseptate, 13-36 × 8-11 µm. conidia germinate from both poles (bipolar). a flattened hilum or point of attachment is seen on the basal cell of conidia (shoemaker, 1959; tsuda and ueyama, 1981). on the basis of condial features, tsuda and ueyama (1981) transferred drechslera australiensis m.b. ellis to the genus bipolaris shoemaker. specimen examined: isolated from felled, painted wood. 230 new d.o.h.s. mohakhali, dhaka, shamsi 2086, 6 february 2008. 1 corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 92 shamsi and yasmin plate 1. bipolaris australiensis. a. colonies on painted wood; b. photomicrograph of conidiophores and conidia (bar = 30 µm). plate 2. bipolaris australiensis. a. conidiophores; b. conidia. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama 93 acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to the chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities to carry out the present research. special thanks are extended to prof. a.z.m. nowsher ali khan and prof. m.r. khan of the same department for their overall cooperation during the tenure of research. references ahmed, f. and hossain, i. 2003. physiologic races of bipolaris sorokiniana in bangladesh. bangladesh j. agric. res. 30(4): 568-583. ali-hydar, m.m. and fakir, g.a. 1992. fungi associated with wheat grains in bangladesh and their pathogenic significance. bangladesh j. bot. 21(2): 173-180. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1-267. shamsi, s. 1999. investigations into the sheath rot disease of rice (oryza sativa l.) in bangladesh. phd thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. i-xii + 1-127. (unpublished) shoemaker, r.a. 1959. nomenclature of drechslera and bipolaris segregated from helminthosporium. canad. j. bot. 37: 879-887. tsuda, m. and ueyama, a. 1981. pseudocochliobolus australiensis, the ascigerous state of bipolaris australiensis. mycologia 73: 88-96. (manuscript received on 3 july 2008; revised on 8 january 2009) microsoft word 07. 39-08 choudh.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 57-63, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation in north bihar, india kaushal kishore choudhary1 department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur 842 001, bihar, india. keywords: chroococcaceae; cyanobacteria; rice cultivation; north bihar; india. abstract the species richness of cyanobacteria belonging to the family chroococcaceae in rice fields of north bihar, india was studied over a 60-day period. twenty-eight species representing nine genera were identified. the highest number of 21 species was observed around 30th day against eight and 13 species around 10th and 60th day of rice cultivation, respectively. aphanocapsa grevillei (hass.) rabenh., aphanothece naegelii wartm and microcystis marginata (menegh.) kützing were observed from 10th to 60th days of rice cultivation. introduction cyanobacteria are geographically widespread in freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats. some genera are capable of nitrogen fixation and are therefore of great importance for the balance in ecosystems. with the establishment of agronomic potential of cyanobacteria (de, 1939), the distribution of cyanobacteria and their role in maintaining soil fertility has variously been studied throughout the world (begum et al., 1993, 1996, 2008; khan et al., 1994; singh et al., 2001). cyanobacteria have been reported to promote the nitrogen economy of the soil by converting atmospheric nitrogen into soluble form of ammonia with the help of enzyme nitrogenase complex contained within the specialized structure heterocyst (ernst et al., 1992). additionally, cyanobacteria contribute phosphorus to the soil by mobilizing the insoluble phosphate present in the soil with enzyme phosphatases (mishra et al., 2005). moreover, cyanobacteria enhance the water holding capacity by adding polysaccharidic materials to the soil (choudhary et al., 2007) and increase the soil aggregation property. cyanobacteria have also been reported to excrete growth promoting substances into the soil (gupta and shukla, 1969). rice is one of the main crops of bihar and is cultivated in most part of the state. rice fields favour the growth of cyanobacteria in terms of light, temperature, ph, humidity, water and nutrient availability (mitra, 1951). heterocystous forms of cyanobacteria have been extensively studied for their diversity in rice fields (singh, 1961; choudhary, 1999). the information on systematic enumeration of non-nitrogen-fixing forms including chroococcaceae in the rice fields is limited. this study has been aimed to enumerate the periodic occurrence of chroococcaceae in some rice fields of north bihar, india. 1 e-mail: kkc1970@gmail.com 58 choudhary materials and methods the study was conducted in some rice fields of muzaffarpur district (latitude 26°7'12"n and longitude 85°24'0"e) of north bihar. cyanobacterial occurrence in rice fields has been documented in terms of cultivation cycle. the cyanobacterial diversity was enumerated randomly around 10th, 30th and 60th days of plantation of rice seedlings in rice fields. cyanobacterial samples growing in heterogeneous assemblage were randomly collected from upland and lowland rice fields representing the terrestrial as well as freefloating masses. the samples were collected in culture tube (50 ml) and brought to the laboratory. the taxonomic enumeration was performed with fresh materials in the laboratory. the taxa were identified with the help of desikachary (1959). results and discussion the study revealed 28 species belonging to nine genera of chroococcaceae described below. class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales; family: chroococcaceae 1. aphanocapsa biformis a. br., in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 246 (1865). thallus olive-green; cells 4-7 µm in diameter, spherical, mostly with a mucilaginous envelope, loosely arranged, 2-4 together in the envelope, nannocytes present. 2. aphanocapsa grevillei (hass.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 50 (1865), [syn.: microcystis gravillei (hassall) elenkin]. cells spherical, 4.0-5.8 µm in diameter, closely arranged in homogeneous mucilage, individual envelopes not distinct. 3. aphanocapsa koordersi strom, algol. notes, nyt mag. naturvid. 61: 128 (1923). colonies spherical; cells spherical, loosely arranged 2.3-3.2 µm in diameter. 4. aphanothece bullosa (menegh.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 65 (1865). thallus spherical; cells cylindrical, 6.5-12.3 µm long, 3.8-5.8 µm broad, without individual envelope. 5. aphanothece castagnei (bréb.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 64 (1865). thallus gelatinous and indefinite in shape, slimy; cells cylindrical, 4-8 µm long, 2.0-3.6 µm broad, sheath diffluent, colourless. 6. aphanothece conferta richter, in hauck and richter, phyk. univ. 10: 487 (1892). thallus gelatinous; cells spherical, 2.5-3.0 µm in diameter, sheath diffluent, colourless. 7. aphanothece naegelii wartm, in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 65 (1865). thallus gelatinous; cells oval or spherical, 3.5-4.5 µm, blue-green, sheath diffluent. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 59 8. aphanothece pallida (kütz.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 64 (1865). cells oblong, 7-12 µm long, 5.3-6.5 µm broad without envelope and 11.5-20.3 µm long, 8.4-16.6 µm broad with envelope, sheath lamellated. 9. aphanothece stagnina (spreng.) a. br., in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 66 (1865). thallus gelatinous, spherical, ellipsoidal; cells oblong, more or less ovoid or cylindrical, 4.5-10.0 µm long, 3.0-6.5 µm broad. 10. chroococcus macrococcus (kütz.) rabenh., krypto. fl. sachsen 1: 70 (1863). thallus mucilaginous; cells spherical, 2-4 together, 21-40 µm in diameter without sheath and 26-64 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath lamellated. 11. chroococcus minor (kütz.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen 47 pl. 1, a, fig. 4 (1849). cells spherical, 3.5-4.0 µm in diameter, cells single or two together, sheath hyaline and thin. 12. chroococcus minutus (kütz.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen 46 (1849). cells spherical, 2-4 in a group, 4.8-8.6 µm in diameter without sheath, 8-14 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath hyaline. 13. chroococcus tenax (kirchner) hieron., beitr. biol. pfl. 5: 483, pl. 17, fig. 11 (1892). cells spherical and in a group of 2-4 cells, 16-21 µm in diameter without sheath and 20-26 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath colourless and lamellated. 14. gloeocapsa atrata (turp.) kütz., phyc. generalis: 172 (1843). thallus mucilaginous, blackish; cells 3.5-4.5 µm in diameter without sheath and 9-14.4 µm in diameter with sheath, cells many in colony, sheath colourless, thick and unlamellated. 15. gloeocapsa decorticans (a. br.) richter, ex wille, nyt. mag. naturvid. 62: 186 (1925). cells spherical or oval, single or 2-4 together, single cells 8.0 µm in diameter without sheath and 19 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath thick and distinctly lamellated. 16. gloeocapsa gelatinosa kütz., phyc. generalis: 174 (1843). cells 1.5-2.2 µm in diameter without sheath and 5.4-8.4 µm in diameter with sheath; colonies 20 µm in diameter. 17. gloeocapsa punctata näg., ex kützing, species algarum: 22 (1849). thallus gelatinous; cells without sheath 0.7-1.5 µm in diameter and with sheath 3.5-7.0 µm in diameter, sheath thick, colourless and unlamellated. 18. gloeothece fusco-lutea näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 58 (1849). cells cylindrical, 4-8 together in envelope, cells without sheath 6.5-11.5 µm long and 4.2-5.6 µm broad, sheath brown. 60 choudhary 19. gloeothece rupestris (lyngb.) bornet, alg. de schousb., mem. soc. sci. nat. math. de cherbourg 28: 177 (1892). cells cylindrical with rounded ends, 12-14 µm long and 6-9 µm broad without hyaline mucilaginous sheath, 2-4 cells together in a common sheath, cells with sheath 15-24 µm long and 10-16 µm broad. 20. merismopedia aeruginea bréb., in kützing, species algarum: 472 (1849). colony of 16-64 ovate or hemispherical cells, very regularly arranged to form quadrangular colonies, colonies 32-52 µm broad; cells spherical, 4-5 µm in diameter. 21. merismopedia glauca (ehrenb.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 55, pl. 1d, fig. 1 (1849). colonies 40-120 µm in diameter with 8-32 cells; cells spherical, closely arranged, 3.5-5.5 µm broad. 22. microcystis aeruginosa kütz., tab. phycologicae 1: 8, pl. 8, fig. 1 (1846). colonies round or slightly longer than broad, solid with distinct hyaline colonial mucilage; cells spherical, 3.5-7.0 µm in diameter, generally with gas vacuoles. 23. microcystis elabens (bréb.) kütz., in kützing, tab. phycologicae 1: 6, pl. 8 (1846). colonies spherical, cells oblong, 4.0-8.5 µm long, 2.0-4.5 µm broad and with gas vacuoles. 24. microcystis flos-aquae (wittr.) kirchner, in engler and prantl, natürlichen pflanzenfam. i. (1a): 56, fig. 49 (n) (1898). colonies spherical to ellipsoidal with distinct colonial mucilage; cells spherical, 3.0-6.5 µm in diameter, with gas vacuoles, nannocytes present. 25. microcystis marginata (menegh.) kütz., tab. phycologicae 1: 6, pl. 8 (1845-49). colony round or irregularly flattened, single colony ellipsoidal to ovoid in outline, 140-150 µm long and 60-95 µm broad; cells spherical, 3-6 µm in diameter, closely arranged and with gas vacuoles. 26. synechococcus aeruginosus näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 56, pl. 1, e, fig. 1 (1849). thallus up to 3 cm in diameter; cells oblong to cylindrical, 12-20 µm long, 5.6-10.0 µm broad . 27. synechocystis aquatilis sauv., bull. soc. bot. france 39: 121, pl. 6, fig. 2 (1892). cells spherical, single or two together, 4.5-5.5 µm in diameter, pale-green in colour. 28. synechocystis pevalekii ercegovic, acta bot. inst. bot. univ. r. zagreb 1: 77, pl. 1, fig. 8 (1925). thallus indefinite, cells spherical, 2.5-3.5 µm in diameter, single or two together. the enumeration of cyanobacteria revealed the maximum diversity during the midcultivation cycle of the rice fields (table 1). the study showed maximum 21 species around 30th day of rice plantation followed by around 60th day (13 species) and minimum around 10th days (8 species). the occurrence of lesser number of forms during early cultivation stage might be attributed to the inhibitory effect of high light intensity, occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 61 whereas fewer forms in the later part might be due to loss of nutrients as well as low light intensity reaching to the surface due to increased rice canopy. this was in agreement of the cyanobacterial distribution reported by gupta (1966). the poor distribution of cyanobacteria in high light intensity suggested them to be sensitive to high light intensity and as low-light species (roger and reynaud, 1979; choudhary, 2009). table 1. presence and absence of species of chroococcaceae in rice fields (upland and lowland) of north bihar during rice cultivation. + = presence; – = absence; r = rare. sl. no. species 10th day 30th day 60th day 1. aphanocapsa biformis + 2. aphanocapsa grevillei + + + 3. aphanocapsa koordersi + + 4. aphanothece bullosa + + 5. aphanothece castagnei r 6. aphanothece conferta + + 7. aphanothece naegelii + + + 8. aphanothece pallida + + 9. aphanothece stagnina + + 10. chroococcus macrococcus + 11. chroococcus minor + 12. chroococcus minutus + + 13. chroococcus tenax r 14. gloeocapsa atrata r 15. gloeocapsa decorticans + 16. gloeocapsa gelatinosa r 17. gloeocapsa punctata r 18. gloeothece fusco-lutea r 19. gloeothece rupestris r 20. merismopedia aeruginea r 21. merismopedia glauca r 22. microcystis aeruginosa + + 23. microcystis elabens + 24. microcystis flos-aquae + + 25. microcystis marginata + + + 26. synechococcus aeruginosus + 27. synechocystis aquatilis r 28. synechocystis pevalekii r the proliferation of non-nitrogen-fixing members of chroococcaceae during midcultivation cycle might further be attributed to the availability of sufficient nitrogen along with other nutrients in the rice fields with suitable light intensity. singh (1978) also reported the development of non-nitrogen-fixing forms in rice fields. he further described the early appearance of nitrogen-fixing forms in unfertilized plots than fertilized ones. it 62 choudhary might be proposed that the appearance of non-nitrogen-fixing forms in rice fields might play an important role in establishment of nitrogen fixers by reducing the nitrogen status of the field by utilizing nutrients, particularly nitrogen. in this way, non-nitrogen fixers play a significant role in nutrient cycling and development of other biological system to fill up the gap produced in terms of nutrients. finally, it might be concluded that the documentation on cyanobacteria may enhance the understanding of the nutrient status of the field and might be applied for sustainable agricultural practices by reducing the application of chemical fertilizer to avoid the appearance of non-nitrogen fixers in the soil that might compete with nitrogen fixers for nutrients (agawin et al., 2007). acknowledgements the author is grateful to head, department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar for providing laboratory facilities and prof. r. bimal for his guidance and suggestions. this communication is a part of the phd programme of the author. references agawin, n.s.r., rabouille, s., veldhuis, m.j.w., servatius, l., hol, s., van overzee, h.m.j. and huisman, j. 2007. competition and felicitation between unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and non-nitrogen fixing phytoplankton species. limnol. oceanogr. 52(5): 2233-2248. begum, z.n. tahmida, khan, z.u.m., mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1993. distributional pattern of nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria in rice fields of bangladesh. phykos 32(1&2): 109-114. begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r. and amin, f.b. 2008. quantification and nitrogen fixation of cyanobacteria in rice field soils of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 183-188. begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r., khan, z.u.m. and hossain, m.z. 1996. prospect and potentiality of cyanobacteria as an alternative source of nitrogen fertilizer in bangladesh rice cultivation. in: rahman, m., podder, a.k., hove, c., begum, z.n. tahmida, heulin, t., and harmann, a. (eds), biological nitrogen fixation associated with rice production. kluwer academic publishers, great britain, pp. 119-131. choudhary, k.k. 1999. ex-situ conservation of cyanobacterial germplasm of north bihar, india, phd thesis, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar, india. choudhary, k.k. 2009. ecological and biotechnological relevance of cyanobacteria. in: gupta, r.k., kumar, m. and vyas, d. (eds), soil microflora. daya publishing house, new delhi, pp. 324-339. choudhary, k.k., singh, s.s. and mishra, a.k. 2007. nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria and their potential applications. in: gupta, r.k. and pandey, v.d. (eds), advances in applied phycology. daya publishing house, new delhi, pp. 142-154. de, p.k. 1939. the role of blue-green algae in nitrogen fixation in rice fields. proc. r. soc. lond. 127b: 121139. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar, new delhi, india, pp. 1-686. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 63 ernst, a., black, t., cai, y., panoff, j.m., tiwari, d.n. and wolk, c.p. 1992. synthesis of nitrogenase in mutants of the cyanobacterium anabaena sp. pcc 7120 affected in heterocyst development. j. bacteriol. 174(19): 6025-6032. gupta, a.b. 1966. algal flora and its importance in the economy of rice fields. hydrobiologia 28(2): 213-222. gupta, a.b. and shukla, a.c. 1969. effects of algal extracts of phormidium species on growth and development of rice seedlings. hydrobiologia 34(2): 77-84. khan, z.u.m., begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1994. cyanobacteria in rice soils. world j. microb. biot. 10(3): 296-298. mishra, u., choudhary, k.k., pabbi, s., dhar, d.w. and singh, p.k. 2005. influence of blue green algae and azolla inoculation on specific soil enzymes under paddy cultivation. asian jr. microbiol. biotechnol. env. sc. 7(1): 9-12. mitra, a.k. 1951. the algal flora of certain indian soils. indian j. agric. sci. 21: 357. roger, p.a. and reynaud, p.a. 1979. ecology of blue-green algae in paddy fields. in: international rice research institute. los baňos, philippines, pp. 289-309. singh, r.n. 1961. the role of blue-green algae in nitrogen economy of indian agriculture. icar publication, new delhi, pp. 175. singh, b.v., choudhary, k.k., dhar, d.w. and singh, p.k. 2001. occurrence of some nostocales from 24 parganas of west bengal. phykos 40 (1&2): 83-87. singh, s.p. 1978. succession of blue-green algae on certain sites near varanasi. indian j. microbiol. 18(2): 128-130. (manuscript received on 21 october 2008; revised on 5 april 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 175-176, 2009 (december) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comments on the type specimens of lindsaea andamanica (lindsaeaceae) at central national herbarium (cal), india s.k. basu, p.p. ghoshal1, s. bandyopadhyay and md. n. aziz botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india. keywords: corrections; lindsaea andamanica; type specimens. dixit and ghosh (1983) designated ‘south andamans: putlamg stream, 2.2.1904, rogers s.n., acces. no. 7409 (cal)’ as the holotype and ‘acces. nos. 5307, 7408 (cal)’ as the isotypes in the protologue of lindsaea andamanica r.d. dixit & b. ghosh, and cited the other specimens examined by them as ‘andaman and nicobar islands: south andamans – jungles north, kurz s.n., acces. nos. 5475, 5476 (cal); nabee bah, near viper, april, 1890, king s.n., acces. nos. 5308, 5373 (cal); sipighat, island forest, ± 20 m, 6.8.1975, balakrishnan 2579 (cal); wright myoto myseen skyline, ±100 m, 9.1.1974, balakrishnan 765 (pbl. cal)’. the authors, however, annotated the specimens of kurz s.n., acc. no. 5475 as holotypus and c.g. rogers s.n., acc. nos. 5307, 7408 (cal) as paratypus. it seems to us that these annotations, made on 10.10.1978, i.e. prior to the publication of the protologue in 1983, were based on a preliminary version of the protologue, which we have come across inside the bundle of the types of l. andamanica at cal. they, however, did not re-annotate them according to the changed type designations made in the protologue and thus leading to confusion. moreover, there are some discrepancies between the data given on the type sheets and those which have been published in the protologue, and these led to further confusion. besides these, even the holotype has once been cited as an isotype in the protologue. so, in order to clear the confusions, all relevant data related to the types of l. andamanica at cal, have been given here in a tabular form as follows. sl no. data as given on the type sheets annotations made by dixit and ghosh on the type sheets annotations made on the type sheets by s.k.b. during the present study 1. 4 miles from coast, putatang stream, s. andamans, near large stream, 2.2.1904, c.g. rogers s.n., acc. no. 7408 paratypus holotype the illustration (dixit and ghosh, 1983: 253, t.40) given in the protologue is based on this specimen. the authors cited this as the holotype in the caption to the figure but as isotype in page 255 of the protologue. the acc. no. 7409 has been incorrectly given in the protologue because its actual acc. no. is 7408. balakrishnan 765 has the acc. no. 7409 1corresponding author. e-mail: pp_ghoshal@rediffmail.com 176 basu et al. sl no. data as given on the type sheets annotations made by dixit and ghosh on the type sheets annotations made on the type sheets by s.k.b. during the present study 2. putalang stream, s. andamans, 2.ii.1904, c.g. rogers s.n., acc. no. 5307 paratypus isotype 3. south andaman, jungles north, s. kurz s.n., acc. no. 5475 holotypus paratype 4. south andaman, s. kurz s.n., acc. no. 5476 paratypus paratype 5. nabee bah, near viper, s. andaman, apl 1890, king s.n., acc. no. 5308 paratypus paratype 6. nabee bah, near viper, s. andaman, 1890, king s.n., acc. no. 5373 paratypus paratype 7. south andamans, sipighat, inland forests, ± 20 m, n.p. balakrishnan & p. chakraborty 2579, acc. no. 7407 paratypus paratype in the protologue balakrishnan has been mentioned to be the sole collector. 8. south andamans, wright myoto wyssen skyline, ± 100 m, 9 jan. 1974, n.p. balakrishnan 765, acc. no. 7409 paratypus paratype it is hoped that this will facilitate the researchers to have the correct information about the aforementioned types. acknowledgements we are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india for his help and encouragement and to the anonymous reviewer for his helpful suggestions. reference dixit, r.d. and ghosh, b. 1983. the genus lindsaea dryand. ex smith in india. proc. indian acad. sci., pl. sci. 92(3): 233-258. (manuscript received on 17 march 2009; revised on 18 may 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 37-45, 2007 (june) the genus pronephrium c. presl (thelypteridaceae) from bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: pronephrium, thelypteridaceae, pteridophyte, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with the genus pronephrium c. presl of the family thelypteridaceae and includes five species, namely p. articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt., p. lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt., p. nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt., p. parishii (bedd.) holtt., and p. triphyllum (sw.) holtt. from bangladesh. descriptions of the species with artificial key, illustrations, distribution and short notes with conservation measures are given here. introduction the genus pronephrium c. presl of the family thelypteridaceae is a tropical genus with about 70 species (dixit and vohra 1984). the species are widely distributed in tropical asia, china, japan, malaysia, sri lanka, fiji and auatralia (dixit and vohra l.c.). from the bangladesh territory, prain (1903) first recorded menischyum triphyllum sw., only from chittagong. dixit (1984) recorded pronephrium articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt. from bangladesh. later on, mirza and rahman (1997) recorded a total of five species, namely, p. articulatum, p. lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt., p. nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt., p. parishii (bedd.) holtt., and p. triphyllum (sw.) holtt. from bangladesh in a checklist. here full description of each species with illustrations is provided. the present work was based on the materials deposited at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), kew herbarium (k), natural history british museum (bm) and central national herbarium (cal), for taxonomic enumeration of the species. the taxonomic description with key to species, illustrations, specimens examined, distribution, short notes and proposal for conservation measure are given below. pronephrium c. presl, epim. bot.: 258 (1851). lectotype: p. lineatum (bl.) presl (= aspidium lineatum bl.). rhizome short-creeping. stipe dark brown to black, not tufted or rarely tufted. fronds lacking reduced basal pinnae, pinnae sub-entire or crenate, usually with several pairs of anastomosing veins, lower surface between veins often pustular when dry, spherical glands sometimes present on the lower surfaces of pinnae or on sporangia. sori 1 e-mail: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 38 mirza exindusiate. spores bilateral plano-convex to concavo-convex, perineous. sori either super-ficial, circular or elongated, occur at the end of veins and secondary veins. spores monolete and ellipsoidal or rarely trilete and somewhat spheroidal, surface often reticulate or with short, low ridges or prominently winged, the borders sometimes ciliate or shortly cristate to echinate. chromosome number : x = 36 ( smith 1990). key to the species 1. fronds with more than 7 pairs of pinnae 2 fronds with less than 7 pairs of pinnae 3 2. rhizome tufted, erect; sporangia glandular; spores winged p. articulatum rhizome cylindrical, creeping; sporangia eglandular; spores without wings p. nudatum 3. sori near costule, without indusia p. lakhimpurensis sori medial, with profusely hairy indusia 4 4. fronds trifoliate; sori in a cresent shaped row along each pair of convinent veins; apical pinna not auricled p. triphyllum fronds penta-foliate; sori transversely arranged on the costules; apical pinna auricled, at both sides p. parishii 1. pronephrium articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt. in blumea 21 (1): 116 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); nephrodium articulatum haulst. & moore in gard. mag. bot.: 293 (1851); nephrodium glandulosum var. late-strigosum clarke in trans. linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 532. t. 74. f. 2 (1880). (plate 1) rhizome short, creeping. sterile stipe 20-30 cm long. fronds dimorphous, minutely hairy. sterile lamina 30-40 cm long. pinnae 12 pairs, basal pinnae narrowed at base, more on basiscopic than acroscopic side, base truncate, auricled on acroscopic side, apex abruptly short-acuminate, edges obliquely lobed to a depth of 1-2 mm or sometimes more deeply lobed. veins 8 pairs, 2-4 pairs anastomosing. lower surface of rachis covered with thick curved hairs, more than 0.5 mm long, upper surface covered throughout more or less closely with finely appressed hairs. stipe fertile, frond about 50 cm long, pinnae widely spaced than sterile one, edges shallowly crenate. sori medial, lower ones at least somewhat elongated along veins, sporangia with glands, spores with wing, ornamentation. specimens examined : chittagong: khasalong, 10.1.1869, clarke 8276 a (k); burkhal, 8.2.1873, clarke 19698 (k, bm); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19902a (k); chittagong, 31.12. 1850 s.n. coll (k); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19900 [lectotype, (k)]; ranganthea, 5.2.1873, clarke 19539 (bm); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19902 (bm). sylhet: sylhet, griffith s.n. coll (k). the genus pronephrium 39 distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, n. thailand and china. pronephrium articulatum grows in shady forests near streams. it is not so common in bangladesh. extensive survey should be made to find it out from different localities, and should be brought under cultivation, before the species becomes endangered in bangladesh. plate 1. pronephrium articulatum. a. habit (× 0.13); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.55). 2. pronephrium lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt. in blumea 20 (1): 110 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); dryopteris lakhimpurense rosenst. in meded. rijskherb. 31: 7 (1917); meniscium cuspidatum var. longifrons clarke in trans. linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 572 (1880). (plate 2) rhizome short, creeping, 7-10 mm in diameter, bearing hooked hairs. stipe about 50 cm or more long, dark at the base with hooked hairs and dark brown scales, sometimes not found on younger plants. fronds simple-pinnate. lamina commonly 30-50 cm long, firm, dull reddish after drying. pinnae 4-7 pairs, lowest one opposite, sometimes a bud present on the highest pinnae of old fronds, basal pinnae with stalked apex, caudate40 mirza acuminate, crenate. veins 10-12 pairs, not prominent on either side. sori near costule, somewhat elongated. specimen examined : sylhet : sylhet, 30.11.1872, clarke 18431 (k). distribution : malaysia, java, india, china and thailand. plate 2. pronephrium lakhimpurensis. a. habit (× 0.5); b. sterile frond showing venation (× 2.5). pronephrium lakhimpurensis grows on rocks or steep valley-sides in shady forests. it is a rare species in bangladesh; only once collected from sylhet by c.b. clarke. extensive survey is needed to find it out from other localities. the species should be brought under cultivation before it becomes threatened in bangladesh. the genus pronephrium 41 3. pronephrium nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt. in blumea 20 (1):111 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); polypodium nudatum roxb. ex griff. in calc. journ. nat. hist. 4: 491 (1884); nephrodium moulmeinense bedd., ferns brit. india suppl.: 18 (1876). (plate 3) rhizome stout, creeping. stipe firm erect, slightly swollen and densely scaly at the base, about 80 cm or more long. fronds 2-3 cm apart, 150 cm or more long, 4-28 cm. lamina simply pinnate. pinnae very shortly stalked, 10-12 pairs,11.5-28 × 2.3-5 cm wide near the base, base cuneate, apex acuminate, margin sharply crenate, hairy. veins several pairs, all anastomosing, free excurrent veins rare. sori small, round, superficial, medial, indusiate. indusium prominent, profusely hairy. spores monolete, bilateral, brown perine absent, exine densely spinulose. plate 3. pronephrium nudatum. a. habit (× 0.13); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). specimens examined : chittagong: on the way to chittagong university, 13.7.2004, m.m. mirza mm.429 (dacb). cox’s bazar: neela range, madhaya neela beat, 29.8.1991, khan, huq, mia and rahman k.8565 dacb; himchari, 28.6.1993, mia, 42 mirza karim and rashid, m3612 (dacb). jamalpur: karnajhula, 8.8.2006 m.m. mirza mm.713 (dacb). mymensingh: bhyadanga, 20.11.1868, clarke 8089 (bm); mymensingh town, 6.8.2006, m.m. mirza, mm.689 (dacb). sherpur: jhenaighati, 7.8.2006, m.m. mirza mm.705 (dacb). sylhet: sylhet station, 24.11.1872, clarke 17937 (k); adampur, 18.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.537 (dacb); lowachera, 19.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.565 (dacb). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, malaya and china. pronephrium nudatum is a large terrestrial fern forming extensive colonies in partially shaded moist forest floor as undergrowth, particularly near streams. it is also found to grow on moist places in the plainland. it is quite common in bangladesh; no conservation measure is needed. 4. pronephrium parishii (bedd.) holtt. in blumea 20(1): 111 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); meniscium parishii bedd., ferns brit. india t.184 (1866); meniscium triphyllum var. parishii (bedd.) bedd., handb. ferns brit. ind. suppl.: 102 (1892); nakaike, enum. pterid. jap.: 290 (1975). (plate 4) p late 4. pronephrium parishii. a. habit (× 0.5); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). the genus pronephrium 43 rhizome long, creeping upto 4 mm in diameter. stipe about 15-20 cm long. fronds simply pinnate. lamina variable, apical part with 1-2 narrow lobes at the base, or 1-2 small narrow adnate free pinnae just below it, no buds present at the base or upper pinnae. pinnae up to 6 pairs, usually opposite, but sometimes not, usually decreasing in size from the apex to the base or frond, upper ones always adnate to rachis at basiscopic base. sporangia with longer hooked hairs. veins prominent. sori transversely arranged on the lamina. specimens examined : chittagong: burkhal, 7.2.1873, clarke 19742 (k); kasalong, l3.2.1873, clarke 19825 (k). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar and malaysia. pronephrium parishii grows along the stream banks in open forests. from bangladesh it is reported from chittagong only. attempts should be made to find it out from other localities. the species should be brought under cultivation before it becomes extinct from the wild. 5. pronephrium triphyllum (sw.) holtt. in blumea 20: 122 (1972). nakaike, enum. pterid. jap.: 289 (1976); sledge in bull. brit. mus. nat. hist. bot. 8(1): 47 (1981); dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); meniscium triphyllum sw. in schrad. j. bot. 1800 (2): 16 (1801); bedd., ferns s. ind. t. 56 (1863); clarke in trans linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 571 (1880). (plate 5) rhizome slender, long-creeping, bearing stipes at interval of 1-2 cm. stipes slender, covered with short hairs throughout, those of fertile fronds commonly more than twice as long as those of sterile fronds on the same plant, stipes of sterile fronds 7-20 cm long. lamina trifoliate. the lateral leaflets opposite, attached at 1-2 cm below the terminal leaflet; sterile terminal leaflet 10-15 cm long, 2.5-4 cm wide, lanceolate, the base rounded, often somewhat unequal, apex acuminate, the edges entire or irregularly sinuate, the midrib and the upper surface shortly hairy. the midrib and veins beneath bearing numerous shortly spreading, pale, hooked hairs, the lamina between the veins dull, verrucose and glabrous. veins 10-12 pairs, spreading from the costules at the very obtuse angle, usually almost straight, nearly always meeting in opposite pairs, the excurrent veinlet free or united to the next pair of veins above; lateral sterile leaflets similar, but shorter (5-10 × 1.5-3 cm), unequally rounded at the base, and shortly stalked, fertile fronds with narrower leaflets (apical leaflet 1-2.5 cm wide) the veins almost at right angles to the costules. sori extending all along each vein so that sporangia are distributed in a cresent shaped row along each pair of connivent veins, without indusia. specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong, hooker & thomson s.n. (k); burkhal, 6.2.1873, clarke 19742 (bm). jamalpur : gozni, lowachapra, kornojhula, 8.8.2006, m.m. mirza mm.714 (dacb). sylhet : sylhet, 1820, wallich s.n. (k). sylhet : sylhet station, 24.11.1872 clarke, 17937 (k); adampur, 18.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.537 44 mirza (dacb); adampur, 6.5.2003, m.m. mirza mm.326 (dacb); lowachera, 19.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.565 (dacb). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, thailand, japan, malaysia, philippines and new guinea. plate 5. pronephrium triphyllum. a. habit (× 0.25); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). pronephrium triphyllum is a common species in bangladesh forests, growing along the stream edges. no conservation measure needed. acknowledgements the author is grateful to dr. b.m. wadhua, botanist, kew herbarium, kew, for his help and supervision, during her visit to kew herbarium (k) and the authorities of herbarium of natural history british museum (bm) and central national herbarium, the genus pronephrium 45 india (cal). thanks are also due to prof. a.b.m. enayet hossain, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, for his valuable comments on the manuscript. references dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. botanical survey of india. delhi, pp. 98-102. dixit, r. and vohra, j.n. 1984. a dictionary of the pteridophytes of india. botanical survey of india, pp. 48. mirza, m.m. and rahman, m.m. 1997. an annotated check list of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 4769. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 1237-1270 indian reprint (1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. smith, a.r. 1990. thelypteridaceae. in: kramer, k.u. and. green, p.s (eds.), the families and genera of vascular plants. pteridophytes, gymnosperms. springerverlag. new york, pp. 263-272. (manuscript received on 19 september 2006; revised on 8 january 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 75-77, 2007 (june) short communication an enumeration of collections of bauhinia subgen. phanera (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from bangladesh in central national herbarium (cal), india s. bandyopadhyay1 botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india key words: bauhinia subgen. phanera, collections, cal, bangladesh the fascicles of the flora of bangladesh with detailed taxonomic accounts of the angiospermic families are being published in series of numbers and the latest of them is by khan and khanam (2003). in this paper the collections of bauhinia subgen. phanera from bangladesh in central national herbarium (cal), india have been enumerated with a view to draw the attention of the researchers engaged in the preparation of detailed taxonomic account of the subgenus in bangladesh. the enumeration is as follows: 1. bauhinia nervosa (wall. ex benth.) baker in hook. f., fl. brit. india 2: 283. 1878. phanera nervosa wall. ex benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 262. 1852. representative specimen: mt. sillhet, wall. cat. no. 5777, herb. acc. no. 137449. note: wall. cat. no. 5777 is the type of p. nervosa. the wallichian specimens having no. 5777 are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, photo. cal! 2. bauhinia ornata kurz var. kerrii (gagnep.) k. larsen & s. s. larsen in aubreville & leroy (eds.), fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 208. 1980. b. kerrii gagnep. in lecomte, not. syst. 2: 173. 1912. phanera rufa benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 263. 1852. bauhinia rufa (benth.) baker in hook.f., fl. brit. india 2: 280. 1878, ‘rufa grah.’, non steud. (1840). representative specimen: m. sylhet, wall. cat. no. 5798, herb. acc. no. 137237. note: wall. cat. no. 5798 is the type of p. rufa. the wallichian specimens having no. 5798 are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, microf. cal! 3. bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl. 374. 1753. b. anguina roxb., pl. coromandel 3: 82, t. 285. 1820. representative specimens: chittagong, j. d. hooker & t. thomson s. n., herb. acc. no. 137692; chittagong, bariadhala,10.10.1905, d. hooper 25919; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5773a, herb. acc. no. 137701; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5773a, herb. acc. no. 137702. 1e-mail: subirbandyopadhyay@yahoo.com mailto:subirbandyopadhyay@yahoo.com 76 bandyopadhyay note: the collection of d. hooper 25919 is with immature inflorescence and identified as bauhinia integrifolia roxb. on the herbarium label. in an additional strip of paper there is a note saying “not recorded in fl. br. ind for chittagong-burma area nor in the calc herbarium (fl. br. ind p 279) nos. 14-16. it is not b. retusa ham which is ecirrhose, & is confined to the western himalayas. it is not bidenta(ta) which has leaves longer than broad”. the given identity is, however, not correct. ms. s.s. larsen (pers. comm. 1997), aarhus university, denmark has kindly identified it for me as b. scandens. fig. 1. bauhinia sp.: a leaf from j. l. lister s.n. with widely diverging lobes at apex. [scale = 1 cm] the sheet having wall. cat. no. 5773a has a flowering collection of b. scandens and three leaves of b. roxburghiana voigt. the latter species, however, occurs in india, nepal and pakistan, but not in bangladesh. 4. bauhinia wallichii j. f. macbr. in contrib. gray herb. harvard university (n.s.) 3(59): 23. 1919. phanera macrostachya benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 262. 1852. bauhinia macrostachya (benth.) benth. in benth. & hook.f., gen. pl. 1: 576. 1865, non benth. (1840). representative specimens: wall. cat. no. 5774a, herb. acc. no. 137352; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5774a, herb. acc. no. 137351. an enumeration of collections of bauhinia 77 note: wall. cat. no. 5774 is the type of p. macrostachya. the wallichian specimens having no. 5774 (see bandyopadhyay, 2001: 10) are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, photo. cal! another specimen s.k. mukherjee 79 collected from chittagong hill tracts in feb. 1940 and labeled as bauhinia macrostachya wall. exists in cal, but the identity of this sterile specimen could not be determined. in addition to the afore-mentioned collections, two other collections (east pakistan, chittagong hill tracts, mynimukh forest, 25.12.1956, m. s. khan 244; chittagong hill tracts, myani mukh, feb. 1876, j. l. lister s.n., herb. acc. no. 137356) identified as bauhinia divergens baker / phanera divergens (baker) thoth. are in cal. this species, however, do not actually exist in nature. larsen and larsen (1979) has pointed out that the type (birma, griffith 1895 k, photo. cal!) of b. divergens baker represents a mixed collection: “flowers and young pod from bauhinia variegata l., while a sterile branch with leaves probably belongs to b. scandens l.”. many such collections were examined with leaves having widely diverging lobes at apex, typically as in j. l. lister s.n. (fig.1), from eastern and north-eastern india and some adjacent countries in cal having the names b. divergens / p. divergens but all of them were sterile. mr. m. k. pathak who is working on the flora of dibang valley in arunachal pradesh, india informed (pers. comm. 2006) that during his field studies he had seen such type of leaves in some plants in two localities in arunachal pradesh, namely, in kornu-difunala and near the helipad in roing. the plants were 3-4 m in length and were creeping on the forest floor or climbing up on the trees. their stems were terete, about 5 mm in diameter but the plants were, however, without flowers or fruits. more field observations are necessary to see that to which species the leaves actually belong to. acknowledgements i am thankful to the director, botanical survey of india for his help and encouragement and to the anonymous reviewer for his helpful comments. references bandyopadhyay, s. 2001. miscellaneous notes on bauhinia l. (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) ii. j. econ. taxon. bot. 25(1): 10-12. khan, m.s. and khanam, m. 2003. cuscutaceae. in: rahman, m.m. and khanam, m. (eds.), flora of bangladesh 55: 1-11, bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, bangladesh. larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1979. nomenclatural notes on some old world bauhinia. taxon 28(5/6): 591592. (manuscript received on 2 march 2007; revised on 23 april 2007) 403 forbidden forbidden you don't have permission to access this resource. apache/2.4.54 (ubuntu) server at www.banglajol.info port 443 wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district, bangladesh md. rafiqul islam1, mohammad zashim uddin2 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: assessment; angiospermic flora; khagrachhari; bangladesh. abstract the paper focuses on the qualitative assessment of angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district conducted during may 2005 to september 2006. a total of 243 species belonging to 195 genera under 75 families were recorded. magnoliopsida is represented by 60 families, 156 genera and 192 species, whereas liliopsida by 15 families, 39 genera and 51 species. fabaceae is the largest family in magnoliopsida represented by 16 species and, in liliopsida, poaceae is the largest family with 17 species. introduction ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district is a part of greater chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. the upazila lies between 22º51´ and 23º02´ n latitudes and 91º43´ and 91º59´ e longitudes. it is bounded by indian state of tripura and matiranga upazila of bangladesh on the north, manikchhari and lakshmichhari upazilas on the south, mahalchhari upazila on the east and fatikchhari upazila on the west. total area of the upazila is about 207.69 sq km (lavlu, 2003). ramgarh upazila consists of many hills of different altitudes with an average elevation of 180 m above the sea level (rizvi, 1969). the soil is reddish-yellowish sandy or sandy loam, mixed with scattered magniferous iron ore, huge humus throughout the forest but its degree of accumulation varies from place to place depending on topography, usually more deposition is found on flat land and on the bed of chhari (hilly streams) and less on the undulating hills. at high altitude, soil is compact and hard when it is dry; but soil is sandy and soft at low altitude. soil ph varies from 4.5 to 6.0 (rizvi, 1969). the climate is sub-tropical, with a long dry season extending from november to may, punctuated by largely unpredictable periods of rainstorm from june to september, the south-west monsoon provide the majority of the average annual rainfall of about 1815 mm. maximum temperature is 38.8°c recorded in april and minimum temperature is 9°c recorded in january (bangladesh meteorological department, personal communication). the humidity on the whole is very high throughout the year. once the vegetation of ramgarh upazila belonged to an evergreen and semievergreen forest (choudhury, 1975). with the changing of time such vegetations are cleared. now the flora of the upazila represented by homestead gardens, road-side plantations, monocultural plantation in the denuded hills, remaining scraft bushy jungles, bamboo bushes, sun grasses, tea estates, rubber plantations, and fruit gardens. 1 e-mail: suhavedu@yahoo.com 2 corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 116 islam et al. although there have been some published works (heinig, 1925; khan and banu, 1969, 1972; uddin et al., 1998) on the flora of the chittagong hill tracts, no work exclusively on the ramgarh upazila is available. to assess the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila before further loss of present biodiversity of the area, the present attempt has been made. materials and methods the work is based on fresh materials collected during four visits to ramgarh upazila from may 2005 to september 2006 to cover the seasonal variations. the visits covered all types of habitats, particularly hill-top, slope, foot-hills, valleys, village grove, fruit gardens and streams of the study area. each trip lasted for eight days. plant parts with either flowers or fruits collected using traditional herbarium techniques to make voucher specimens for documentation. field identification of the collected specimens was confirmed comparing with herbarium specimens at dhaka university herbarium (duh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). in some cases, standard literature such as hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), and uddin and hassan (2004) were consulted for identification purpose. the specimens are deposited in the dhaka university herbarium (duh) for future reference. results and discussion in the present survey, a total of 243 angiospermic species under 195 genera and 75 families were recorded for ramgarh upazila. magnoliopsida is represented by 60 families, 156 genera and 192 species, while liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 39 genera and 51 species. habit-wise itemization of plant species shows that 36% of the total species are represented by herbs, 30% by trees, 22% by shrubs, 10% by climbers, and 2% by epiphytes and parasites. the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera under each family and the species under each genus are arranged in an alphabetic order. for each species, nomenclature has been brought up-to-date; local name(s) (wherever available) and a short annotation are also provided. tippara, marma, and chakma (major indigenous communities of the area) and bangla names of the species are indicated by (t), (m), (c) and (b), respectively. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. magnoliaceae michelia champaca l., sp. pl.: 536 (1753). local name: changab (m). a large or middle-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 29 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 117 2. annonaceae annona squamosa l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). local name: sharifa (b). a small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 203 (duh). cultivated. uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thoms., fl. ind. 1: 96 (1820). local names: kola (b), tufaru (t). a large climber. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 4 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 152 (duh). 3. lauraceae cinnamomum camphora prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903). local name: karpur (b). a medium tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 83 (duh). cultivated. dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 125 (1886). local name: modon mosto (b). a tall tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 135 (duh). litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers., syn. pl. 2 (1): 4 (1807). tetranthera monopetala roxb., pl. corom. 2: 26 (1800). local name: menda buphang (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 270 (duh). 4. piperaceae piper longum l., sp. pl. 1: 28 (1753). local name: pepul (b). a perennial herb, branches with swollen nodes. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 212 (duh). piper nigrum l., sp. pl. 1: 28 (1753). local name: gol marich (b). a climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 118 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 168 (duh). cultivated. 5. aristolochiaceae aristolochia tagala cham., linnaea 7: 207 (1832). local name: ishwarmul (b). a glabrous climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 344 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 133 (duh). 6. menispermaceae stephania japonica (thunb.) miers, ann. mag. nat. hist. ser. 3, 18: 14 (1866). menispermum japonicum thunb., fl. jap.: 193 (1784). local name: maknadi (b). a slender climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 383 (duh). 118 islam et al. tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr., sunyatsenia 1: 193 (1934). campylus sinensis lour., fl. cochinch.: 113 (1790). local name: padmo gulancha (b). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 219 (duh). 7. papaveraceae argemone mexicana l., sp. pl. 508 (1753). local name: sialkanta (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 155 (duh). 8. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) bl., mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 63 (1856). celtis orientalis l., sp. pl.: 1044 (1753). local names: bonanalia (b), narsa (b). an ever-green, small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 201 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 87 (duh). 9. moraceae artocarpus chaplasha roxb., fl. ind. 3: 525 (1832). local names: champlate (t), chapalish (b). a lofty, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 90 (duh). artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., encycl. meth. 3: 209 (1789). local name: kanthal (b). an ever-green tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 39 (duh). cultivated. ficus heterophylla l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: bhuidumur (b). a hispid, scandent shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 09 (duh). ficus hirta vahl, enum. pl. 2: 201 (1806). local name: pakur (b). a bushy tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 68 (duh). ficus hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: kakdumur (b). a low tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 42 (duh). ficus infectoria roxb., fl. ind. 2: 643 (1824). local names: pakur (b), takthu (t). a giant, spreading tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 38 (duh). ficus nervosa heyne ex roth in roem. et schult., syst. veg. 1: 513 (1817). a large tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 71 (duh). ficus religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local names: ashathwa, peepal (b). a large tree. representative specimens: pathachhari, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 88 (duh); ramgarh, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 354 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 119 10. urticaceae dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew, gard. bull. singh. 21: 206 (1965). local name: chutrapata (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 291 (duh). sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaud., voy. bot. t. 89 (1826). a shrub or small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 02 (duh); pathachhari, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 351 (duh). streblus asper lour., fl. cochin. 2: 615 (1790). local name: shaora (b). a bushy tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 193 (duh). 11. fagaceae quercus semiserrata roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 641 (1832). local names: goorja-batna, rai-batna (b). a medium to large-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 188 (duh). 12. amaranthaceae alternanthera sessilis (l.) dc., cat. pl. hort. monspel.: 77 (1813). a herb, usually decumbent or prostrate. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 224 (duh). amaranthus spinosus l., sp. pl. 1: 991 (1753). local name: kanta-note (b). an annual, erect, spinescent herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 176 (duh). amaranthus viridis l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1405 (1753). local name: note sak (b). an annual, erect or decumbent, small, slender herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 49 (duh). 13. polygonaceae persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach., hist. veg. 10: 536 (1841). polygonum hydropiper l., sp. pl.: 361 (1753). local name: pakurmul (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 385 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 139 (duh). persicaria minor (huds.) opiz, seenam, rosplin, kbeteny, ceske: 72 (1852). polygonum minus huds., fl. angl. 1: 148 (1762). an annual, erect or ascending herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 84 (duh). 14. dilleniaceae dillenia indica l., sp. pl.: 535 (1753). local name: chalta (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 69 (duh). 120 islam et al. 15. dipterocarpaceae dipterocarpus alatus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 614 (1824). local name: dhulia garjan (b). a tall tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 166 (duh). dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn., de fruct. 3: 51 (1805). local name: garjan (b). a lofty tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 136 (duh). 16. theaceae schima wallichii choisy, mem. soc. phys. genev. 14: 144 (1855). local name: bonak (t). a large tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 6 (duh); ramgarh, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 369 (duh). 17. clusiaceae (guttiferae) garcinia cowa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 622 (1824). local name: kowphal (b). a tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 390 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 77 (duh). 18. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus tectorius poir., enc. suppl. 2: 704 (1812). local name: jalpai (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 167 (duh). cultivated. 19. tiliaceae microcos paniculata l., sp. pl. 1: 514 (1753). local names: assar, dattoi (b). a shrub to small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 36 (duh). 20. sterculiaceae abroma augusta (l.) l. f., suppl. pl.: 341 (1781). theobroma augusta l., syst. ed. 12: 233 (1767). local name: ulatkambal (b). a shrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 220 (duh); pathachhara, 09.09.05, rafiqul islam 89 (duh). cultivated. buettneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681 (1824). local name: harbhanga lata (b). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 192 (duh). firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. in benn., pl. jav. rar.: 235 (1844). sterculia colorata roxb., pl. corom. 1: 26, t. 25 (1795). local name: udal (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 50 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 121 21. bombacaceae bombax ceiba l., sp. pl.: 511 (1753). local name: shimul tula (b). a large tree with buttress base. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 376 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 180 (duh). 22. malvaceae hibiscus sabdariffa l., sp. pl.: 695 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 8 (duh). cultivated. sida cordata (burm. f.) boriss., blumea 14 (1): 182 (1966). melochia cordata burm. f., fl. ind. 143 (1768). local name: junka (b). an annual, slender, prostrate or ascending herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 347 (duh). urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). local names: banokra (t), pungi (m). an undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 7 (duh). 23. lecythidaceae careya arborea roxb., pl. corom. 3: 14, t. 218 (1811). local names: gadila (m), kamba (t). a low tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 86 (duh). 24. flacourtiaceae flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch., nom. bot. ed. 3: 290 (1797). stigmarota jangomas lour., fl. cochinch.: 634 (1790). local name: pina gola (b). a small, evergreen tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 258 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 79 (duh). 25. bixaceae (cochlospermataceae) bixa orellana l., sp. pl.: 512 (1753). local names: cowabupang (t), pahari lotka (b). a small, ever-green tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 370 (duh). cultivated. 26. passifloraceae passiflora foetida l., sp. pl.: 959 (1753). local names: jhumkolata (b), pokki (t). a climbing, slender shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 138 (duh). 122 islam et al. 27. cucurbitaceae coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, hort. suburb. calcut.: 59 (1845). bryonia grandis l., mant. pl. 1: 126 (1767). local names: kawajhinga (t), telakucha (b). a climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 130 (duh). 28. sapotaceae achras sapota l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 470 (1753). local name: safeda (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 265 (duh). cultivated. madhuca longifolia (koenig) macbride, contrib. gray herb. n. s. 53: 17 (1918). bassia longifolia koenig (1771). a long tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 32 (duh). 29. myrsinaceae ardisia solanacea roxb., pl. corom.: 27, t. 27 (1795). local name: banjam (b). an erect shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 221 (duh). 30. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 464 (1825). mimosa concinna willd., sp. pl. 4: 1039 (1805). local name: banritha (b). a bushy, spiny climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 162 (duh). acacia nilotica (l.) delile subsp. indica (benth.) brenan in kew bull. 12: 84 (1957). mimosa nilotica l., sp. pl.: 152 (1753). local name: babul (b). a tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 211 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 75 (duh). cultivated. adenanthera pavonina l., sp. pl. 1: 377 (1953). local name: raktachandan (b). a medium to large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 194 (duh). cultivated. albizia chinensis (osb.) merr., amer. j. bot. 3: 575 (1916). mimosa chinensis osb., degbok ostind. resa.: 233 (1757). local names: koroi (b), kulmabuphang, mashkala (t). a tall tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 315 (duh). albizia procera benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). local name: buth koroi (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 304 (duh); ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 59 (duh). mimosa pudica l., sp. pl.: 518 (1753). local name: lojjabati (b). a prickly, woody herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 202 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 123 pithecellobium angulatum benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 208 (1844). a short tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 336 (duh). 31. caesalpiniaceae bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl.: 344 (1753). local names: gundilata (b), kanson (t). an extensive, ever-green, woody climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 140 (duh). caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) swartz., obs. bot. ind. occ.: 166 (1791). poinciana pulcherrima l. (1751). local name: radhachura (b). an unarmed, handsome shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 30 (duh). cultivated. cassia fistula l., sp. pl.: 377 (1753). local names: askhi, badarlathi (b). a short tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 57 (duh). delonix regia rafin., fl. tellur. 2: 92 (1836). local names: golmohar, krishnachura (b). a medium-sized, handsome, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 25 (duh). cultivated. senna sophera (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 347 (1832). cassia sophera l., sp. pl.: 379 (1753). local names: chotokalkesunde (b), jhingi (t). a much branched shrub or undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 204 (duh). senna tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). cassia tora l., sp. pl: 376 (1753). local name: lasiabupang (t). a perennial, erect, foetid, often profusely branched herb or undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 275 (duh). tamarindus indica l., sp. pl.: 34 (1753). local name: tentul (b). a tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 114 (duh). 32. fabaceae (papilionaceae) aeschynomene indica l., sp. pl.: 713 (1753). local name: katshola (b). erect herb or undershrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 365 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 160 (duh). atylosia scarabaeoides benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 1: 242 (1852). local name: banurkala (b). a herbaceous twiner. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 199 (duh). cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., columb. mus. bot. 2: 53 (1900). cytisus cajan l., sp. pl.: 739 (1753). local name: orhor (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 126 (duh). cultivated. crotalaria pallida aiton, hort. kew. 2: 20 (1789). local names: bara jhanjhani, dangkok (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 326 (duh). 124 islam et al. dalbergia elegans benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 1: 252 (1852). local name: singribish lata (b). a climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 360 (duh). cultivated. dalbergia sissoo roxb., fl. ind. 3: 223 (1832). local names: shimaki (t), sisso (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 70 (duh). cultivated. dalbergia volubilis roxb., pl. corom. 2: 48, t. 191 (1805). local names: dad bari (b), purangbuphag (t). a scandent shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 311 (duh). desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 327 (1825). hedysarum gangeticum l., sp. pl.: 746 (1753). local name: satpani (b). a suberect undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 362 (duh). desmodium polycarpum dc., prodr. 2: 334 (1825). an undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 76 (duh). desmodium pulchellum (l.) benth., fl. hongk.: 83 (1861). hedysarum pulchellum l. in roxb., fl. ind. 3: 361 (1832). local name: juta-salpani (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 63 (duh). erythrina ovalifolia roxb., fl. ind. 3: 251 (1832). local name: mandar (b). a deciduous, small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 199 (duh). flemingia strobilifra r. br. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 2 (4): 350 (1812). an erect shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 200 (duh). mucuna pruriens (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 405 (1825). dolichos pruriens l. in stickman, dis. herb. fl. amboin.: 23 (1754). local names: al-kushi (b), amukhatubupang (t). a large climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 61 (duh). phaseolus trilobatus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 201 (1876). local name: mugani (t). twiner, usually herbaceous. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 195 (duh). pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). dolichos phaseoloides roxb., fl. ind. 3: 316 (1832). a herbaceous, pubescent climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 70 (duh). uraria lagopodiodes (l.) desv., mem. soc. linn. paris 4: 309 (1829). hedysarum lagopodiodes l., sp. pl. 1198 (1753). local name: latachakuley (b). a creeping, woody herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 57 (duh). 33. lythraceae daubanga grandiflora roxb., fl. ind. 2: 503 (1832). local name: kasshabupang (t). a large tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 19 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 125 lagerstroemia parviflora roxb., pl. corom. 1: 47, t. 66 (1795). local names: tila jalifung (t), tila jarul (b). a small, bushy tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 316 (duh). lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). munchausia speciosa l., mant. pl. 2: 243 (1771). local name: jarul (b). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 144 (duh). woodfordia fruticosa kurz, journ. as. soc. beng. 11: 56 (1871). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 191 (duh). 34. myrtaceae psidium guajava l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: piyara (b). large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 339 (duh). cultivated. syzygium claviflorum (roxb.) a.m. cowan & j.m. cowan, trees n. bengal: 67 (1929). eugenia claviflora roxb., fl. ind. 2: 488 (1832). local name: khorula jam (b). a tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 15 (duh). syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 87 (1832). local name: titi jam (b). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 127 (duh). syzygium jambos (l.) alston in trimen handb. fl. ceylon 6: 115 (1931). eugenia jambos l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: gulab jam (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 30 (duh). cultivated. syzygium malaccense (l.) merr. & l. m. perry, j. arnold arbor. 19: 215 (1938). eugenia malaccensis l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: bon jamrul (b). a shrub or small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 103 (duh). syzygium samarangense (blume) merr. & l. m. perry, j. arnold arbor. 19: 115, 216 (1938). myrtus samarangensis blume, bijdr.: 1084 (1826). local name: jamrul (b). a small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 97 (duh). cultivated. 35. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). jussiaea abyssinica l., mant. 1: 69 (1767). local name: keshardam (b). a creeping aquatic herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 223 (duh). ludwigia hyssopifolia (g. don) exell., garica de orta 5: 471 (1957). jussiaea hyssopifolia g. don, gen. syst. 2: 693 (1832). a branched herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 153 (duh). 126 islam et al. 36. melastomataceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl.: 390 (1753). local names: datranga, lutki (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 128 (duh). 37. combretaceae anogeissus acuminata (roxb. ex dc.) guill. & perr., fl. seneg. tent. 1: 280 (1832). conocarpus acuminatus roxb. ex dc., prodr. 3: 16 (1828). local names: chakua (b), hiuri (t). a tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 103 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 173 (duh). calycopteris floribunda (roxb.) lamk., enc. meth. bot. suppl. 2: 41 (1811). getonia floribunda roxb., pl. corom. 1: 61, t. 87 (1798). local name: goache lata (b). a dense shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 14 (duh). combretum acuminatum roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 228 (1824). a large, scandent shrub. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 190 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 163 (duh). terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wt. & arn., prodr.: 314 (1834). pentaptera arjuna roxb. ex dc., prodr. 3: 14 (1828). local name: arjun (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 165 (duh). cultivated. terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., pl. corom. 2: 54, t. 198 (1805). myrobalanus bellerica gaertn., de. fruct. semi. 2: 90, t. 97 (1791). local names: bohera (b), shiba (t). a tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 05 (duh). terminalia chebula retz., obs. bot. 5: 31 (1789). local name: haritaki (b). a large tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 99 (duh). 38. sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 366 (1753). climbing herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 150 (duh). 39. euphorbiaceae acalypha indica l., sp. pl.: 1003 (1753). local name: muktajhuri (b). a small robust or woody herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 242 (duh). aporosa wallichii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 350 (1885). local name: kamba (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 12 (duh). baccaurea ramiflora lour., fl. cochinch.: 661 (1790). local name: latka (b). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 58 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 127 breynia retusa (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 3: 48 (1829). clutia retusa l., sp. pl.: 1024 (1753). local name: silpati (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 149 (duh). bridelia stipularis (l.) blume, bijdr.: 597 (1826). clutia stipularis l., mant. pl.: 127 (1767). local names: harinhara (b), kantakui (t). a subscandent shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 73 (duh). croton bonplandianus bill., adansonia 4: 339 (1864). local name: moricha (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 190 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 81 (duh). euphorbia hirta l., sp. pl.: 454 (1753). local name: dudhia (b). an annual, usually robust, erect or ascending herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 312 (duh) ; ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 157 (duh). glochidion multiloculare (roxb. ex willd.) muell.-arg., linnaea 32: 59 (1863). agyneia multilocularis roxb. ex willd., neue schr. ges. naturf. freunde berlin 4: 206 (1803). local name: keura (t). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 44 (duh). macaranga denticulata (blume) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15 (2): 1000 (1886). mappa denticulata blume, bijdr.: 625 (1825). local name: bura (t). a small, ever-green tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 54 (duh). mallotus philippensis (lamk.) muell.-arg., linnaea 34 (1): 196 (1865). croton philippensis lamk., encycl. meth. 5: 298 (1804). local name: moinbura (b). a mediumsized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 96 (duh). phyllanthus embelica l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). local name: amloki (b). a small or middle-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 113 (duh). cultivated. phyllanthus fraterous webster, contr. gray herb. 176: 53 (1955). phyllanthus niruri senu hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 298 (1887). local name: bhui amla (b). a herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 186 (duh). phyllanthus reticulatus poir. in lamk., encycl. meth. b. 5: 298 (1804). local name: sitki panku (b). a large, scandent shrub. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 197 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 181 (duh). phyllanthus urinaria l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). an erect, glabrous, annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 01 (duh). ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). local name: rerhi (b). an ever-green shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 21 (duh). 128 islam et al. 40. rhamnaceae zizyphus mauritiana lamk., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). local name: boroi (b). a small, much branched tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 13 (duh); pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 198 (duh). 41. leeaceae leea aequata l., mant. pl. 1: 124 (1767). leea hirta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 469 (1824). local name: pagolgota gach (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 250 (duh). 42. vitaceae cayratia trifolia (l.) domin, biblioth. bot. 89: 371 (1927). vitis trifolia l., sp. pl.: 203 (1753). local name: amal-lata (b). a slender, herbaceous climber with swollen rootstock. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 393 (duh). cissus quadrangularis l., syst. nat. ed. 12 (2): 124 (1767). local names: harjora lata, kumor lata (b). a herbaceous plant. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 124 (duh). cissus repens lamk., encycl. math. bot. 1: 31 (1783). local names: jangli angur (b), marmaria-pata (t). a large, glabrous, herbaceous climber with quadrangular stem. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 104 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 169 (duh). 43. burseraceae bursera serrata wall. ex colebr., trans. linn. soc. 15: 361, t. 4 (1827). local name: nule (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 03 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 341 (duh). 44. anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr., j. arnold arbor. 19: 353 (1938). dialium coromandelicum houtt., nat. hist. 2: 39, t. 5, f. 2 (1774). local names: jika (t), kaphila (m). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. representative specimens: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 85 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 156 (duh). spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, pegu rep. a. 44 (1875). local name: bonamra (b). a medium-sized to tall tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 207 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 129 45. meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker, ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). aglaia polystachya wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 429 (1824). local name: royna (b). a tree with dense spreading crown. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 225 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 80 (duh). melia azedarach l., sp. pl.: 384 (1753). local name: gora nim (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 62 (duh). cultivated. 46. rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) corr., trans. linn. soc. 5: 222 (1800). crateva marmelos l., sp. pl.: 444 (1753). local name: bel (b). a small, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 110 (duh). cultivated. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). limonia pentaphylla retz., obs. bot. 5: 24 (1788). local name: datmajon (b). a shrub or small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 226 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 141 (duh). micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wight & arn., prodr. 1: 448 (1834). limonia minutum forst. f., prodr.: 33 (1786). local name: duha (b). a bushy shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 137 (duh). zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prodr. 1: 728 (1825). fagara rhetsa roxb. (1820). local name: bajna (b). an ever-green, small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 45 (duh). 47. oxalidaceae (averrhoaceae) averrhoa carambola l., sp. pl.: 428 (1753). local name: kamranga (b). a bushy tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 24 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 74 (duh). cultivated. oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). local name: ambuli (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 209 (duh). oxalis corymbosa dc., prodr. 1: 696 (1824). a stemless herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 102 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 178 (duh). 48. apiaceae (umbelliferae) centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. bras. 11: 287 (1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l., sp. pl. 1: 234 (1753). local names: adamoni, thankuni (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 346 (duh). 130 islam et al. 49. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. s. 1: 75 (1811). echites scholaris l., mant. pl. 1: 53 (1767). local names: chatim (b), shidam (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 56 (duh). holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex decne., prodr. 8: 413 (1844). nerium antidysentericum l., sp. pl.: 54 (1753). local name: kurchi (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 236 (duh). ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br. in ait. f., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 69 (1811). apocynum frutescens l., sp. pl.: 213 (1753). local name: sham lwui (t). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 230 (duh). rauwolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 171 (1877). ophioxylon serpentinum l., sp. pl.: 1043 (1753). local names: churung (t), sarpaganda (b). a woody herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 330 (duh). tabernaemontana recurva roxb., fl. ind.: 226 (1832). a small shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 94 (duh). wrightia arborea (dennst.) mabberly, taxon 26: 533 (1977). periploca arborea dennst., schlus. h. malabar.: 13, 23 (1818). local name: dhudi (b). a small, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 231 (duh). 50. solanaceae datura metel l., sp. pl.: 179 (1753). local name: dutra (b). a stout herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 274 (duh). nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., elench. pl. hort. dinergo: 26. t. 5 (1802). local name: tamak (b). a slender, erect, annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 210 (duh). cultivated. physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). local name: potka (t). an annual glabrous herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 12 (duh). solanum nigrum l., sp. pl.: 186 (1753). local name: tit begun (b). an annual erect shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 47 (duh). solanum torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47 (1788). local name: bot begun (b). a small shrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 16 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 82 (duh). solanum violaceum ortega, hort. matr. dec.: 56 (1798). local name: phutki begun (b). a much branched undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 382 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 131 51. convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. genev. 6: 418 (1833). lettsomia argentea roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 79 (1824). local name: dhumchuk (t). a climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 233 (duh). argyreia capitiformis (poir.) oostr. in van steenis, fl. mal. ser. 1, 6(6): 941 (1972). convolvulus capitiformis poir. in lamk., encylc. suppl. 3: 469 (1814). a large climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 17 (duh). ipomoea aquatica forssk., fl. aeg.-arab.: 44 (1775). local name: kalmilata (b). a glabrous trailer on water. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 158 (duh). ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). local names: dholkalmi, durakalma (b). a fistular shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 335 (duh). ipomoea tricolor cav., ic. 3: 5, t. 208 (1794). a glabrous twiner. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 389 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 120 (duh). 52. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local name: swarnalata (b). a fleshy parasite, forming dense yellow masses on small tree or shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 154 (duh). 53. boraginaceae cordia dichotoma forst. f., fl. ins. austr. prodr. 18: 110 (1876). local names: bahoduri (b), bahubara (t), boula (b). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 20 (duh). heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl.: 130 (1753). local name: hatisur (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 205 (duh). 54. verbenaceae callicarpa longifolia lamk., enc. meth. 1: 403 (1798). local name: bormala (b). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 78 (duh). clerodendrum viscosum vent., gard. malm. 1: t. 25 (1803). local name: bhant (b). a perennial, woody herb to undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 222 (duh). lantana camara l., sp. pl.: 627 (1753). local name: guayganda (b). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 123 (duh). 132 islam et al. lippia javanica (burm. f.) spreng., syst. 2: 752 (1825). an undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 87 (duh). tectona grandis l. f., suppl. pl.: 151 (1781). local name: shegun (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 134 (duh). cultivated. vitex pubescens vahl, symb. 3: 85 (1794). a large tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 100 (duh). 55. lamiaceae (labiatae) anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 512 (1891). nepeta indica l., sp. pl.: 596 (1753). a bushy undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 164 (duh). dysophylla crassicaulis benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 30 (1830). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 162 (duh). hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1100 (1759). local name: tokma (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 26 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 151 (duh). leucas aspera spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). local name: durung pata (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 187 (duh). ocimum tenuiflorum l., sp. pl.: 597 (1753). local name: kalo tulshi (b). a much branched, soft hairy, perennial herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 23 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 91 (duh). cultivated. 56. scrophulariaceae scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 166 (1753). local name: bondhuna (b). a herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 105 (duh). 57. acanthaceae ecbolium linnaenum kurz, journ. as. soc. beng.: 2: 75 (1871). local name: uduzha (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 22 (duh). hygrophila salicifolia (vahl) nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 81 (1832). ruellia salicifolia vahl, symb. 3: 84 (1794). a prostrate to erect herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 232 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 358 (duh). justicia adhatoda l., sp. pl.: 15 (1753). adhatoda vasica nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 103 (1832). local name: basak (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 229 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 133 justicia gandarussa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). local name: jawa ghas (b). an undershrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 238 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 108 (duh). lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nepal: 119 (1825). a perennial herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 355 (duh); ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 46 (duh). rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). justicia pectinata l., amoen. acad. 4: 293 (1759). a much branched, prostrate or suberect herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 91 (duh). thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb., bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). flemingia grandiflora roxb. ex rottler, ges. naturf. freund berlin neue schriften 4: 202 (1803). local name: nil lata (b). a climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 357 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 145 (duh). 58. bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l., sp. pl.: 625 (1753). local names: kanaidengi, konak, sona (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 67 (duh). stereospermum colais (buch.-ham. ex dillw.) mabberley, taxon 27: 553 (1979). bignonia colais buch.-ham. ex dillw. (1839). local name: dharmar (b). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 125 (duh). 59. rubiaceae boreria articularis (l. f.) will., bull. herb. bios. ser. 2, 5: 956 (1905). spermacoce articularis l. f., suppl.: 119 (1781). local name: thitulon (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 11 (duh). hedyotis scandens roxb., fl. ind. 1: 369 (1820). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 371 (duh). ixora acuminata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 383 (1820). an undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 55 (duh). ixora cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). an evergreen shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 367 (duh). paederia foetida l., mant. pl. 1: 52 (1767). local name: gandha badhuli (b). a slender climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 72 (duh). psychotria adenophylla wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 166 (1824). local name: moshakbupang (t). a low shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 18 (duh). 134 islam et al. randia dumetorum (retz.) poir. in lamk., encycl. suppl. 2: 824 (1812). garaenia dumetorum retz., obs. bot. 2: 14 (1781). local name: manakata (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 366 (duh). stephegyne diversifolia hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 26 (1873). local name: khom ghas (b). a small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 227 (duh). 60. asteraceae (compositae) ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). local names: dulkuri, hialmuti (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 51 (duh). blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). conyza lacera burm. f., fl. ind.: 180, t. 59 (1768). local name: kuksung (b). an erect, annual, aromatic herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 93 (duh). elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814 (1753). local name: mulasus (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 235 (duh). enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. cochinch.: 511 (1790). local name: helencha (b). a profusely branched, annual aquatic herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 213 (duh). grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., enc. suppl. 2: 825 (1811). artemisia maderaspatana l., sp. pl.: 849 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 161 (duh). mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. robinson, contrib. gray herb. 104: 65 (1934). eupatorium cordatum burm. f., fl. ind.: 176 (1768). local name: asamlata (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 171 (duh). sonchus oleraceus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 414 (1882). an annual, milky herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 186 (duh). spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834) spilanthes acmella auct. non linn. merr. (1774). local name: hampui (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 28 (duh). liliopsida (monocots) 61. arecaceae (palmae) caryota urens l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). trunk solitary, annulate, erect, up to 12 m tall. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 268 (duh). didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude in kerchov., palm.: 243 (1878). a low palm. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 398 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 135 62. araceae pothos scandens l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). local name: hatilata (b). a climbing aroid. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 388 (duh). typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott., wien. zeitschr. 3: 72 (1829). arum trilobatum l., sp. pl.: 934 (1753). local name: gondogi (t). a tuberous climber. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 323 (duh). 63. commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). local name: dholpata (b). a slender herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 209 (duh). commelina diffusa burm. f., fl. ind.: 18, t. 7, 2 (1768). an annual, slender herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 391 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 92 (duh). murdania nudiflora (l.) brenan, kew bull. 7: 189 (1952). commelina nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). local name: kanduli (t). an annual, diffuse herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 159 (duh). 64. cyperaceae cyperus compressus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 46 (1753). local name: chancha (t). an annual herb, tufted root. representative specimens: halfchhari 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 218 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 143 (duh). cyperus diffusus vahl, enum. pl. 2: 321 (1806). a perennial herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 10 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 159 (duh). cyperus distans l. f., suppl. pl.: 103 (1781). local name: panimalancho (b). a perennial herb with short knotty rhizome. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 182 (duh). cyperus iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45 (1753). an annual or rarely perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 395 (duh). cyperus michelianus (l.) link., hort. bot. berol. descr. 1: 303 (1827). scirpus michelianus l., sp. pl.: 45 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 184 (duh). cyperus rotundus l., sp. pl.: 45 (1753). local name: motha ghas (b). perennial grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 174 (duh). diplacrum caricinum r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 241 (1810). an annual, small and slender herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 305 (duh). 136 islam et al. fimbristylis acuminata vahl, enum. pl. 2: 285 (1806). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 207 (duh). fimbristylis cymosa r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 228 (1810). rhizomatous, perennial herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 52 (duh). themda quadrivalvis (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 793 (1891). andropogon quadrivalvis l. in merr., syst. veg. ed. 13: 758 (1774). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 60 (duh). 65. poaceae (gramineae) arundo donax l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 81 (1753). local name: gabanal (t). a perennial, tall and stout grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 395 (duh). axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 12 (154): 167 (1812). milium compressum sw., prod.: 24 (1788). a perennial, tufted herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 375 (duh). chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost.: 188 (1820). andropogon aciculatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 22 (1989). a glabrous herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 175 (duh). cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. ed. 1: 85 (1805). panicum dactylon l., sp. pl.: 58 (1753). local name: durba (b). a creeping herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 179 (duh). cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf in hook., ic. pl.: sub t. 3096 (1922). panicum accrescens trin., sp. gram. 1, t. 88 (1828). an annual, scrambling grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 372 (duh). dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. expl. pl.: 15 (1812). cynosurus aegyptius l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 72 (1753). local name: makra (t). stoloniferous, annual or short-lived perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 376 (duh). echinochloa crus-galli (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 53: 161 (1812). panicum crus-galli l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 56 (1753). local name: barashyamaghas (b). an annual or perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 216 (duh). echinochloa stagnina (retz.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 53, 161, 171 (1812). panicum stagninum retz., osb. bot. 5: 17 (1789). an aquatic, perennial grass. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 388 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 308 (duh). eleusine indica (l.) gaertn., de fruct. 1: 8 (1789). cynusurus indicus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 72 (1753). local name: malanga kuri (b). an annual, tufted herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 371 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 137 imperata cylindrica (l.) reaeschel, nom. bot. ed. 3: 10 (1797). lagurus cylindricus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 878 (1759). local names: son, ulukhar (b). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 146 (duh). melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu app. b. 94 (1875). bambusa baccifera roxb., pl. corom. 3: 38, 243 (1819). local names: muli (b), nail (t), paiyya (m), tarai (t). diffusely clumped, sympodial bamboo. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 185 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 132 (duh). oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 54: 168 (1812). panicum compositum l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 57 (1753). a perennial grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 176 (duh). panicum montanum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 315 (1820). a perennial, tufted grass. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 313 (duh). panicum repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 87 (1753). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 215 (duh). paspalum scrobiculatum l., mant. 1: 29 (1767). local name: goicha (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 177 (duh). saccharum spontaneum l., mant. pl. 2: 183 (1771). local name: kash (b). a perennial, tall herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 374 (duh). setaria palmifolia (koen.) stapf, j. linn. soc. bot. 42: 186 (1914). panicum palmaefolium koen. (1788). local name: urodhan (b). a perennial grass. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 318 (duh); ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 43 (duh). 66. typhaceae typha elephantina roxb., fl. ind. ed. 3: 506 (1832). local name: hogla (b). a robust herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 183 (duh). 67. zingiberaceae alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt., notes roy. bot. gard. edinb. 35: 213 (1977). zingiber nigrum gaertn. (1788). local name: tara (b). stem leafy, leaves sessile or sub-sessile. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 10 (duh). 68. costaceae costus speciosus (koen.) smith, trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). banksea speciosa koen. in retz., obs. bot. 3: 75 (1783). local names: gardong (t), jongliphul 138 islam et al. (b). a rhizomatous herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 106 (duh). 69. marantaceae schumannianthus dichotoma (roxb.) gagnep., bull. soc. bot. fr. 51: 176 (1904). clinogyne dichotoma (roxb.) salisb. ex benth. in benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 3 (2): 651 (1883). phrynium dichotomum roxb., asiat. rar. 11: 324 (1810). local names: mukta, mustak (b). a tall, monoecious palm. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 298 (duh). 70. pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 527 (1883). pontederia crassipes mart., nov. gen. sp.: 9, t. 4 (1823). local name: kachuripana (b). a freefloating herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 343 (duh). monochoria hastata (l.) solms. in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). pontederia hastata l., sp. pl.: 288 (1753). an aquatic, emergent herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 33 (duh). 71. liliaceae asparagus acerosus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 150 (1832). local name: shatamuli (b). a perennial subscandent undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 95 (duh). curculigo orchioides gaertn., de fruct. 1: 63, t. 13 (1788). local name: langtipata (b). a slender herb with elongated rhizome. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 40 (duh). molineria recurvata (dryand.) herbert, amaryl.: 84 (1834). curculigo recurvata dryand. (1811). local names: luruk (t), satipata (b). a stout herb with tuberous rootstocks. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 48 (duh). 72. agavaceae dracaena spicata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 157 (1824). an erect shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 316 (duh). cultivated. 73. smilacaceae smilax zeylanica l., sp. pl.: 1029 (1753). local name: kumarilata (b). a stout climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 53 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 139 74. dioscoreaceae dioscorea bellophylla (prain) j.o. voigt ex haines, for. fl. choto nagpur: 530 (1910). dioscorea nummularia var. belophyla prain, bengal pl. 2: 802 (1903). local name: shora alu (b). a perennial climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 131 (duh). dioscorea pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). local name: jhum alu (b). a climber. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 112 (duh). 75. orchidaceae brachycorythis helferi (reichb. f.) summerh., kew bull. 10: 235 (1955). gymbadenia helferi reichb. f., flora 55: 276 (1872). an annual, herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 396 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 152 (duh). camarotis pallida lindl., journ. linn. soc. 3: 37 (1859). a perennial epiphyte. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 115 (duh). cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., nova acta regiae soc. sci. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). epidendrum aloifolium l., sp. pl.: 953 (1753). a perennial epiphyte. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 381 (duh). vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. f. ex g. don in loud., hort. brit.: 372 (1830). epidendrum tessellatum roxb., pl. corom. 1: 34, t. 42 (1795). an epiphytic herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 31 (duh). acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the director, center for advanced studies and research in biological sciences, university of dhaka for the financial support to the field work. references choudhury, m.r. 1975. working plan for chittagong hill tracts north forest division for the period 196970 to 1988-89. vol. ii. forest department, government of bangladesh, pp. 1-9. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, pp. 1-1262. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, india, 1-78 pp. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols 1-7 (ind. repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1969. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-1 (monocotyledons). j. as. soc. pak. 14(2): 217-224. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2 (dicotyledons). j. as. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 59-88. 140 islam et al. lavlu, m.n.u. 2003. ramgarh upazila. in: islam, s. (ed.), banglapedia. vol. 7. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 351-352. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols 1 & 2. indian reprint 1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rizvi, s.n.h. 1969. east pakistan district gazetteers for chittagong. government of east pakistan survices and general administration department, dhaka. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn, bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-120. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 13 november 2008; revised on 16 april 2009) an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila o magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. magnoliaceae 5. aristolochiaceae 18. elaeocarpaceae 26. passifloraceae 43. burseraceae 44. anacardiaceae 52. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local 69. marantaceae microsoft word 07. bjpt 16 95_edt_ka-april 16, 2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 49–52, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists oberonia jhae: a new species of orchid from arunachal pradesh, india krishna chowlu1 and kera serbi rab2 botanical survey of india, arunachal pradesh regional centre, senki view, itanagar-791111, arunachal pradesh, india keywords: arunachal pradesh; india; oberonia; new species; orchids. abstract a new species oberonia jhae chowlu et rab (orchidaceae) is described and illustrated from india. this species is allied to oberonia emarginata king & pantl, but differs from it in plant height, densely flowered inflorescences, ovate and entire sepals and very short column and lanceolate, acute petals. introduction genus oberonia (orchidaceae), established by john lindley in 1830 is characterised by epiphyte or rarely lithophytes, medium-sized plants with coriaceous or fleshy, flat, ensiform leaves; sub-erect or drooping inflorescence with many densely arranged small-sized flowers; subsimilar sepals and petals; entire or 3�lobbed lip; very short column and 4 pollinia. this genus comprises of more than 200 species with main concentration in tropical asia and further extending to the pacific islands and australia, and with a single species in madagascar and topical africa (chen et al., 2009; chowlu et al., 2014, 2015). in india, it is represented by c. 66 species (misra, 2007; chowlu et al., 2014, 2015) of which c. 39 species are found in northeast india (rao, 2007; chowdhery, 2009; chowlu et al,. 2014, 2016), 22 species in arunachal pradesh (chowlu et al., 2015) and with this addition the number increases to 23. during a routine visit to papum pare district of arunachal pradesh, a few oberonias were collected by the authors in bud stage and brought under cultivation in the garden of botanical survey of india, arunachal pradesh regional centre, itanagar in papum pare district of arunachal pradesh. the plant was critically studied and compared with literature of oberonia (holttum, 1964; seidenfaden, 1968, 1978, 1992; dockrill, 1964; ansari and balakrishnan, 1990; seidenfaden and wood, 1992; pearce and cribb, 2002; averyanov, 2007, 2013; lucksom, 2007; chen et al., 2009). herbarium material deposited at orchid research centre, tipi, apfh, arun, assam, cal were also studied. after these critical studies it was clearly found that the present species is very much different from the so far known species in various floral characters. hence, it is described here as a new. moreover, we also agree with the opinion expressed by bunpha et al. (2013) that all species of the concern genus reported from various countries are to be verified before reaching a conclusion of novelty of a particular taxon, instead of referring only to the floras of the regional and adjacent countries. 1 corresponding author. email: krishnachowlu@gmail.com 2 state forest research institute itanagar, chimpu -791111, arunachal pradesh, india. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33005 50 chowlu and rab   oberonia jhae chowlu et rab sp. nov (fig. 1). diagnosis: oberonia jhae is closely allied to oberonia emarginata, but differs in having shorter leaves (1.5-3.2 cm); smaller flowers, c. 0.5 mm across; sepals, equal, ovate-lanceolate; petals lanceolate, acute, minutely erose-dentate. type: india, arunachal pradesh, papum pare district, kheel (642 m, 27°13'20.82'' & 93°41'55.91'', 2 may 2016) chowlu-40164a (holotype arun). stem c. 1 cm long, enveloped by leafy base. leaves not jointed, 8-9, 1.5-3.2 × 0.4-0.6 cm, bilaterally flattened, linear-oblong, acute to sub-acute, erect, fleshy. inflorescence longer than the leaves, 4-7 cm long; peduncle wingless, 0.5-1.0 cm long, erect, with many whorled, triangularoblong, acute, green sterile bracts; rachis sub-erect or drooping, flowers in a whorl, many flowered; floral bracts 0.8-0.9 × 0.5-0.6 mm, lanceolate, apex long acuminate, minutely papillose. flowers very minute, c. 0.5 mm across, green; pedicel with ovary 0.5-0.6 mm long, green, shorter than the floral bracts. sepals sub-equal, c. 0.4 × 0.2 mm, lanceolate, acute, green. petals c. 0.4 × 0.2 mm, lanceolate, acute, minutely thinner than the sepals. lip simple, c. 3.5 × 0.3 mm, ellipticlanceolate, apiculate apex, margin entire. column short, erect. pollinia 4. flowering: may-june fig. 1. oberonia jha chowlu et rab sp. nov. a. habitat; b. bract; c. flower; d. dissected parts; e. pollinia. oberonia jhae: a new species of orchid from arunachal 51   etymology: the specific epithet is given in honour of first author’s teacher, subash chandra jha who is very supportive and a great enthusiast orchid. note: the new species oberania jhae is closely allied to o. emarginata but differs from the latter by its leaves, flowers and lip. the comparison between these species is provided in table 1. table 1. distinguishing characters between oberonia jhae and oberonia emarginata. characters oberonia jhae sp. nov. oberonia emarginata leaves 8-9, 1.5-3.2 × 0.4-0.6 cm, linear-oblong 4-5, 1-5 × 0.4-0.9 cm, linear-ensiform flower c. 0.5 mm across c. 1.0 mm across sepals equal, ovate-lanceolate, acute broadly ovate, acute, minutely papillose petals lanceolate, acute, minutely erose-dentate ovate, recurved, entire lip elliptic-ovate, simple, margin entire, apiculate at apex quadrate, 3-lobed, basal part entire and apical part erose-dentate margins minutely mucronate at apex flowering may july conservation status: oberonia jhae is endemic to arunachal pradesh, india which is collected from a single locality kheel. intensive survey yielded only 3 mature individuals spread over an area of 1 sq.km of semi-shaded forest patch which is a community forest under the management of local people. the habitat is subjected to high degree of human encroachment for agricultural practices. moreover, the habitat is close to road side so construction of road like broadening and repairing is another factor for threat. the jhum cultivation is practiced by local tribal people involving tree cutting, burning and clearance of the forest posing serious threat to the natural habitat. this is an epiphytic species which is very slow in growth. climate change is another factor for species threat. references ansari, r. and balakrishnan, n.p. 1990. a revision of the indian species of oberonia. orchid monographs 4: 21-82. rijksherbarium, leiden, netherlands. averyanov, v.l. 2007. new species of orchids from vietnam. taiwania 52: 287–306. averyanov, v.l. 2013. th e orchids of vietnam illustrated survey, part 4. vol. 16, subfamily epidendroideae (tribes arethuseae and malaxideae ), pp. 5–163. bunpha, k., henrik ærenlund pedersen and kitichate sridith. establishing species distributions in large plant genera: insights from twelve new thai records of oberonia (orchidaceae). blumea 58: 71–76. chen, q., liu, z.j., zhu, g.h.k., lang, y., ji, z.h., luo, y.b., jin, x.b., cribb, p.j., wood, j.j., gale, s.w., ormerod, p., vermeulen, j.j., wood, h.p., clayton d. and bell. a. 2009. in: raven, p.h. & hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 25: 1–505. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. chowdhery, h.j. 2009. orchid diversity of india. jour. orchid soc. india 23(1-2): 19–42. chowlu, k.y. nanda and rao, a.n. 2014. oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala (orchidaceae) a new variety from manipur, india. bangladesh jour. plant taxon. 21(1): 93–95. chowlu, k., nanda, y., rao, a.n., angela, n., bishwajit, h.and akimpou, g. 2015. oberonia manipurense sp. nov. (orchidaceae) from manipur, india. nord. jour. bot. 33: 42–44. chowlu, k. 2016. erratum to oberonia manipurensis sp. nov. from manipur, india. nord. jour. bot. 34: 384. 52 chowlu and rab   dockrill, a.w. 1964. australian indigenous orchids 1. r. bot. gard. sydney. holttum, r.e. 1964. flora of malaya. vol. i. orchids of malaya. govt printing office, singapore. king, g. and pantling, r. 1898. the orchids of the sikkim himalaya. royal botanical garden calcutta, india. lucksom, s.z. 2007. the orchids of sikkim and northeast himalaya. spectrum house, siliguri, pp. 688–772. misra, s. 2007. orchids of india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 279–320. pearce, n.r. and cribb, p.j. 2002. the orchids of bhutan. royal botanic garden edinburg, edinburg and royal government of bhutan, pp. 221–233. rao, a.n. 2007. orchid flora of north east india an update analysis. bull. arunachal forest research 23(1&2): 6–38. seidenfaden, g. 1968 the genus oberonia in mainland asia. dansk bot. ark. 25(3): 1–125. seidenfaden, g. 1978. orchid genera in thailand vii. oberonia lindl. and malaxis sol. ex sw. dansk bot. ark. 34(1): 1–23. seidenfaden, g. 1992. the orchids of indochina. opera bot. 114: 1–505. seidenfaden, g. and wood, j.j. 1992. orchids of peninsular malaysia and singapore. olsen & olsen, fredensburg. 44. (manuscript received on 18 august 2016; revised on 25 january 2017) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 1-20, 2006 (june) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. v. desmids (euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium) a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: acidic habitats, species diversity, phytoplankton, desmids, new taxa, new records abstract ninety-three desmid taxa belonging to four genera, namely euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium have been recorded from different aquatic habitats located within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. of these, 20 are described as new records for bangladesh, including a new variety, e. substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. and a new forma, cosmarium depressum (näg.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam and irfanullah fa. nov. introduction the aquatic macrophytes (islam and irfanullah, 2000) and a significant proportion of the algal flora (islam and irfanullah, 2005 a, b, c) of some selected habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar, have recently been described in a series of hydrobiological papers. the present paper is the penultimate instalment of this series dealing with four desmid genera from these habitats. materials and methods islam and irfanullah (2000) described the present study area in srimangal and also presented some meteorological data. the studied water bodies, namely, baraoora lake, the burburia river, ditches and paddy fields were mainly acidic (islam and irfanullah, 2005a). a total of 120 algal samples were collected in different seasons of 1996 and 1997, namely winter (9 january 1996 and 6 january 1997), spring (18 march 1997), rainy season (20 july 1997) and autumn (20 october 1997). see islam and irfanullah (2005a) for sample collection methods, and their preservation and examination. taxonomic enumeration this study revealed 93 desmid taxa belonging to four genera, namely euastrum (18 taxa), micrasterias (9 taxa), actinotaenium (10 taxa) and cosmarium (56 taxa), of which 20 are new records for bangladesh including a new variety and a new forma. the new *corresponding author. 1present address: iucn the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, house 11, road 138, gulshan 1, dhaka-1212. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 2 islam and irfanullah records are marked with asterisk. twenty-seven desmid taxa have already been reported from this area by the same authors as new records for bangladesh (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 1999 a, b), thus are not marked in this account. class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: desmidiaceae; genus: euastrum ehr. ex ralfs, 1848 1. *e. boldtii schmidle (pl. 7, fig. 73) (růžička 1981, 80:1-7) l. 23 µm, w. 16.2-17.5 µm, i. 4.7 µm, t. 12-13.5 µm; granules are sparsely arranged in a regular fashion. river; autumn 1997; few. 2. e. ceylanicum (w. & w.) krieger (pl. 2, fig. 12) (scott and prescott 1961, 11:3-5; islam and haroon 1980, 13:176; 19:282) l. 56.7 µm, w. 43.2 µm, i. 9.4 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 3. *e. denticulatum (kirch.) gay var. quadrifarium krieger fa. incisum scott & prescott (pl. 4, fig. 32) (scott and prescott 1958, 6:1) l. 29.7 µm, w. 23-24.3 µm, i. 5.4 µm, t. csp. 19-20.3 µm, t. ssp. 16.2-17.5 µm; finely punctate cell wall. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 4. e. didelta ralfs var. bengalicum lagerh. (pl. 2, fig. 16) (scott and prescott 1961, 9:5-6) l. 87.7 µm, w. 43.2 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. 20.2 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 5. *e. didelta ralfs var. bengalicum lagerh. fa. minus scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1958, fig. 4, no. 7) l. 84 µm, w. 42.5 µm, i. 12 µm, t. 20 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 6. *e. elegans (bréb.) kütz. fa. (pl. 2, fig. 14) l. 35.8 µm, w. 20.2 µm, i. 4.7 µm, t. 9.4-10.8 µm; sparsely granulated cell wall. lake; winter 1996; rare. 7. e. gnathophorum w. & w. var. bulbuosum scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 10) (scott and prescott 1961, 9:9-10; islam and haroon 1980, 7:116-117) l. 62 µm, w. 33 µm, i. 8.8 µm. river; spring 1997; common. 8. e. horikawae hinode (pl. 1, fig. 1) (scott and prescott 1961, 15:1; islam and haroon 1980, 2:31-35) l. 94.5 µm, w. 74.2 µm, i. 27 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 9. *e. inerme (ralfs) lund. var. inerme (pl. 2, fig. 15) (růžička 1981, 61:8-10) l. 58 µm, w. 27 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. 14.8 µm; diameter of the perforation 4.7 µm; smooth wall. river; spring 1997; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 3 plate 1 (figs. 1-8) figs. 1. euastrum horikawae, 2. e. turgidum var. turgidum, 3. e. spinulosum var. burmense, 4. e. substellatum var. bangladeshicum var. nov., 5. e. quadratum, 6-7. e. substellatum, 8. e. sinuosum var. parallelum. [scales: fig. 8 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 4 islam and irfanullah 10. e. longicolle nordst. var. capitatum w. & w. fa. minus scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 11) (scott and prescott 1961, 8:4-5; islam and haroon 1980, 7:120-121) l. 68.8 µm, w. 31 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. 20.2 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 11. e. quadratum nordstedt (pl. 1, fig. 5) (růžička 1981, 534) l. 51.3 µm, w. csp. 46 µm, w. ssp. 43.2 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t ssp. 16.2 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 and rainy 1997; few. 12. e. sinuosum lenorm. var. capitatum scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 17) (scott and prescott 1961, 7:8-9) l. 70.2 µm, w. 41 µm, i. 8.8 µm, t. 21.7 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 13. *e. sinuosum var. parallelum krieger (pl. 1, fig. 8) (prescott et al. 1977, 60:20) l. 54 µm, w. 27.7 µm, i. 7.4 µm; finely pitted cell wall. river; spring 1997; few. 14. *e. sinuosum var. subjenneri w. & w. (pl. 2, fig. 9) (skuja 1949, 24:5-6; prescott et al. 1977, 60:18) l. 70.2 µm, w. 40.5 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. 21.6 µm; nine minute warts on each front surface of each semicell; cell wall punctate. it also resembles var. reductum w. & w. (irene-marie 1938, 15:1-2). lake; winter 1997; rare. 15. e. spinulosum delponte var. burmense (w. & w.) krieger (pl. 1, fig. 3) (skuja 1949, 24:9-11; islam and haroon 1980, 6:102-103) l. csp. 64.8 µm, l. ssp. 58.7 µm, w. csp. 51.3 µm, i. 8 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 16. e. substellatum nordst. (pl. 1, figs. 6-7) (scott and prescott 1961, 11:1-2) l. csp. 52.6-56.7 µm, l. ssp. 50-52.6 µm, w. csp. 51.3-59.4 µm, w. ssp. 47.2-58 µm, i. 8.8-12 µm, t. csp. 17.5-20.2 µm, t. ssp. 12.8-14.8 µm. lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); few. 17. *euastrum substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. cellulis mediocris, sed magnus quam typicus; incisura mediano profundus. varietas a planta typica differens possessione per semi-cellulis lobo basalis horizontalis latus et lobo apicalis truncatis; lobo basalis et polaris separatio per sinum concavatis latumque; lobis basalibus parallelis, ad extremum lobo polaris et lobo basalis cum spinis coroniformis; ad centralis lobo basalibus tumorem magnum et duo protuberationis in lateribus; marginalis apicalis cum depressus distinctus ad medianus (incisura apicalis absens); cellulis 71.5 µm longis sine spinis; 67.5 µm in medio diam. cum spinis, et 62 µm sine spinis; isthmus 10.8 µm latus; sinus linearis, anguste aperiens intra-marginem interius, sed fere clausus extrinsecus; tumidus hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 5 mediano circumcinctus ab ca. 16-20 granulis et interius hic 6-7 granulis parvulus praesentia (planctonicus). holotypus: collectio no. h-43; 19 march 1997. locus typus: in fluvium burburia ad srimangal, moulvi bazar, in hortus camellia sinensis; aquas ph 6.7, aquas temp. 27°c. euastrum substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. cells medium-sized, fairly bigger than the typical, with deep median incision; incision narrow, linear, open inside, but almost closed outside; each semicell with a basal and an apical lobe, separated by a broad sinus; basal lobes almost parallel with a crown of spines at each terminal end; each basal lobe with a big central swelling and two smaller swellings, one on each side of it at equal distance; apical lobe corners each with a crown of spines, apical margin truncate with median distinct, shallow depression but without any apical notch; in top view 1-central and 2-lateral tumour-like protrusions clearly visible; below the polar and lateral margins of each semicell several spines are present; median tumours are also surrounded by ca. 1620 granules on outer side and 6-7 smaller granules are present in the inner side; cell length 71.5 µm without spines; mid-diam. with spines 67.5 µm and 62 µm without spines; isthmus 10.8 µm broad (planktonic). rare in the collection. note: it is distinct from the typical by its parallel basal lobes with 1-median big swelling and 2-smaller lateral swellings or processes/protrusions and a crown of apical spines at the terminal ends of the basal and apical lobes. the typical form does not have the 2 extra lateral swellings in each semicell. also apical margin shows distinct median shallow depression. besides, the apical and basal lobes are separated by broad concave sinus. 18. e. turgidum wallich var. turgidum (pl. 1, fig. 2) (scott and prescott 1961, 12:4-5) l. 127 µm, w. 78.3 µm, i. 25.6 µm, t. 56.7-59.4 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. genus: micrasterias agardh ex ralfs, 1848 19. m. alata wallich (pl. 3, fig. 23) (islam 1970, 12:1-2) l. cpr. 159 µm, w. cpr. 139-147 µm, i. 17.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 20. m. foliacea bail. lake; winter 1996; common. 21. m. mahabuleshwarensis hobson var. surculifera lagerh. (pl. 3, fig. 18) (islam 1970, 7:7-8) 6 islam and irfanullah l. cpr. 129-135 µm, l. spr. 103 µm, w. 116 µm, i. 16.2 µm, t. cpr. 60.7 µm, t. spr. 19 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 22. m. pinnatifida (kg.) ralfs var. pinnatifida (pl. 3, figs. 19-20) (růžička 1981, 93:1-6) l. 46-59 µm, w. csp. 54-64.7 µm, i. 9.4-10.6 µm, t. csp. 37.8-50.6 µm. lake (winter 1997; common) and (autumn 1997; rare); and river (spring 1997; few). 23. m. pinnatifida (kg.) ralfs var. pinnatifida fa. inflata (wolle) croasdale (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 95, 3:34) river; spring 1997; rare. 24. m. radians turner (pl. 3, fig. 24) (islam 1970, 11:1-2) l. 111 µm, l. csp. 138-139 µm, w. csp. 116-123 µm, i. 23 µm, t. csp. 50-51 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997; rare to common. 25. m. thomasiana arch. var. notata (nordst.) grönbl. (scott and prescott, 1961, 17:6; růžička 1981, 114:1-8) l. 211 µm, w. 190 µm, i. 22 µm. here, the apical lobes show swollen lateral margins at the tip. river; spring 1997; rare. 26. m. thomasiana var. pulcherrima g. west (pl. 4, fig. 26) (islam and haroon 1980, 8:122-123; růžička 1981, 114:9) l. 173 µm, w. 151 µm, i. 23 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 27. m. zeylanica fritsch var. wallichiana (turner) krieger (pl. 3, fig. 22) (islam 1970, 8:37) l. 47.2 µm, w. csp. 52.6 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. csp. 37.8 µm, t. ssp. 31 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. genus: actinotaenium (näg.) teiling, 1954 28. a. australe (racib.) teil. var. crassius (g.s. west) krieger & gerloff (krieger & gerloff 1969, 59:13) l. 81 µm, w. 59.4-60.7 µm, i. 54 µm. lake; spring 1997; few. 29. a. capax (joshua) teil. var. minus (schm.) teil. (pl. 4, fig. 28) (ling and tyler 1986, 23:20) l. 75.6 µm, w. 47.2-48.6 µm, i. 44.5 µm. a smaller form. river; spring 1997; rare. 30. a. cruciferum (de bary) teil. var. cruciferum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:18-21) river; rainy and autumn 1997; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 7 plate 2 (figs. 9-17) figs. 9. euastrum sinuosum var. subjenneri, 10. e. gnathophorum var. bulbuosum, 11. e. longicolle var. capitatum fa. minus, 12. e. ceylanicum, 13. e. didelta var. bengalicum fa. minus, 14. e. elegans fa., 15. e. inerme var. inerme, 16. e. didelta var. bengalicum, 17. e. sinuosum var. capitatum. [scales: fig. 16 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 8 islam and irfanullah 31. a. cucurbita (bréb.) teil var. attenuatum (g.s. west) teil. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:15) lake; winter 1996; rare. 32. a. cucurbitinum (biss.) teil. (pl. 4, fig. 27) (islam and haroon 1980, 7:114; ling and tyler 1986, 23:19) l. 71.5 µm, w. 25.6 µm, i. 20.2 µm, t. 10.8 µm. cell wall granulated. river; spring 1997; rare. 33. *a. cucurbitinum var. truncatum krieger (pl. 4, fig. 29) (scott and prescott 1961, 23:9) l 64.8 µm, w. 28.3 µm, i. 25.6 µm, t. 13.5 µm. poles truncate. river; spring 1997; rare. 34. a. diplosporum (lund.) teil. var. diplosporum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:13) lake; winter and spring 1997; rare. 35. a. subglobosum (nordst.) teil. var. subglobosum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:16-17) lake; year round; few to common. 36. a. turgidum (bréb) teil. var. turgidum (pl. 6, fig. 50) (islam and haroon 1980, 13:175; růžička 1981, 54:1-9) l. 159 µm, w. 81 µm, i. 69 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 37. a. wollei (w. & w.) teil. var. wollei (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:14) lake; spring and autumn 1997; few. genus: cosmarium corda, 1834 38. c. alpestre roy & biss. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:12) lake; winter 1996; few. 39. c. angulatum (perty) rab. fa. major grunow (pl. 5, fig. 41) (scott and prescott 1958, fig. 13, no. 8) l. 73 µm, w. 44.5 µm, i. 17.5 µm, t. 21.6-24.3 µm. lake; winter 1996 (few) and autumn 1997 (rare). 40. c. askenasyi schmid. (pl. 6, fig. 45) (islam 1970, 6:16) l. 144 µm, w. 109 µm, i. 42 µm, t. 32 µm. lake (winter 1996; rare), ditch (rainy 1997; rare) and river (spring 1997; few). hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 9 plate 3 (figs. 18-24) figs. 18. micrasterias mahabuleshwarensis var. surculifera, 19-20. m. pinnatifida var. pinnatifida, 21. m. pinnatifida var. pinnatifida fa. inflata (after islam and irfanullah 1999b), 22. m. zeylanica var. wallichiana, 23. m. alata, 24. m. radians. [scales = 20 µm] 10 islam and irfanullah 41. c. bioculatum bréb. var. excavatum gutw. fa. (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:28-29) lake; autumn 1997; common. 42. *c. bireme nordst. var. barbadense g.s. west (pl. 7, fig. 60) (krieger and gerloff 1965, 40:2) l. 10 µm, w. 12-13 µm, t. 6 µm, i. 3 µm; one protrusion on each front surface of each semicell, cell poles flat. slightly bigger than the typical. lake; winter 1996; rare. 43. c. blyttii wille (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:19-21) lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and river; spring (few). 44. *c. blytii fa. australicum schm. (pl. 7, fig. 71) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:15) l. 17.5 µm; w. 14.8 µm; i. 6 µm; t. 8 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 45. *c. clepsydra nordst fa. (pl. 6, figs. 48-49) l. 16 µm, w. 13.5-16 µm, i. 3.5-8.5 µm. cell wall smooth, relatively thick; in front view each semi-cell bears an elliptical protrusion on both side near the cell pole, which is flat from top view. lake; winter 1996; few. 46. c. connatum bréb. (pl. 7, fig. 52) (islam and haroon 1980, 12:164) l. 56.7-67.5 µm, w. 44.5-51.3 µm, i. 31-37.8 µm. lake and river; spring 1997; few. 47. c. contractum kirchn. var. ellipsoideum (elfv.) w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 53) (okada 1934, 27:8; hirano 1957, 20:3-4; krieger and gerloff 1962, 17:4) l 32.4 µm, w. 23-24.3 µm, i. 4.7 µm. pitted cell wall. lake; winter 1997; few. 48. c. contractiforme groenbl. and scott fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999b, 92, 2:25–27) lake; winter 1996; common. 49. c. decoratum w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 40) (islam and haroon 1980, 106-108) l. 86.4 µm, w. 64.8 µm, i. 24.3. lake (spring 1997; few) and paddy field (autumn 1997; rare) and river (spring 1997; few). 50. c. depressum (näg.) lund var. intermedium (gutw.) messik. (pl. 7, fig. 57) (krieger and gerloff 1962, 8:7) l. 30.5 µm, w. 30.5 µm, i. 5.6. µm, t. 4.8-5.6. the present material is only slightly smaller than the typical. lake; winter 1996; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 11 plate 4 (figs. 25-32) figs. 25. micrasterias thomasiana var. notata, 26. m. thomasiana var. pulcherrima, 27. actinotaenium cucurbitinum, 28. a. capax var. minus, 29. a. cucurbitinum var. truncatum, 30-31. c. freemanii var. ? verrucosum, 32. euastrum denticulatum var. quadrifarium? fa. incisum. [scale: figs. 25-26 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 12 islam and irfanullah 51. *cosmarium depressum (näg.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam & irfanullah fa. nov. (pl. 7, fig. 70) cellulis in structura simil ad var. apertum et in statura similaris ad var. minor; sed differt e uterque a membrane spinosus (spinae parvulus) et in aspectu vertice late ellipticus; cellulis 23.6 µm longum; diametro 24.8 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm. holotypus: collectio no. h-103; 21 october 1997. locus typus: in lake baraoora ad srimangal, moulvi bazar, in hortus camellia sinensis; aquas ph 5.5; aquas temp. 27°c. cosmarium depressum (nag.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam & irfanullah fa. nov. (pl. 7, fig. 70) cell shape like var. apertum and in size similar to var. minor (hirano 1956); but it differs from both by its spiny cell wall (spines very small), and top view broadly elliptical. cell length 23.6 µm, diam. 24.8 µm, isthmus 5.2 µm. common in the collection. 52. c. depressum (näg.) lund. var. minutum (heimerl) krieger & gerloff (islam and irfanullah 1998, 90, pl. 1:7) lake; winter 1996; few. 53. *c. freemanii w. & w. var. ? verrucosum scott & prescott (pl. 4, figs. 30-31) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:3-4) l. 35-40.5 µm, w. 28.3-30.4 µm, i. 6.7-8.8 µm, top view elliptical, two parallel rows of small spines encircling the cell can be seen from the top view; three warts on each side of the semicell near the pole. it is also close to c. ceylanicum w. & w. fa. minus scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1961, 31:5). lake; winter 1996 and autumn 1997; rare. 54. *c. geometricum w. & w. var. latum printz (pl. 7, fig. 58) (krieger and gerloff 1965, 40:33) l. 9 µm, w. 9.5 µm, i. 5 µm, t. 6.5 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997, and spring 1997; few. 55. c. granatum bréb. (pl. 7, fig. 65) (islam and hossain 1979, 1:4) l. 27 µm, w. 18.2 µm, t. 5.4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and spring 1997 (rare). 56. c. javanicum nordst. var. tumescens (turner) islam & irfanullah (islam and irfanullah 1999b, 92, 1:10-11) river; spring 1997; rare. 57. c. lundellii delp. var. circulare (reinsch.) krieger (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 93, 1:4-5) lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 13 plate 5 (figs. 33-40) figs. 33. cosmarium margaritatum, 34. c. spinuliferum, 35. c. quadrum, 36. c. scabrum, 37. c. quinarium, 38. cosmarium sp., 39. c. striolatum, 40. c. decoratum. [scales = 10 µm] 14 islam and irfanullah 58. c. lundellii var. ellipticum w.s. west (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 93, 1:6-7) river; spring 1997; rare. 59. c. lundellii delp. fa (pl. 7, fig. 59) l. 44.5 µm, w. 40.5 µm, i. 20.2 µm. lake; spring 1997; rare. 60. c. margaritatum roy & biss. (pl. 5, fig. 33) (hirano 1957, 29:3; islam and zaman 1975, 6:75) l. 55.3 µm, w. 50 µm, i. 14.8 µm. lake (winter 1996; rare) and river (spring 1997; few) 61. c. margaritatum var. quadrum krieger (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 90, 1:8) lake; winter 1997; rare. 62. c. maximum (boerges.) w. & w. fa. (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:1) lake; autumn 1997; common. 63. c. nudum (turner) gutw. (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 90, 1:10) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 64. c. obliquum nordst. var. symmetricum groenblad (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:1-2) lake (winter 1996) and paddy field (autumn 1997); few. 65. c. obsoletum (hantz.) reinsch var. sitvense gutw. (pl. 7, fig. 55) (islam 1970, 13:11) l. 44.5-46 µm, w. 59.4 µm, i. 21.6 µm. lake; winter 1996 (few), spring 1997 (rare) and autumn 1997 (common). 66. c. pakistanicum islam (pl. 5, fig. 42) (islam, 1970, 14:2, 23:1-10) l. 111-116 µm, w. 62 µm, i. 42-47 µm. lake (winter 1996) and river (spring 1997); few. 67. *c. paucigranulatum borge (pl. 7, fig. 72) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:14) l.11 µm, w. 15-16 µm, i. 6.8, t. 9.2-10 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 68. *c. phaseolus bréb. var. minutum (biswas) krieger & gerloff pl. 6, figs. 43-44) (krieger and gerloff 1962, 14:6; hirano 1972, 3:14) l. 7.4-9.4 µm, w. 9.4-10.2 µm, i. 4.7-5.4 µm, t. 6.7-8 µm. cells are in short chains. lake; autumn 1997; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 15 plate 6 (figs. 41-51) figs. 41. c. angulatum fa. major, 42. c. pakistanicum, 43-44. c. phaseolus var. minutum, 45. c. askenasyi, 46. c. taxichondrum fa., 47. c. taxichondrum, 48-49. c. clepsydra, 50. actinotaenium turgidum var. turgidum, 51. a. australe var. crassius. [scales: figs. 41-42 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 16 islam and irfanullah 69. c. portianum archer var. nephroideum wittr. islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:5) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 70. c. pseudamoenum wille islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:4) lake (rare) and river (few); spring 1997. 71. c. pseudoexiguum racib. var. quadratum krieger islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:6) lake; winter 1996 and 1997; few. 72. c. pseudomagnificum hinode var. brasiliense (foers. and eck.) foers. islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:12-13) lake (winter 1997) and paddy field (autumn 1997); few. 73. c. pseudopyramidatum lund. var. letiferum taylor islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:2-3) lake; winter 1996; rare. 74. c. punctulatum bréb. fa. (pl. 7, fig. 63) l. 19.2 µm, w. 20.8-23.2 µm, i. 5.2 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 75. c. quadrum lund. (pl. 5, fig. 35) hirano 1957, 29:1; islam and zaman 1975, 7:95) l. 56.7 µm, w. 55.3 µm, i. 13.5 µm. it also approaches c. pardalis cohn. as shown by islam (1970). lake; autumn 1997 (few) and river; spring 1997 (few). 76. *c. quinarium lundell fa. (pl. 5, fig. 37) l. 27.7 µm, w. 26.3 µm, i. 6.7 µm. it is smaller than the typical or it is fa. irregularis nordst (irene-marie 1938, p. 190-191) and it differs by its top and side views. lake; winter 1996; rare. 77. c. rectangulare gurnow var. cambrense (turner) w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 62) islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:8-9) lake; winter 1996; few. 78. c. regnellii wille var. pseudoregnelii (messik.) krieger & gerloff islam and irfanullah, 1998, 94, 1:3) lake; winter 1996; few. 79. c. regnesii reinsch (pl. 7, fig. 69) scott and prescott 1961, 32:23) l. 8.8 µm, w. 10 µm, i. 4.3 µm, cell wall is warted in a symmetric fashion. lake; autumn 1997; very rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 17 plate 7 (figs. 52-73) figs. 52. cosmarium connatum, 53. c. contractum var. ellipsoideum, 54. c. tumidum, 55. c. obsoletum var. sitvense, 56. c. subvalidum, 57. c. depressum var. intermedium, 58. c. geometricum var. latum, 59. c. lundellii, 60. c. bireme var. barbadense, 61. c. venustum var. brevius, 62. c. rectangulare var. cambrense (after islam and irfanullah 1999b), 63. c. punctulatum fa., 64. c. retusiforme, 65. c. granatum, 66. c. sublatereundatum, 67-68. c. stigmosum var. hakalukiense, 69. c. regnesii, 70. c. depressum var. apertum fa. spinosum fa. nov., 71. c. blytii fa. australicum, 72. c. paucigranulatum, 73. euastrum boldtii. [scales: figs. 52 = 30 µm, rest = 10 µm] 18 islam and irfanullah 80. c. retusiforme (wille) gutw. (pl. 7, fig. 64) krieger and gerloff 1962, 20:11; islam 1970, 13:13; ling and tyler 1986, 14:15) l. 23.7-24.3 µm, w. 18.2-19 µm, i. 4-4.7 µm, t. 9.4-10 µm. lake; winter 1996 (rare) and autumn 1997 (common) and river; spring and autumn 1997 (rare to few). 81. c. scabrum turner (pl. 5, fig. 36) turner 1892, 9:32; scott and prescott 1961, 29:3) 42 µm, w. 47.2-48.6 µm, i. 13.5 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 82. *c. spinuliferum w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 34) scott and prescott 1961, 29:6-7; ling and tyler 1986, 18:44) l. 23 µm, w. ssp. 20-21 µm, i. 5.5. µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 83. c. striolatum näg. (pl. 5, fig. 39) (scott and prescott 1961, 25:2-3; islam and haroon 1980, 14:187) l. 101 µm, w. 59.4 µm, i. 44.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 84. c. stigmosum (nordst.) turner var. hakalukiense islam & haroon (islam and haroon 1980, 22:361-362) l. 40.5-42 µm, w. 33.7-40.5 µm, i. 18.2-19 µm. lake; winter 1996 (rare) and 1997 (few). 85. c. sublatereundatum w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 66) (islam and haroon 1980, 22:363-364, as a forma) l. 43.2 µm, w. 35-36.4 µm, i. 12 µm, t. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1996, rainy and autumn 1997; rare. 86. *c. subvalidum (pl. 7, fig. 56) l. 20 µm, w. 11 µm, i. 4.5. µm, t. 8.5 µm. lake (winter 1997 ) and river (spring 1997); few. 87. c. taxichondrum lund. var. undulatum scott and prescott (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 95, 2:22-24) paddy field; autumn 1997; few. 88. c. taxichondrum lundell fa. (pl. 6, fig. 46) l. 27 µm, w. 26.5 µm, i. 5.3. µm. compare with irene-marie 1938, 27:3-5. ditch; autumn 1997; few. 89. c. taxichondrum lundell fa. (pl. 6, fig. 47) w. 32 µm, i. 5.5. µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 90. c. trachypleurum lund. var. minus racib. (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 94, 1:9) lake; winter 1996; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 19 91. *c. tumidum lund. (pl. 7, fig. 54) (scott and prescott 1961, 27:16) l. 33.7 µm, w. 25.6 µm, i. 7.4 µm. pitted cell wall. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and autumn 1997 (common). 92. *c. venustum (bréb.) arch. var. brevius bernard (pl. 7, fig. 61) (bernard 1908, 92, figs. 123-125; hirano 1957, 137, 20:35) l. 27-28.3 µm, w. 17.5 µm, i. 4-4.7 µm, t. 8-10.8 µm. it also somewhat resembles c. impressulum elfv. (hirano 1957). lake; winter and autumn 1997; rare. 93. cosmarium sp. (pl. 5, fig. 38) l. 68.8 µm, w. 60.7 µm, i. 20.2 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. acknowledgements we are grateful to a.f.m. badrul alam, the then director, btri, srimangal, maulvibazar for providing the logistic, laboratory and other support during this study and also to all his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks also due to james finley & co. for the permission to sample its aquatic habitats. references bernard, ch. 1908. protococcacees et desmidiees d’eau douce, recotees a java. dept. de l’agri. aux indes néerl. pp. 230, batavia. hirano, m. 1956. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. ii. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. no. 2: 57-106. hirano, m. 1957. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. iii. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. no. 4: 107-165 + pls. 19-25. hirano, m. 1972. desmids from cambodia, with special reference to phytoplankton of lake grands lacs (tonle sap). contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. 23(3-4): 123-127. irene-marie, f. 1938. flore desmidiale de la region de montreal. laprairie, canada, pp. 547. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part i. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, m. 1979. preliminary studies on the algae flora of bagerhat, khulna. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(1): 37-45. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1998. new records of desmids for bangladesh. i. fifteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 89-96. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1999a. new records of desmids for bangladesh. ii. thirteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 28(2): 117-123. 20 islam and irfanullah islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1999b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. iii. 24 taxa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 91-104. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2000. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005c. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1962. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 1: iii-xviii, 1-112 + pls. 1-19. ver. von j. cramer, weinheim. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1965. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 2: 113-240 + pls. 23-42. ver. von j. cramer, weinheim. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1969. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 3+4: 241-410 + pls. 43-71. j. cramer, lehre. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 1986. a limnological survey of the alligator rivers region. ii. freshwater algae, exclusive of diatoms. res. rep. 3. austr. govt. publ. service, canberra, pp. 173. okada, y. 1934. the desmid-flora of the northern kurile islands. j. imp. fish. inst. 30(3): 1-199 + pls. 17-31. prescott, g.w., croasdale, h.t. and vinyard, w.c., 1977. a synopsis of north american desmids. part ii. desmidiaceae: placodermae. sec. 2, pp. 413. růžička, j. 1981. die desmidiaceen mitteleuropas. 1 : lief. 2: 293-736. e. schw. verlags., stuttgart. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1958. some freshwater algae from arnhem land in the northern territory of australia. 2. rec. amer.-austr. sci. expn. to arnhem land. 3: 9-136. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia 17(1-2): 1-132. skuja, von h. 1949. zur süsswasseralgen-flora burmas. nova acta reg. soc. sci. upsaliensis ser. iv. 14(5): 1-188 + pls. 39. turner, w.b. 1892. algae aquae dulcis indiae orientalis. the freshwater algae (principally desmidieae) of east india. kongl. sv. wet.-akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187. a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 genus: actinotaenium (näg.) teiling, 1954 (islam and haroon 1980, 7:114; ling and tyler 1986, 23:19) l. 71.5 μm, w. 25.6 μm, i. 20.2 μm, t. 10.8 μm. cell wall gr 38. c. alpestre roy & biss. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:12) lake; winter 1996; few. 43. c. blyttii wille (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:19-21) lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and river; spring (few). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 71-84, 2005 (december) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae hamida khatun and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous mosses, thuidiaceae, brachytheciaceae, hypnobryales, bangladesh. abstract a taxonomic account of six species of pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh under the order hypnobryales is given. detailed taxonomic descriptions, illustrations, and distributions of these six species are provided . introduction so far khatun and hadiuzzaman (1994,1995,2003,2004,2005) have described 14 genera with 24 species of pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh and illustrated them. earlier, tixier (1967) studied a large number of hepatics and mosses from the forest of kaptai in the former district of chittagong hill-tracts ( now rangamati dist.), and the forest of cox’s bazar and sitakund hills in the greater chittagong district and he published only a ckecklist without giving any descriptions and illustrations. in this checklist he reported 15 pleurocarpous mosses from bangladesh and among these he mentioned only one species from thuidiaceae family, e.g. t. meyenianum from cox’s bazar and kaptai. he, however, did not mention anything about anomodon of the same family, and homalothecium and brachythecium of the family brachytheciaceae. gangulee (1978) described 4 species of anomodon and 19 species of thuidium from the adjacent west bengal but did not mention about their occurrence in the present bangladesh territory except mentioning tixier’s collection of t. meyenianum. this shows that very little study has been made on this group of plants, i.e. pleurocarpous mosses in bangladesh. therefore, the present work was undertaken to evaluate the whole group of pleurocarpous mosses in bangladesh and this work is an outcome of that, which includes only the order hypnobryales. the study reveals that the order hypnobryales in bangladesh is represented by two families, namely, thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae. the family thuidiaceae is represented by two genera, each with a single species, e.g., anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. and thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. ; and the family brachytheciaceae is also represented by two genera with four species , e.g. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b.s.g. and brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr.) b.s.g., b. curtum (lindb.) limpr. and b. acuminatum ( hedw.) aust. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below with their ecology and distribution within bangladesh. 72 khatun and hadiuzzaman key to the genera of thuidiaceae 1. plant and leaf very small, leaf cells isodiametric, number of paraphyllia present thuidium plant and leaf large, leaf cells more or less hexagonal, not isodiametric, no paraphyllia anomodon genus thuidium b.s.g. in bryol. eur., 5 : 157 (1852) slender to robust, mostly stiff plants. stem prostrate, more or less regularly 1-3 pinnate. paraphyllia numerous. leaves dimorphic, stem leaves larger, ovate, mostly plicate, long acuminate from cordate base, nerve single, strong. branch leaves much smaller, mostly ovate-lanceolate, acute, concave, costa single, ceasing well below the apex. leaf cells isodiametric, incrassate, strongly papillose. seta long, rough. capsule horizontal. peristome double with cilia. 1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. in bryol. jav., 2: 121 (1865) hypnum meyenianum hamp. in icon . musc.: 8 (1844) hypnum kuripanum doz. & molk. in zoll. syst. verz.: 29 (1855) yellow green to brownish, wiry, delicate, plants in dense mats, in naked eye no leaf is seen except stem. main stem creeping, irregularly, bipinnately branched, branches in one plane, up to 3cm long. paraphyllia present, simple, filamentous. leaves dimorphic, stem leaves incurved on drying, erect spreading when moist, larger in size and less in number, distant, triangular, ovate, suddenly narrowed in to a long acumen from a cordate base, plicate, up to 8.0 mm long and 0.2 to 0.3 mm wide. costa ceasing a little below the apex to percurrent. branch leaves small, close, erect spreading (somewhat curled and appressed to stem when dry), concave, ovate, with acute point ±0.18 mm long and ±0.15 mm. wide, margin crenulate, flat, costa single, ceasing well below apex. leaf cells small, obscure with one and more than one papillae, irregularly hexagonal, ±5 to 6 µm wide. sporophyte on main stem, perichaetial leaf narrow with fine long floxuose acumen, into a denticulate arista, nerve excurrent, without papillae, cells irregularly rounded to rectangular. seta erect, rough all over with papillae, ± 1.5 mm long, arcuate at top, dark brown in colour. capsule horizontal, inclined, gibbous, ovate cylindrical, ± 1.5 mm long and ± 0.5 mm in diameter, yellow brown in colour and mildly papillose. peristome normal, hypnoid. exostome teeth brownish, lanceolate, densely horizontally stripped below, ± 0.5 mm high, basal membrane high, endostome segments pale, keeled with median perforation slits almost as long as exostome. cilia one or two, slightly shorter than endostome segments. mouth cells short, irregularly rounded to quadrate, exothecial cells large, irregularly quadrate to rectangular in shape. spores rounded, dark brown in colour, ±10 to 15 µm in diameter. (fig. 1) specimens examined: bhola:gazipur road, on the bark of tree, rokeya nazmi tahnia, 07.05.97, 488; chandpur: hajiganj, on soil, sanaullah,12.03.97, 770; chittagong: high pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 73 hill of bareyadhala, jesmin akter, lulu bilkis banu, mizanur rahman,11, 03.76, 98; kalurhat, on slopy area, on soil, razia begum, parveen sultana, 13.10.76, 153; potiya,on the bark of tree, anwar sadat, 23.11.98, 1362; comilla: muradnagar, on soil, yasmin sultana, 05.04.85, 338; cox’s bazar: teknaf, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 22.02.92, 94; maulvi bazar:srimangal, magurcherra, on soil, m.s. islam, 20.11.73, 148; burburia, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 23.12.98, 1458; lawacherra forest, on soil, fig.1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. a. dry plant (x6); b.wet plant (×6); c. main stem leaf (×72); d.branch stem leaf (×72); e. middle laminal cell (× 270; f. apical laminal cells (x 270); g-p araphyllia (x 120); k. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 120); l. perichaetial leaf (× 72); m. spores (× 180); n. mouth cells of the capsule (× 120); o. peristome teeth (× 120). 74 khatun and hadiuzzaman mizanur rahman, 22.7.89, 26; madhobkundu, on the bark of tree, salima begum, husna banu, nilufar akhtar, tahmina begum, 13.03.77, 53; lawacherra cnb road, on the bark of tree, shafaet ahmed khan, 17.10.88, 138; syleht: jaflong, on the bark of tree, rabeya kabir, 05.09.88, 144; naogaon: mohadevpur on soil, akibuddin,07.01.96, 781; noakhali: sreenarayanpur, on the soil, lutfa rahman,12.05.75, 125; panchagarh: tetulia, bank of mohananda river, on soil, luna ahmed, 17.01.93, 180; ullapara, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 282, tetulia, kumibon; on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, md. yousuf ali, monnuzan begum, mahbuba sultana, sohel chawdhury, 22.12.98. 146; satkhira: kaliganj, on soil,begum sultana, 16.09.77, 130; shamnagar, on soil, begum sultana, 16.09.77, 131; sherpur: phulpur, on the bark of tree, jashim sheikh, 18.03.75, 52. note: distinctly very small plant, main stem creeping, secondary stem once, twice or even thrice pinnately branched, branches with paraphyllia, leaves dimorphic, one type is small scale-like and second one is large chlorophyllose. leaf cells isodiametric, strongly papillose are distinguishing features of this species. genus anomodon hook. & tayl. in musc. brit. : 79, 3 (1818) dark green, strongly growing lusterless non glossy, fairly stiff and robust, rupestrine or corticolous plants in dense tufts. main stem creeping , adhering to substratum as they radiculose. secondary stems simple or two to many branched, paraphyllia lacking. leaves of secondary stems and branches similar, crowded in numerous rows, imbricate appressed when dry, widely spreading to squarrose when moist, iance-acuminate from a broad base, oblong or ovate, generally decurrent base, margin papillose-crenulate, costa strong ending below the apex, flexuose, yellow. leaf cells small, rounded quadrate, pluripapillose. perichaetial leaves moderately elongate. seta long , smooth. capsule erect, oblong-cylindric, symmetrical. peristome double, cilia missing. 2. anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. syn . musc. eur., p 488, 1840. leskea rostrata hedw., sp. musc., p.226, 1801. plant brown yellow to dark green some times dark brown in dry, become blackish with age, forming dense mats, up to 1.48 × 0.6 cm. primary stem creeping and radiculous, secondary stems and branches crowded and usually erect. paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia usually none. leaves of main stem and branches similar,crowded in numerous rows, crowded and imbricate when dry, erect or erect spreading when moist, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate from a broad extreme decurrent base, margin mostly plain, revolute to the base of the acumen. costa strong, flexuose ending well below the apex. leaf cells small, hexagonal, thin walled papillose and obscure, cells at the middle of the insertion, oblong, thick walled, smooth and pellucid, rest of the basal cells hexagonal, papillose ± 6.49 × 6.49 µm, basal middle cell ±15 × 3.9 µm, cells at middle upto 9 × 6 pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 75 µm, tip cell hyaline and hair point in different length, ±21.9 × 3.49 µm, extreme tip cells non papillose. sporophyte on main stem, and on branch stem, capsule ± 1.5 mm long, oval, oblong cylindric, smooth, becoming dark brown with age, seta upto 10 mm long. perichaetial leaves pale, elongate, erect, gradually acuminate, smooth, pale elongated cells,ecostate. peristome pale yellow to yellowish-brown, cross-striolate below, endostome sigments narrow, no cilia. spores brown, smooth. (fig. 2) fig. 2. anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. a. dry plant (× 6); b. wet plant (× 6); c,d. leaves (× 22); e. basal laminal cells (× 270); f. middle laminal cells (× 270); g. perichaetial leaf (× 22); h. leaf apex cells (× 270); i. cells of the capsule (× 180); j. peristome teeth (× 36). 76 khatun and hadiuzzaman specimen examined : jessore: jessore air base, on the bark of tree base, hamida khatun, shougat ahmed, 04.04.89; 1064. note: the species is unique in having leaves in five rows, ovate, acuminate, ending in a hyaline hair point of varying length, leaf cells hexagonal, densely papillose. key to the genera of brachytheciaceae: 1. branches usually curved, ascending when dry, leaves distinctly 2-4 plicate, margins broadly reflexed nearly throughout serrulate at base. leaves small, lanceolate homalothecium branches straight, generally horizontal, leaves usually more or less biplicate, margins usually serrulate at above, not more strongly toothed at base brachythecium genus homalothecium b. s. g. in bryol. eur., 5: 91 (1851) moderate dense mats, stems creeping, radiculose with erect branches. leaves imbricate, longitudinally plicate, lanceolate, finely long acuminate, toothed almost whole leaf, costate for 3/4th of the leaf length, cells linear, almost uniform, smooth but apices of some of the cells at back near apex upturned as sharp papillae or even spine, alar cells numerous rather quadrate. 3. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b. s .g. in bryol. eur., vol. 5, 93(1851) leskea sericea hedw in sp. musc., 228, (1801) hypum sericeum l. ex with. in syst. arr. brit. pl. ed.4, 3: 846 (1801) plants slender, extensive yellow-brown to greenish mats, shiny when dry, stems freely and irregularly branched, with an abundance of erect often curved branches, branches crowded, sub-erect , some what curved when dry, may or may not branches again. paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia not found. leaves crowded erect to imbricate some times subsecund when dry, erect spreading when moist, upto 1.5 mm long, and 0.21 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate and gradually long-acuminate, somewhat decurrent, strongly 2-4 plicate, margins broadly reflexed nearly throughout, sinute-serrulate above, serrulate at the base. costa 3/4th or more the leaf length, often ending in a minute dorsal spine, cells smooth, upper cells linear, flexuose, thick-walled ±25.08 x 5.28 µm, middle cells also long linear flexuose longer than tip cells ±46.2 x 7.4 µm, alar cells small, irregularly sub-quadrate, in small groups, and ±15.2 x 6.6 µm. cell wall not porose. sporophyte not found. (fig. 3) specimens examined: gazipur: kabirpur, on the bark of tree, mostaque ahmed, 27.05.99, 52; pabna : raghunathpur, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 1614; sylhet: golapganj, on the bark of tree, abu shahid, 7.12.99, 1531. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 77 fig. 3. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b.s.g. a. dry plants (x 5); b. wet plant (× 5); c, d. leaves (× 18); e. basal laminal cells and showing the longitudinal placation (× 150); f. middle laminal cells (× 150); g. middle laminal cell at per portion of the leaf (× 150); h. apical laminal cells (× 150). note: this species is very distinct in having plicate leaves, triangular-lanceolate, finely long acuminate, toothed to almost entire, nerve single, strong, reaching 2/3 up the leaf. some cells near apex upturned as sharp papillae or even spines. genus brachythecium b.s.g. in bryol. eur., 6 : 5 (1853) slender to moderately robust plants in mats. main stem prostrate, ascending to erect, irregularly rarely pinnate branched. pseudoparaphyllia present. stem leaves and branch leaves differentiated, loosely imbricate to spreading, often complanate, some times falcato-secund, plicate to plane, mostly concave, decurrent, ovate to ovate-lanceolate or triangular-ovate, acute to acuminate, margin entire to serrulate, nerve single, reaching 3/4 78 khatun and hadiuzzaman up the leaf, median cells long or short, elongate-rhombic to linear, smooth, alar distinct with quadrate or rectangular cells. key to the species of brachythecium 1. leaves faintly plicate, stem leaves narrowly lanceolate (reaching 2.5 × 0.6 mm), gradually and evenly narrowed from base to apex b. salebrosum leaves not so, stem leaves ovate, more abruptly narrowed to a slender acumination 2 2. stem leaves with numerous differentiated alar cells extending into rather long decurrencies, leaf tip acuminate b. curtum alar cells not so, but cells across leaf base uniform in size, leaf-tip abruptly acuiminate, slenderly acute b. acuminatum 4. brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr) b.s.g. in bryol eur., 6: 20 (1853). hypnum plumosum hedw. ssp. salebrosum (web. & mohr) c. muell. in syn., 2: 359 (1851) brachythecium laevisetum kindb. in bull. torr. bot. cl. , 17 : 278 (1890) monoecious, plants glossy, yellow-green in mats. stems up to 5 cm long, creeping and irregularly branching, radiculose, paraphyllia or pseudo-paraphyllia not found. all leaves plicate in dry and wet condition, leaves lanceolate, branch leaves little narrowly lanceolate, reaching ± 2.26 to 2.5 × 0.51 to 0.67 mm. costa single, covering up to 3/4th or more of the leaf length. stem leaves and branch leaves about the same shape, but stem leaves little larger in size, gradually and evenly narrowed from the base to the more or less slenderly acuminate apex, reflexed in the lower portion, margin entire, but slightly serrulate at tip, lower margin of leaf slightly reflexed and this reflexed portion is often decurrent and its basal cells different from the median cells, usually sub quadrate, hyaline or slightly chlorophyllose, this band of shorter cells may extend across the entire base of the leaf, the leaf thus constructed usually plicate with narrow longitudinal folds in the central portion. these folds are most conspicuous when the leaves dry, but persist even when the leaves moistened. leaf cells elongate-rhomboidal to slightly vermiculate ±39.6 x 9.9 µm at tip, middle cells more linear than tip cells ± 54.45 × 7.425 µm, basal cells much broader and shorter ± 24.19 × 10.99 µm. all cells smooth, no papillae, not porous. sporophyte not found. (fig. 4) specimens examined: gazipur: kabirpur, on the bark of tree, mostaque ahmed, 27.05.99, 52; pabna: raghunathpur, on the base of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 193; rangpur : pirgacha, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana, 03.09.84, 194; taraganj, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana,05.10.85, 195. note: the species is characterized by, in being distinctly plicate, large leaves, gradually and evenly narrowed from base to apex. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 79 fig. 4. brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr) b.s.g. a. dry plant (× 6); b.wet plant (× 6); c. leaf (× 6); d. basal laminal cells at one side of the midrib (× 180); e. basal laminal cells at other side of the midrib (× 180); f. middle laminal cells (× 180); g. leaf apex cells (× 180). 5. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr., laubm. deutschl., vol. 3, p. 101, 1896 hypnum curtum lindb., musci scand., p. 35, 1879 autoecious, medium sized plants, in loose, green to yellowish green, shiny mats. stem ascending, irregularly branched. stem leaves ovatelanceolate, acuminate, decurrent or nerve ceasing below apex, ±1.20 mm × 0.64 mm . leaf cells smooth numerous lax, oblong, cells at the basal angle upto 18.15 × 8.25 µm, middle cells liner 80 khatun and hadiuzzaman flexuose up to 44.1 × 4.7µm, tip cells are little shorter than middle cells upto 30.87 × 7.35 µm. branch leaves are not so crowded, spreading and loosely complanate in wet, slightly concave, upto 1.07 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, oblong-lanceolate, gradually acuminate, slightly decurrent , margin plane. sharply serrulate or, more often, serrate nearly all around except extreme basal portion in branch leaves, costa slender, about 5/6th of the leaf length, cells linear-flexuose, a few at the basal angles lax, oblong and sub-quadrate. sporophyte not found. (figs. 5-6) fig. 5. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr. a. dry plant (× 5); b. wet plant (× 5); c-e. stem leaves (× 18); f, g. branch leaves (× 18). specimens examined: comilla: muradnager, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana, 05.04.85, 196; faridpur: pangsha, on the bark of tree, begum sultana, 05.04.97, 219; khulna: sundarban, on the bark of tree, tahamina khatun, fahmina islam, gita chakma, tahmina shobnom, rafique 01.01.95, 227; maulvi bazar: srimangal, kaliti tea estate, pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 81 on the bark of tree, selima begum, nilufar akter, husne ara, tahmina , 10.03.79, 470; mymensingh: ranikhony, on moist soil, s, gomes, s. naznin, selina banu, 26.5.73, 159; noakhali: laxmipur, suraya begum, on the bark of tree, 05.01.85, 198; pabna: nagarbarighat, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 189; satkhira: on the bark of tree, naila morium, rafia musarrat, farida rahman, nasheta zarin, rafia afroz. 19.01.95, 467. fig. 6. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr. h. basal laminal cells at one side of the midrib (× 150); i. basal laminal cells at other side of the midrib (× 150); j. middle laminal cell (× 150); k. apical laminal cells (× 150). note: stem leaves broadly ovate-lanceolate and abruptly passing into a short acumen. stem leaves with numerous differentiated alar cells extending into rather long decurrencies differentiates this species from b. salebrosum and b. acuminatum. 6. brachythcium acuminatum ( hedw.) aust., musci appal. no.310, 1870. leskea acuminata hedw., sp. musc., p. 224, 1801 hypnum erectum hook. ex drumm., musci amer. (rocky mts.) no. 224, 1828. 82 khatun and hadiuzzaman plant green to light green, shiny plants in mat. main stems creeping, closely branched, branches erect, short, terete and usually subjulaceous when dry . stem and branch leaves similar but stem leaves are more wider then branch leaves. leaves usually crowded, erect when dry, erect spreading or spreading when moist, some what plicate or sometime nearly smooth, ±1.5 to 2 mm long, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, gradually aciminate, slenderly acute, often twisted at the apex, sometimes margins reflexed below, serrulate in the upper half, costa 3/4th of the leaf length, upper cells linear rhomboidal upto 34.65 to 8.25 µ, shorter at the apex of the leaf upto 31.35 to 7.42 µ. basal and alar cells sub quadrate in several rows up to ±14.52 to 9.24 µ . (figs. 7-8) fig. 7. brachythecium acuminatum (hedw.) aust a. dry plant (× 6); b. wet plant (× 6); c, d. stem leaves (× 22); e, f. branch leaves (× 22); g. basal laminal cells (× 180); h. middle laminal cell (× 180). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 83 fig. 8. brachythecium acuminatum (hedw.) aust i. leaf apex cells (× 150); j-m. paraphyllia (× 150). specimens examined: bogra: bogra cantonment, on tree base, hamida khatun, 2012.89,197; norsingdi: nabinagar, on the bark of tree, aklima begum, 04.03.85, 199. note: the species differs from b. curtum, in having stem leaves ovate-lanceolate but gradually acuminate, often twisted at the apex. branch leaves lanceolate and serrulate in the upper half, cells elongated rhomboid. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to prof. a. k. m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his suggestion and advice during the preparation of the manuscript. 84 khatun and hadiuzzaman references gangulee, h.c. 1978. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions: a monograph, fasc. 7. calcutta, india., 1578-1723. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2): 183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2) 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1) 43-47. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family erpodiaceae, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2) 29-32. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1) 53-57. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. dacca univ. stud. 15(b): 1-14. fig.1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. a. dry plant (x6); b.wet plant ((6); c. main stem leaf ((?72); d.branch stem leaf ((72); e. middle laminal cell (( 270; f. apical l acknowledgement wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 117-128, 2007 (december) some tribal medicinal plants of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh mohammed yusuf1, m.a. wahab, md. yousuf, jasim uddin chowdhury and jaripa begum bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong 4220, bangladesh key words: hill tracts, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge, bangladesh abstract a survey was carried out in different localities of rangamati and bandarban districts of bangladesh between 2001 and 2002 to document medicinal plants. a total of 69 medicinal plants under 40 families were documented during this work, which the tribal use to treat about 50 diseases. scientific names, tribal names of the plants, parts used, names of the diseases and names of the user communities are mentioned. introduction chittagong hill tracts, consisting of khagrachhari, rangamati and bandarban districts and occupying 13,184 sq km of south-eastern part of bangladesh, is rich in floral diversity. the forest composition could be broadly classified into 1) tropical semievergreen to wet-green, 2) deciduous, 3) bamboo brakes and grasslands (khan 1977). at least 12 ethnic communities live in this region of which chakma is the largest tribe concentrating in the chakma circle of rangamati and part of khagrachhari districts. they are followed by the marma who are almost evenly distributed in all three districts. tripura are concentrated in khagrachhari. the other smaller ethnic communities are concentrated in bandarban district (roy et al. 2000). most of the tribal people still depend on local medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases using the knowledge of herbal treatment they have inherited from their forefathers. but this ethno-medicinal knowledge and also the medicinal plants are depleting at an alarming rate due to availability of modern medical facilities and other socio-economic factors. on the other hand, this knowledge is valuable in searching new medicine for human welfare. in recent years interest in herbal medicines has increased considerably both at home and abroad as they are believed to be comparatively less toxic than the synthetics. so far a limited work has been done to document ethno-medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, namely alam (1992), rahman (1997), rahman et al. (1998), yusuf et al. (2002), chakma et al. (2003), rahman et al. (2003), uddin and rahman (1998), uddin et al. (2004), yusuf et al. (2005, 2006). keeping this in mind, the present 1corresponding author. e-mail: ctglab@spenetctg.com 118 yusuf et al. attempt has been undertaken to contribute to the documentation of this valuable knowledge and information from the area before these are totally lost. materials and methods the study was carried out in different localities of marissa and rajsthali belonging to rangamati district and lama of bandarban and adjacent areas of bandarban sadar between 2001 and 2002. information was documented in ethnobotanical data sheet by interviewing nine local baiddas (tribal healers) and 11 elderly people and verified as far as possible by repeated queries and from other tribal healers. voucher specimens were preserved at the herbarium of bcsir (bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research) laboratories, chittagong. results and discussion results have been presented in a tabular form in table 1. species are arranged alphabetically by their scientific names, followed by their family names in parenthesis and voucher numbers. voucher number of some of the species could not be cited, because they were destroyed or lost, but their identities were confirmed. tribal users and tribal names of the plants, localities, names of the diseases, and modes of uses have been given in different columns of the table 1. a total of 69 plant species have been documented during this investigation, which are used by the tribal peoples against about 50 diseases. most of the plants are used in common diseases like, diarrhoea, dysentery, cough, catarrh, asthma, fever, headache, skin diseases, sore, boil, arthritis, leucorrhoea, menstrual problem, indigestion, constipation and stomachache. only one plant, kuchbihari (solanum sp.) was found, according to the chakma tribal healers (baidda) of toolaban area, to be used for the treatment of cancer. this plant has a very characteristic fruit. it is rare and found only under cultivation in the home garden of baidda at toolaban of marissa. uses of alpinia conchigera, anisomeles indica, baliospermum montanum, centella asiatica, costus speciosus, jasminum scandens, kaempferia galanga, kaempferia parviflora, kalanchoe pinnata, maesa montana, mikania cordata, ocimum gratissimum, oroxylum indicum, plumbago indica, plumbago zeylanica, sterculia villosa, typhonium trilobatum, urena lobata and zingiber montanum match with the uses reported by different authors consulted here. most of the previous authors only mentioned the name of the disease, whereas some of the authors mentioned the method of use. but they did not mention the dose. we have mentioned the tentative doses of use, but we do not encourage following them without verification. about 46% of the documented plant species are herbs followed by 31% shrubs, 13% trees and 10% climbers. table 1. description of the tribal medicinal plants recorded from different localities of rangamati and bandarban along with their users, locations to be found, diseases treated, modes of use and doses. scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 1. achyranthes aspera l. (amaranthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1186 tanchongya lengragach naramuk, rajsthali dog & fox bite the root paste is applied over the bite area as a preventive medicine against hydrophobia. it is applied once, immediately after bite. 2. acorus calamus l. (acoraceae) wahab & yousuf 1174 a tanchongya boch naramuk, rajsthali stomachache, burn sore rhizome paste is given orally in stomachache; 1 teaspoonful, twice in a day. rhizome paste is also applied as a poultice on burn sore, twice daily till cure. 3. adiantum lunulatum burm. (adiantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1120 chakma bandortala toolaban, marissa boils paste of the plant is applied over boils to burst. it is applied 2/3 times a day. 4. aloe indica l. (liliaceae) tanchongya ghrittakumari naramuk, rajsthali constipation, indigestion leaf juice is prescribed orally; 1 tablespoonful, twice daily for 3 days. 5. alpinia conchigera griff. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1131 wahab & yousuf 1174 chakma khetranga tanchongya ketranga toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali gastric pain diarrhoea, dysentery piece of the rhizome is chewed or paste is swallowed with little salt; a small piece of rhizome or 1 tablespoonful of paste, 2/3 times a day. rhizome juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 3-4 days. 6. annona mouricata l. (annonaceae) wahab & yousuf 1388 marma penchi hangshamapara, bandarban pain in hand & leg warm leaves are rubbed on hand and leg to get relief from pain. 7. anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1155 chakma harinsingh toolaban, marissa fever, whooping cough of children leaf juice is given orally; 1 teaspoonful, twice daily for 4-5 days. 8. antidesma ghasembilla gaertn. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1377 marma sapangseye balaghata, bandarban madness pills made from the bark are given orally; 2 pills, thrice daily till cure. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 9. argyreia nervosa (burm.f.) boj. (convolvulaceae) wahab & yousuf 1146 chakma bijtarak tooaban, marissa bone fracture paste of twigs and young leaves applied on fractured area and wrapped with cloth, which is changed after every 2-3 days. 10. baliospermum montanum (willd.) muell.-arg. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1151 chakma subonpan toolaban, marissa eczema, sore in mouth & lip leaf paste is applied on affected areas; twice daily till cure. 11. cassia occidentalis l. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1126 chakma khetrang toolban, marissa oliguria decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 3 days. 12. celosia cristata l. (amaranthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1188 tanchongya moragful naramuk, rajsthali body swelling (dropsy) ash of the leaves is rubbed on the body and its juice is given orally as diuretic along with rice washed water; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 1week. 13. centella asiatica (l.) urban. (hydrocotylaceae) wahab & yousuf 1178 tanchongya menmuni sak naramuk, rajsthali blood dysentery leaf juice is given orally along with opium, 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 1 week. 14. clerodendrum viscosum vent. (verbenaceae) wahab & yousuf 1121 chakma veg gach toolaban, marissa roundworms with indigestion, pain & vomiting paste of leaves and roots given orally; 2 teaspoons, twice daily for 3-4 days. 15. clitoria turnetea l. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1154 chakma aingoful toolaban, marissa arthritic pain & wounds paste of leaves applied topically on affected area; twice a day. 16. costus speciosus sm. (costaceae) wahab & yousuf 1132 chakma ketoki toolaban, marissa pus in ear along with earache ear is cleaned with 2-3 drops of leaf juice and leaf paste is applied around the ear. 17. croton caudatus geisel. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1134 chakma sholokjara toolaban, marissa arthritis, paralysis root and leaf paste is applied topically for 1 week in arthritis, and for paralysis, for about a month or more. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 18. cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf. (poaceae) tonchongya dhansabrang naramuk, rajsthali stomach burning juice of leaves and roots is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily. 19. cynoglossum lanceolatum fotsk. (boraginaceae) wahab & yousuf 1386 marma langio lama, bandarban inflation of belly leaf juice along with other ingredients is given orally; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily. 20. desmodium triquetrum (l.) dc. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1145 chakma rulimatakher toolaban, marissa impotency, leucorrhoea pills made from the leaves along with the leaves of aloe indica are given orally; 1 pill, 2-3 times a day. 21. dysophylla auricularia bl. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1175 wahab & yousuf 1188a tanchongya kongmain, krongmain naramuk, rajsthali bellyache & discomfort in belly, tetanus for bellyache and discomfort, warm leaf poultice is prescribed. in tetanus, leaf juice is given orally; 2 teaspoons, once at a time. 22. eclipta alba (l.) hassk. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1179 tonchongya kalasuna naramuk, rajsthali bleeding from nose and mouth leaf juice is given orally and as a drop in the nostril; 1 or 2 drops and 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day for 1 or 2 days. 23. emilia sp. dc. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1144 chakma sidirabaisa toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali dysentery, diarrhoea, paralysis boil leaf juice given orally; 2-3 times a day, for a week. leaf paste is applied as a rub in paralysis. leaf paste is applied as cataplasm for suppuration of boil. 24. eupatorium odoratum l. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 a tonchongya demrapata gach naramuk, rajsthali bleeding leaf paste applied on cut to stop bleeding. 25. gelonium multiflorum (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma mainsingh hangshamapara, bandarban boil fruit paste is applied on boil for suppuration. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 26. grewia laevigata vahl. (tiliaceae) wahab & yousuf 1143 chakma monsimais toolaban, marissa paralysis, pain pills made from the bark, root and leaf is prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice daily till cure. 27. gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1140 chakma dhup baisak toolaban, marissa arthritic pain, paralysis, burning of body pills made from the leaves are given orally; 2 pills, thrice daily. 28. haemanthus multiflorus martyn (amaryllidaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma bolungbay hangshamapara, bandarban fever juice of the bulb is given orally; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 3 days. 29. helminthostachys zeylanica hook. (ophioglossaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma simakrangkhi lama, bandarban jaundice root juice with other ingredients given orally; 1 teaspoon, twice daily for 10 days. 30. hymendictyon excelsum walp. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1384 tanchongya fulgamari naramuk, rajsthali lama, bandarban stiffness of belly jaundice root juice given orally and hot poultice of bark applied on belly for 2-3 days. bath in the morning with leaf boiled water is prescribed for 10 days. 31. jasminum scandens (oleaceae) wahab & yousuf 1122 chakma moriccha lodi toolaban, marissa red eyes (red cataract) leaf juice is used as a drop; 2 drops, twice daily till cure. 32. justicia gendarusa l. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf-1112 &1152 chakma basok babupara, marissa cough, catarrh, fever leaf juice given orally, alone or with honey; 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day for 1 week. 33. kaempferia galanga l. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1154 a chakma bhojoraphul toolaban, marissa headache, paralysis of arms and legs rhizome paste is given as poultice in headache and as rub in paralysis, twice daily. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 34. kaempferia parviflora wall. ex baker (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1181 tonchongya kalahalood naramuk, rajsthali diarrhoea along with vomiting rhizome juice given orally; 1 teaspoon, 2-3 times a day for 3 days. 35. kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. (crassulaceae) tanchongya rockkia pangpo naramuk, rajsthali cough & asthma of children leaf juice dipped with red iron is given orally; 2 teaspoon, thrice daily for a week. 36. leea indica (burm.f.) merr. (leeaceae) wahab & yousuf 1130 chakma hashkura toolaban, marissa sore, leprosy, eczema, itching, bone fracture, sprain leaf paste used topically, 2-3 times a day for a week. for fracture and sprain, paste is applied as a poultice. 37. leea macrophylla roxb. (leeaceae) wahab & yousuf 1176 tonchongya baggach naramuk, rajsthali boil, arthritis leaf juice is rubbed on affected area and heated with warm cloth. leaf paste is applied on boil to burst. 38. leucas zeylanica (l.) r.br. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1378 marma sarakao balaghata, bandarban burning urination leaf paste is given orally; 1 tablespoon, once a day. 39. litsea glutinosa (lour.) rob. (lauraceae) wahab & yousuf 1125 chakma surja gach toolaban, marissa boil, sore, itching leaf paste applied topically; twice daily. 40. maranta arundinacea l. (marantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1135 chakma ararut toolaban, marissa scanty urination along with pain in abdomen rhizome paste given orally; 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day. also given to lactating mother to increase milk flow. 41. measa montana a. dc. (myrsinaceae) wahab & yousuf 1124 chakma medri toolaban, marissa arthritis, boil paste of the bark is applied as a poultice for arthritis, twice daily for 5 days. applied on boil and kept whole day to hasten suppuration. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 42. micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wt. & arn. (rutaceae) wahab & yousuf 1128 wahab & yousuf 1390 chakma songramarich marma kakobai toolaban, marissa hangshamapara, bandarban fever along with headache dog bite leaf and root juice is given orally in fever; 1 cup, thrice daily for 5 days. fruit paste is applied on bite area. 43. mikania cordata (burm.f.) rob. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 a tanchongya asamlata naramuk, rajsthali bleeding leaf paste is applied on cut area to stop bleeding. 44. morinda sp. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1379 marma khujai balaghata, bandarban fever along with catarrh paste of young leaves along with black pepper and garlic is rubbed on the chest, twice a day. 45. morinda persicaefolia ham. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1380 marma khujai balaghata, bandarban cough, asthma leaf juice is given orally along with sugar; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 4-5 days. 46. nelsonia campestris r.br. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 tanchongya chitpatang naramuk, rajsthali fever, tetanus leaf juice is rubbed on the body for several days. 47. ocimum gratissimum l. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1142 chakmamidareissa toolaban, marissa cough, catarrh, headache, gout leaf juice along with honey or sugar is prescribed orally; 2 teaspoons, thrice daily for 3-5 days. 48. oroxylum indicum vent. (bignoniaceae) wahab & yousuf 1118 chakmakhona babupara, marissa jaundice juice of the fruit and bark is given orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 5 days. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 49. pedilanthus tithymaloides (l.) poit. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1147 chakmabarakut toolaban, marissa headache, impotency and seminal weakness paste of the plant is applied on forehead in headache. pills made from the paste are given in impotency and seminal weakness; 2 pills, thrice daily. 50. perilla ocymoides l. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1136 chakmanagaghoissa toolaban, marissa cut, sore, bruises seed-paste is applied as an ointment; twice daily for healing. 51. phrynium imbricatum roxb. (marantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1149 chakmapitulipata toolaban, marissa cough, catarrh, asthma, headache pills made from leaves are prescribed orally; 1 pill, 2-3 times a day. 52. phyllanthus sp. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1385 marmasaykhoi lama, bandarban sexual weakness pills made from dry flowers along with other ingredients are given orally; 1 pill at night. 53. plumbago indica l. (plumbaginaceae) wahab & yousuf 1187 tanchongya agnichita naramuk, rajsthali anaemia, irregular menstruation, leucorrhoea, skin disease in skin disease, leaf and root juice is applied topically, in other cases juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, once daily for 5 days. it is also given orally to develop sterility in women; 1 tablespoon, daily for consecutive 3 days. roots are used to induce abortion. 54. plumbago zeylanica l. (plumbaginaceae) chakma chita toolaban, marissa leucorrhoea, menstrual problem, jaundice root paste is given orally; 1 teaspoon, twice daily for 7 days. 55. podocarpus nerifolia don. (podocarpaceae) wahab & yousuf 1115 chakma bajpata gach babupara, marissa gastric juice of the root and leaf is given orally; half a cup, 2-3 times daily. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 56. rauwolfia serpentina benth. (apocynaceae) wahab & yousuf 1137 chakma sursan tanchongya bombaraja toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali snakebite, headache heart disease, stomachache root paste is given orally; half a teaspoon, twice daily. half a teaspoon, once daily for a month for heart disease and 1 teaspoon, at a time for stomachache. 57. sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaud. (urticaceae) wahab & yousuf 1387 marma masada lama, bandarban boil, sore leaf paste is applied topically; once a day for 3 days. 58. scoparia dulcis l. (scrophulariaceae) wahab & yousuf 1183 tanchongya postanoipata naramuk, rajsthali stomachache leaf juice is given orally; 1 tablespoon, twice daily. 59. solanum sp. (solanaceae) wahab & yousuf 1141 chakmakuchbihari toolaban, marissa cancer, sore, wounds paste of the fruit is applied topically; 2-3 times a day. 60. spillanthes sp. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1177 tanchongya osonsak naramuk, rajsthali threadworm leaf juice is given orally; half a cup, once or twice a day. 61. stahlianthus involucratus (king ex baker) r.m. smith (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1189 tanchongya eskain rajsthali, rangamati fever, tetanus of children rhizome juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 5 days. 62. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers. (menispermaceae) wahab & yousuf 1153 chakmathandamanik marissa, rangamati facial paralysis leaf paste is applied topically over affected areas; twice daily for 7 days. 63. sterculia villosa roxb. (sterculiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1139 chakma-udal marissa, rangamati impotency pills made from the root along with the root of bombax ceiba and leaves of aloe indica is prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice a day for 3 weeks. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 64. thunbergia grandiflora roxb. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1180 tanchongya botualodi rajsthali, rangamati red eyes air blown through the cut hollow stem into the eyes; done for 3 days. 65. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. (araceae) wahab & yousuf 1138 chakmaharbaj marissa, rangamati enlarged liver pills made from the corm along with black pepper are prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice daily for 1 month. 66. uraria picta desv. (fabaceae) chakmabilailengur marissa, rangamati suppuration of boil leaf paste is applied topically on boil to burst. 67. urena lobata l. (malvaceae) wahab & yousuf 1185 tanchongya lengragach rajsthali, rangamati snakebite, bite of dog and fox root paste is applied on bite area as a poultice and 1 tablespoon of paste is given orally. 68. vitis sp. (vitaceae) wahab & yousuf 1119 wahab & yousuf 1129 chakmakoishanglota, khoijang marissa, rangamati toolaban broken bones cough, catarrh, fever with convulsion leaf paste is applied as a poultice on broken area and changed after a week. root juice mixed with water is given orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 4-5 days. 69. zingiber montanum (koenig) dietr. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1182 tanchongya paley rajsthali, rangamati amenorrhoea rhizome juice is given orally; 1 tablespoon, 1-2 times a day for 2-3 days. 128 yusuf et al. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and information & communication technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh, for providing financial support to carry out this investigation. thanks are also due to the director bcsir (bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research) laboratories, chittagong for his generous co-operation and encouragement during the work. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news xiii(3): 3-7. khan, m.s. and alam, m.k. 1977. flora of bangladesh. no. 4 commelinaceae. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-41. rahman, m.a. 1997. tribal knowledge of plant use in hill tracts districts of bangladesh. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 1(1): 1. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisha, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and wilcock, c.c. 2003. indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine in bangladesh: treatment of jaundice by the tribal community of hill tracts districts. hamdard medicus xlvi(2): 25-28. roy, r.d., guhathakurta, m., mohsin, a., tripura, p. and gain, p. 2000. the chittagong hill tracts (life and nature at risk). society for environment and human development (shed), dhaka. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of the hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. uddin, n.s., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.m. 2004. preliminary ethnomedicinal plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. yusuf, m., rahman, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2005. herbal treatment of jaundice in chittagong hill tracts by chakma and marma tribes. j. forestry environment 3: 13-18. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61. (manuscript received on 4 june 2007; revised on 25 july 2007) mohammed yusuf1, m.a. wahab, md. yousuf, jasim uddin chowdhu and jaripa begum abstract introduction references yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2005. wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 63-68, 2006 (june) ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin, md. abul hassan and mahmuda sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000. bangladesh key words: ethnobotanical survey, threats and conservation, bangladesh abstract ethnobotanical survey in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district has revealed a total of 86 species used as medicinal plants by the santal community. santal names, part/s used as medicine and diseases to be treated with each plant have been presented. a number of threats to medicinal plants and their habitats have been identified and some measures have also been recommended for the conservation of medicinal plants and their habitats in the area. introduction phulbari upazila belongs to dinajpur district. it lies between 250º23´ and 25º34´ n latitude and 88º48´ and 88º59´ e longitude. the upazila is bounded by parbotipur and shiribandar to the north, by nawabganj to the east, by birampur to the south and east and by india to the west. total area of the upazila is about 299.55 sq. km. the general topography of the upazila may be described as flat, gently sloping southward and slightly elevated alluvial terrace known as barind. elevation ranges from 25 to 35 meters above mean sea level (siddiqi 1972). once maximum area of the upazila was occupied by an extensive sal (shorea robusta gaertn.) forest interspersed with cultivated rice fields. due to human settlement, agricultural encroachment and mining activities, the sal forest of the area has been drastically reduced to small patches. in the small patches of the forest, s. robusta is the dominant species. some other species associated with the sal are careya arborea (kumbhi), anacardium occidentale (bela), cassia fistula (sonalu), albizia procera (koroi). syzygium fruticosum (butijam), syzygium operculatum (panijam), syzygium cumini (kalojam), flacourtia indica (paniala), randia dumetorum (monkanta), and litsae glutinosa (menda). forest floor has been covered with seasonal vegetation including grasses, sedges, aroids, zingers, climbers, herbs etc. phulbaria upazila is the abode for 1.3 million human population (asiatic society of bangladesh 2003). among this, 3.11% population belongs to santal community they are living in the forest sites far from the upazila headquarters. a major share of their food, medicine, house buildings materials and firewood come from the natural forest. these people have their own language and cultural tradition. they always like to keep away from the hub of modern civilization. currently, their cultural tradition is threatened by 64 uddin et al. modern cultures all around them. they already started to convert to christianity from hinduism. they are losing their traditional knowledge day by day. apart from this, mining activities and forest clearance around their home sites are other major threats to their traditional culture. considering all these factors ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila will require much time to complete. otherwise we may lose important traditional santal knowledge about plants before documentation. ethnobotanical work here in bangladesh is in its initial stage. some work, e.g. hassan and khan (1986), mia and huq (1988), hassan and khan (1996), chowdhury et al. (1996), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001). khan et al. (2002) and uddin et al. (2004) are only a few to mention. the work on the ethnobotany of santal community is lacking. that is why in the present survey an attempt has been made with the following objectives: 1) to identify the medicinal plants, their santal names, parts used and diseases to be treated 2) to identify the threats to medicinal plants and their habitats 3) to make recommendation for conservation measures. materials and methods phulbari upazila of dinajpur district was selected for the study and santal community was considered as target community. all santal villages in the upazila were visited during the year of 2004 and 2005. data of medicinal use of plants were collected through interview with local herbal practitioners (kabiraj/ boidya), headmen and elderly persons in the community using semi-structured questionnaire at different locations. data collected from one person were verified with others by asking the same questions. most of the medicinal plants were identified in the field and in case of unknown, plant specimens were collected. these specimens were brought to dhaka university herbarium and processed by traditional herbarium techniques. these were examined and identified by comparing herbarium specimens and also consulting literature. threats to medicinal plants and their habitats were also noted from the field observations. results and discussion a total of 86 medicinal plant species were recorded from the present survey work in phulbari upazila. these species are used by santal community in different ailments. botanical names, santal names, parts used and diseases to be treated are presented in the table 1. currently, coal mining, stone lifting and related developmental activities in phulbari upazila are great threats to medicinal plants and their habitats. moreover, santal community already started to convert themselves to christianity. missionary activities ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants 65 gave them opportunity to go for modern medicine. it was found that many medicine men are reluctant to go back to santal community and their traditional health care system. forest clearance for exotic monoculture plantations in phulbari upazila is other threat to indigenous medicinal plants . sal forest with associated species were replaced by acacia spp. and eucalyptus spp. plantations in different natural forest patches of the upazila. remaining sal patches are in great risk because of fragmentation, edge effect, agricultural encroachment and developmental activities. from the present observation in the phulbari upazila, we have come up with some recommendation measures for the conservation of medicinal plants and their habitat. traditional santal knowledge about the usage of medicinal plants should be properly recorded and documented. apart from several threats some sal patches of the upazila still merit for in situ conservation. otherwise ex-situ conservation sites including medicinal plant garden, protected area and eco-park should be established. awareness about the importance of medicinal plants should be created among the local people, developers, energy companies and policy makers. environmental impact assessment should be done before going to undertake any mining and developmental projects. compensation measures should be ensured from companies for damaging the medicinal plants and their habitats. table 1. list of medicinal plants used by santal community of phulbari upazila under dinajpur district. scientific name santal name parts used diseases to be treated achyranthes aspera l. kakra lata root jaundice aegle marmelose corr. singadare fruits laxative urinary diseases agave americana l. kongak leaves ear lesion albizia procera benth. koroi leaves allergy alstonia scholaris l. chatinidare bark aphrodisiac, impotence amaranthus spinosus l. jenumara whole plant chest pain amaranthus virdis l. gandareshak whole plant vegetable anacardium occidentale l. shasho fruits mump, antiseptic andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. chirata whole plant malarial fever anisomeles indica (l.)o. kuntz kukurmuta fruits impotence antidesma ghaesembila gaertn. chudumathasune leaves fever azedirachta indica a. juss. neemdare leaves fever, malaria, lesion, abscess biscofia javanica bl. mathasure leaves kidney diseases bombax ceiba l. edaldare root impotance borreria articularis (l.f.) williams. mudmala leaves eye pain caesalpinia crista l. baghinjanum fruit,seed headache, color for fishing net cardiospermum helicacavum l. chatolature stem heart pain 66 uddin et al. table 1. (contd.) caryea arborea roxb. kumbidare bark weakness cassia fistula l. neduic leaves, fruits ring worm, laxative centella asiatica urban. dolbamon whole plant gastric cissus adnata roxb. bodlar stem paralysis clerodendrum viscosum vent. banni roots,leaves healing cut injury, fever commelina bengalensis l. jeotin root menstrual disorder crinum asiaticum l. birpiaj root ringworm curculigo orchioides gaertn. birparo root healing, cut injury curcuma longa l. shasang rhizome blood purifier curcuma zedoaria (christm) rosc. pado rhizom diarrhoea cuscuta reflexa roxb. alakgudi wholeplant rheumatic fever, lesion, jaundice cynodon dactylon l. dubigass wholeplants healing cut injury cyperus rotundus vahl. takudare root paralysis dioscorea bulbifera l. damru root fever, krimi, vegetable elephantopus escaber l. ranurang roots abscess erythrina veriegata l. mararbaha flower waist pain eupatorium odoratum l. randai leaves healing cut injury euphorbia hirta l. kushitoa whole plant head injury euphorbia thymifolia burm. f. gutedare leaves waist pain ficus racemosa l. loa fruits krimi, blood purifier glochidion multiloculare (roxb. ex.willd.) muell.-arg. kudurpala leaves,root diarrhea of cow glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. atishadha stem jaundices, tooth brush holarrhena pubescens (buch.-ham) wall. ex. g. don. hartdare bark diarrhoea, dysentery hyptis sauveolens(l.)poit. kukurmuta (sada) fruits impotence indigofera tinctoria l. nildare root ulcer jatropha curcas l. kuruzdare fruits lesion, ring worm jatropha gossipyfolia l. beddha leaves dysentery lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. dokadare bark diarrhea leea macrophylla roxb. harmadare root healing cut injury leportia crenulata gaud. sengelsingh root head ache litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. robinson maliata leaves,bark diarrhoea, dysentery, aphrodisiac mallotus philippensis ( lamk.) muell.arg. ruda barks piles mangifera indica l. uldare bark,leaves diarrhoea merrimia umbellata (l.) hallier.f. haruamar stem indigestion mimosa pudica l. japhi root impotence, aphrodisiac mimosa rubricaulis lamk. kondrajenure root impotence, menstrual disorder moringa olifera lamk. munga bark to refrain from snake ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants 67 table 1 (contd.) mucuna prurins (l.) dc. bandoneri stem waist pain murraya koenigii spreng jimtidare leaves menstrual disorder ocimum sanctum l. torshi leaves fever, bronchitis oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz. banahata bark,fruit jaundice, cow diseases persicaria hyropiper (l.) spach. jeoti root impotence phyllanthus emblica l. lodam fruits jaundice, diarrhoea phyllanthus reticulatus poir simikdare stem tooth brush pterospermum acerifolium willd. moskanda flower brain treatment ricinus communis l. araddom bark,fruit eye treatment scoparia dulcis l. sinipata leaves diarrhoea senna accidentalis (l.) link. junjunea leaves diabetes senna sophera (l.) link. bedatheri root lesion senna tora (l.) roxb. sakamenda root indigestion shorea robusta gaertn. sajamdare bark,root menstrual disorder sida acuta burm. f. sipsedip leaf head ache sida cordata (burm.f) borss. japkhasakam leaf abscess smilax zeylanica l. katrupala root menstrual disorder solanum nigram l. hedikudi leaves eye disease solanum torvum s.w. bengar fruits hopping cough, ear rotten stephania japonica (thunb.) miers. tezomala stem jaundice, foot rot of cow sterculia foetida l. sekra bark, pellicles impotence, weakness, tonic streblus asper l. sharha bark pain, diarrhoea suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. charchu fruit fish kill terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex. dc.) wt. and arn. arjun barks heart diseases terminalia belerica roxb. lopung fruits menstrual disorder terminalia chebula retz. rol fruits dysentery trichosanthes bracteata (lamk.) voigt. kahubutki root gastric paid typhonium trilobatum schott. nirbish leaves constipation urena lobata l. bedijone root lesion vernonia patula merrill. shandani root menstrual, disorder zizyphus mauritiana lamk. jenumdare leaves headache zizyphus xylopyrus (retz.)willd. sekera bark constipation ackonwledgement the authors are highly grateful to smec (snow mountain environmental corporation, australia) for financial support for the field work. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46 (3): 330-335. alam m.k., chowdhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49-63 68 uddin et al. asiatic society of bangladesh 2003. banglapedia (ed. sirajul ialam and sajahan mia), 8: 73-74. chowdhury, j., alam, m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies against dysentery and diarrhoea in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. additional series 12, scientific publishers jodhpur (india), pp. 20-23. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical record in bangladesh-1. plant used for healing fractured bones. j. asiatic society, bangladesh (sci.) 12(ia2): 33-39. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.a.1996. ethno botanical record in bangladesh-2 . plants used for healing cut’s and wounds. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 49-52 khan, m.s, hassan, m.a and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 51-60. mia, m.m.k. and huq. a.m, 1988. a preliminary ethnobotanical survey in the jointiapure, tamabil and jafflong area, sylhet, bangladesh national habarium bull. 3, pp.1-10. siddiqi, a. 1972. bangladesh district gazetteers for dinajpur, bangladesh government press, dhaka, pp. 4-3. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. ethnobotanical plant records of kalanga forest range (habiganj), bangladesh for malaria, jaundice, diarrhoea and dysentery. bangladesh. j. plant taxon. 8(1): 101-104 uddin, s.n, uddin, m.z, hassan, m.a and rahman, m.m.2004. preliminar ethnomedical plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. species entry profile 3: angiosperm bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 39-48, 2005 (december) four new records of aroids for bangladesh hosne ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words : four new records, araceae, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with four taxa of the family araceae as new records for bangladesh, namely, aglaonema commutatum schott, a. marantifolium blume, colocasia mannii hook. f. and remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott. an up-dated nomenclature, important synonyms, illustrated description, flowering and fruiting times, specimen citation, ecology and geographical distribution for each species have also been given. introduction the family araceae consists of 110 genera and 2500 species distributed mostly in the tropics and sub-tropics (croat 1979). prain (1903) and hooker (1893) reported 27 and 30 species, respectively from the area that now comprises bangladesh. during recent past extensive field trips made throughout the country have resulted in many new records of araceae for bangladesh (ara 2000, 2001; ara and hassan 2003, 2005; ara and khatun 2002; ara et al. 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003 2004, 2005; uddin et al. 2001). some recent collections from madhupur (mymensingh), sherpur, netrokona, maulvi bazar and bandarban districts include the following species of this family namely aglaonema commutatum schott, aglaonema marantifolium blume, colocasia mannii hook. f. and remusatia vivipara ( roxb.) schott, that are new records for bangladesh. the genus remusatia schott is also a new generic record for bangladesh. none of the above mentioned species is found in the work of previous workers who published on the flora of this region, viz., hooker (1893), prain (1903), heinig (1925), calder et al. (1926), sinclair (1955), rao and verma (1976), huq and khan (1984), nicolson (1987), karthikeyan et al. (1989), khan et al. (1994), noltie (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), ara (2001), khan and huq (2001) and rahman (2004a, 2004b). materials and methods the paper is based on the materials collected from different parts of the country during field trips made from 2000-2005, which are now preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the specimens have been identified with the help of engler (1915), nicolson (1969, 1987), noltie (1994), mayo (1985) and rao and verma (1976). correct names with important synonyms, description, specimen citation, notes on ecology, geographical distribution within and outside the country and illustration of each species have been prepared based on the fresh specimens. 1corresponding author. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 40 ara and hassan description of the species 1. aglaonema commutatum schott syn. aroid. 123 (1856). engler, pflanzenr. 64 (iv. 23 dc): 27 (1915); nicolson, smithsonian contr. bot. 1: 49 (1969); jervis, aglaonema grower's hand b. 11 (1980); nicolson, fl. ceylon 6: 45 (1987); noltie, fl. bhut. 131-132 (1994); aglaonema oblongifolium sensu alston in trimen, hand b. fl. ceylon. 6: 296 (1931), non schott, 1829. (fig. 1) fig. 1. aglaonema commutatum schott, (a) habit sketch (× 0.50); (b) inflorescence (× 1); (c) spadix (× 1); (d) pistil (× 10); (e) longitudinal section of pistil (× 10). four new records of aroids for bangladesh 41 an evergreen herb. stem erect, becoming decumbent in older and larger specimens, 20-150 cm tall, 0.5-6.0 cm thick. internodes 0.4-2.5 cm long. petioles 6-25 cm long, sheathing for more than half its length, margins of sheath membranous but occasionally scarious. leaf-blades usually narrowly oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, 10-30 × 2.5-12 cm, slightly asymmetric, shortly acuminate, base oblique to rounded; pale variegation along the primary lateral veins; venation differentiated into 4-7 primary lateral veins diverging from the midrib at 20-45-70; texture coriaceous. peduncle solitary to 3 together, 4.5-20 cm long. spathe 3-7 × 2.8-5 cm, light green, shorter than petiole, decurrent for 0.4-1.2 cm. spadix stipitate for 0.4-1.0 cm, completely free from spathe, 2-7 cm long, usually at least 1 cm short of spathe apex but occasionally equaling it; pistillate portion 0.3-1.0 cm long, pistils few, 10-18; staminate portion 1.5-6 × 0.4-0.6 cm. ovary ovoid or subglobose, 1-locular, ovule 1, anatropous, placenta basal, stylar region short, thick, stigma broad, discoid, concave centrally. fruits turning yellow, then bright red, ellipsoidal to obovoid, 1.5-2 × 0.4-1.5 cm. flowering and fruiting time : june to september. specimens examined: bandarban district: udalbunia, sapchari hill, 20.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1164 (dacb); maulvi bazar district: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 03.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1767 (dacb); sherpur district: samaschura beat, madhutila eco park, 23.06.2004, hosne ara ha 1068 (dacb). ecology : in shady places of forest near streams. geographical distribution : india, the philippines and north-eastern celebes. note: so far two species of aglaonema, namely, a. hookerianum schott and a. modestum schott ex engler have been reported from bangladesh (ara 2001 and ara et al. 2005). newly reported a. commutatum schott differs from these two by its leaves with pale variegation along the primary lateral veins and the spadix a bit shorter or equaling the spathe. 2. aglaonema marantifolium blume in rumphia 1: 153 (1835), t. 66. engler in engler, pflanzenr. 64 (iv. 23 dc): 26-27 (1915); nicolson, smithsonian contr. bot. 1: 47-49 (1969); calla oblongifolia roxburgh, fl. ind. 3: 516 (1832); wight ic. t. 806 (1844); aglaonema oblongifolium schottin wien., zsitschr. iii: 892 (1829). (fig. 2) stem erect, 1-3 cm thick, internodes 2 cm long. petiole 18-25 cm long, sheaths with membranous margins, 11-20 cm long. leaf blade narrowly oblong, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 22–35 cm long, 7.5-15 cm wide, base obtuse to subrounded, apex acuminate, often apiculate, variegation none, venation undifferentiated to weakly differentiated into 5-8 primary lateral veins diverging from the midrib, texture coriaceous. peduncles 2-5 together, rarely solitary, 10-15 cm long. spathe green, turning yellow with age, not differentiated into a tube and blade, 4-7 cm long. stipe 0.7-1.5 cm long. spadix shorter than spathe, pistillate portion 0.2-0.8 cm long, pistils 10-20, the pistil with broad yellow stigma, the style distinctly contracted; staminate portion 1.2-2.7 cm long, stamens free, filaments usually distinct. ovary subglobose, 1-locular, ovule-1, 42 ara and hassan anatropous, basal placentation, style short, stigma broad, discoid. fruits becoming bright red, 1.5-3.0 cm long, 0.7-1.7 cm wide. flowering and fruiting time: apparently non seasonal. fig. 2. aglaonema marantifolium blume, (a) habit sketch (× 0 .28); (b) inflorescence (× 1); (c) spadix (× 1); (d) top view of synandrium (× 10); (e) pistil (× 12). specimens examined: mymensingh district: madhupur forest, 25.05.2000, hosne ara ha 45 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium (originally collected from madhupur, ha 45 and planted in bnh compound), 15.04.2005, hosne ara ha 1462 (dacb). four new records of aroids for bangladesh 43 ecology : grows in shady and damp places as forest undergrowth. geographical distribution : moluccas through new guinea. note: aglaonema marantifolium blume differs from a. commutatum schott by leaf blade which is non-variegated along the primary lateral veins and spadix which is always shorter than spathe (in case of former). 3. colocasia mannii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 524 (1893); rao and verma, bull. bot. surv. ind.18 (1-4): 27 (1976). (fig.3) fig. 3. colocasia mannii hook. f. (a) habit sketch (x 0.14); (b) inflorescence (× 0. 43); (c) spadix (× 0.59); (d) top view of pistil (× 5); (e) transverse section of pistil (× 8); (f) ovule (× 10). 44 ara and hassan herbs. rhizome 5-6 cm long, 3-4 cm in diam., stolons absent. leaves several together; petiole reddish green, 50-87 cm long, sheathing in the lower 1/3; blades oblongovate, 25-41 x 13.5-25 cm, sagittate with a broad sinus, tip acute, peltate, upper surface glossy green, lower surface pale green; primary lateral veins 6-7 pairs, pale green. inflorescences produced in both juvenile and adult plants, solitary or paired; peduncles almost completely enclosed in sheath of subtending leaf, when paired the sequence perpendicular to the circumference of the stem with the younger one further out , 30-40 cm long. spathe 18-23.5 cm long, tube 3-5 cm long, light green, limb narrowly oblongcymbiform, 15-18.5 cm long, 7.7 cm wide, reflexed. spadix shorter than spathe, 9-11 cm long; female zone 3.0-3.8 cm long, 1 cm diam.; pistils numerous; ovaries globose, green, incompletely 3-5 locular with parietal placentation and numerous oval shaped ovules; stigma sessile, discoid, whitish, 1mm diam.; sterile interstice 3 cm long, yellow; male zone 3.0 4.2 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., tip rounded, synandria ivory, irregularly rhombohexagonal, 8-10 androus, 1mm diam., yellow; appendix absent. flowering and fruiting time: june to july. specimens examined: maulvi bazar district: gazipur beat, harargonj reserve forest, 21. 05. 2005, hosne ara ha 1737 (dacb); 05.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1807 (dacb). ecology: grows in shady and moist places of hill slope of rain forest. geographical distribution : assam (india) and sylhet (bangladesh). note: colocasia mannii hook. f. can easily be separated from all other colocasia species so far reported from bangladesh (ara and hassan, 2005) by the presence of the following characters together: tuber short, lack of stolons, narrowly oblong-cymbiform spathe limb and absence of appendix. 4. remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott in schott and endlicher, melet. bot. 18 (1832). kunth, enum. pl. 3: 36 (1841); schott, syn aroid. 43 (1856); gen. aroid. t. 36 (1858); prodr. syst. aroid. 137 (1860); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 521 (1893); krause in engler, pflanzenr. 71 (iv. 23 e): 16 (1920); haines, bot. bihar and orissa: 907 (1924); fischer in gamble, fl. press. madras 1583 (1931), repr. ed. 2, 3: 1104 (1967); prain, beng. pl., repr. ed., 2: 837 (1963); nicolson in saldanha and nicolson, fl. hassan dist.: 788 (1976); rao and verma, bull. bot. surv. ind. 18 (1-4): 24 (1976); mayo, fl. trop. e. africa : 40-42 (1985); nicolson, fl. cylon 6: 49-50 (1987); noltie, fl. bhut. 3 (1): 133-136 (1994); arum viviparum roxburgh, hort. beng. 65 (1814), (‘vivaparium’), fl. ind. 3: 496 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 6, t. 798 (1844); caladium viviparum (roxb.) loddiges, bot. cab. 3: t. 281 (1818). (fig. 4) corm 2.5-5.0 cm in diameter 1.5-4 cm thick, pink-red outside, pinkish white within. bulbiliferous shoots appearing in the vegetative phase but persisting in a more or less decayed state till the next flowering phase, 10-30 cm long, 5-7 cm thick; bulbils clustered, 4-5 mm long. petioles upto 30 cm long, very shortly sheathing at base. leaf blade broadly ovate, peltate, 12-42 x 8-30 cm, acuminate, cordate; nerves 3-4 on either side of the midrib and 2-3 from the basal costae. flowering very rare and usually four new records of aroids for bangladesh 45 produced before leaf. peduncle 6-20 cm long, 5-8 mm diam., surrounded by about 7 cataphylls, cataphylls exceeding the peduncle. spathe about 17 cm long, tube ovoid, green, 3-5 cm long; limb at first erect, later reflexed and ultimately deciduous, yellow, broadly obovate, abruptly apiculate, about 5.5-13 cm long, 9.5 cm wide; tube and limb separated by a constriction. spadix slightly exceeding the spathe tube, sessile, 5-7 cm long; male and female floriferous zones separated by 1.5-2 cm long neuter zone; male fig. 4. remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott. (a) habit in flower with bulbiliferous shoots (x 0.23); (b) habit with bulbiliferous shoots (× 0.4); (c) tubercle (× 4); (d) inflorescence (× 0.29); (e) spadix (× 0.71); (f) top view of synandrium (× 10); (g) side view of synandrium (× 6); (h) pistil (× 6); (i) longitudinal section of pistil (× 6). 46 ara and hassan zone clavate, 1-1.5 cm long, 0.5 cm in diameter.; female zone subcylindric, green, 2 cm long, 0.8 cm in diameter. ovary ovoid, unilocular with numerous, orthotropous ovules on 3-4 parietal placentae, stigma sessile, discoid; staminate flowers represented by shortstalked synandria of 4-6 anthers, cream coloured, dehiscing by apical pores. flowring and fruiting time: march to may. specimens examined: maulvi bazar district: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 03. 07. 2005, hosne ara ha 1770 (dacb); 07.09.2005, hosne ara ha 2214 (dacb). ecology: grows in subtropical forests and midland in moist clefts of trees or rocks leaf. geographical distribution : indo-malesia, africa, madagascar and australia. note: this species can easily be distinguished from all other species by its epiphytic habit and stout, simple erect bulbiliferous stolons produced from the corm. references ara, h. 2000. colocasia fallax schott (araceae)a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 85-87. ara, h. 2001. an annotated checklist of aroids in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 19-34. ara, h. 2001. steudnera colocasiifolia k. koch (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 99-102. ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2003. gonatopus boivinii (decne.) engl. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(1): 49-51. ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2005. new records of three aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 25 32. ara, h. and khatun, b. m. r. 2002. amorphophallus longituberosus (engl.) engl. et gehrm (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9 (1): 81-84. ara, h., khan, m. s. and hassan, m. a. 1998. five new records of aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 97-100. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. alocasia decipiens schott (araceae) -a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 61 64. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. caladium bicolor (aiton) ventenat (araceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 33(1): 75-77. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. scindapsus scortechinii hook. f. (araceae) -a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 91 94. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2005. aglaonema modestum schott ex engler (araceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 49-51. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2001. ariopsis peltata nimmo (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 159-160. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2002. alocasia navicularis c. koch et bouche (araceae)-a new record for angiospermic plants of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2): 135-137. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2002. homalomena gigantea engl. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 67-69. four new records of aroids for bangladesh 47 ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2003. colocasia heterochroma h. li et z. x. wei (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(2): 129-131. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2003. homalomena coerulescens jungh. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 81-84. calder, c.c., narayanaswamy, v. and ramaswami, m.s. 1926. list of the species and genera of indian phanerogams not included in sir, j. d. hooker's "flora of british india". rec. bot. surv. ind. 11(1): 1-157. croat, t. b. 1979. the distribution of araceae. in: larsen, k. & holm-nielsen, l. b. (eds.), tropical botany, academic press, london. pp. 291-308. engler, a. 1915. das pflanzenreich 64(iv. 23 dc.) bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 26-28. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j. d. 1893. aroideae. flora of british india 6. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 490-556. huq, a. m. and khan, m. s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. studies. part b 32(2): 19-31. karthikeyan, s., jain, s. k., nayar, m. p. and sanjappa, m. 1989. florae indicae enumeratio: monocotyledonae. flora of india series 4. botanical survey of india. brabourne road, calcutta, pp. 1435. khan, m. s., rahman, m. m., huq, a. m., mia, m. m. k. and hassan, m. a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. khan, m.s. and huq, a. m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wild-life sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. mayo, s. j.1985. flora of tropical east africa. araceae. balkema, rotterdam, pp.1-71. mia, m. m. k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2 (1&2): 25-45. nicolson, d. h. 1969. a revision of the genus aglaonema (araceae). smithsonian contrib. bot. 1 : 47-50. nicolson, d. h. 1987. araceae. in: dassanayake, m. d. and fosberg, f. r. (eds.). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 6. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 17 101. noltie, h. j. 1994. flora of bhutan, 3(1). royal botanic garden, edinburgh, uk, pp.121-158. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint (1963), botanical survey of india (calcutta), pp. 830-840. rahman, m. a and uddin, s. b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakundu in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m. o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m. o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rao, a. s. and verma, d. m. 1976. materials towards a monocot flora of assamv. bull. bot. surv. ind. 18 (1-4): 8-34. rashid, m. h., rahman, e. and rahman, m. a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. 48 ara and hassan sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9(2): 110-111. uddin, m. z., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. alocasia fallax schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 87-90. uddin, m. z., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. amorphophallus napalensis (wall.) bogner and mayo (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 153-155. uddin, s. b. and rahman, m. a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s. n., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. rhaphidophora hongkongensis schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 111-114. uddin, s. n., khan, m. s., hassan, m. a. and alam, m. k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. introduction wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 131-137, 2006 (december) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh : family entodontaceae hamida khatun1 and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous mosses, hypnobryales, entodontaceae, bangladesh abstract three species, namely, erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens under family entodontaceae are described with illustrations and a short note on each. introduction recent studies on the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh (khatun and hadiuzzaman 1994, 1995, 2003, 2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2005b, 2006) revealed that among different groups of pleurocarpous mosses, the members of the family entodontaceae are not common. tixier (1967) studied some bryophytes based upon some collections from kaptai, cox’s bazar and hills of sitakund in bangladesh. he reported a number of pleurocarpous mosses only in the form of checklist which included erythrodontium julaceum from entodontaceae. nonetheless, a recent study on pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh revealed that the family entodontaceae of the order hypnobryales is represented by three species under three genera and these are erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens. in his monograph on mosses of eastern india and the adjacent regions, gangulee described all the three species (gangulee 1980), but did not give any information on their occurrence in bangladesh. furthermore, he mentioned entodon flavescens as endemic to the himalayas and pterigynandrum decolor as an endemic species of eastern himalayas. in this paper three species, namely, erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens, belonging to the family entodontaceae have been described and illustrated along with their distribution. an artificial key to the genera and species, and distinguishing characters of each species are also given here. family: entodontaceae medium-sized, slender, glossy plants in loose tuft. main stem creeping, irregularly to pinnately or sub-pinnately branched, branches generally julaceous. stem and branch leaves more or less similar, leaves crowded in many rows, usually appressed at least when dry, sometimes more or less complanate, mostly symmetric of various shape. costa 1corresponding author. 132 khatun and hadiuzzaman none or very short, double and delicate. leaves linear to oblong-linear, smooth, those at the basal angle quadrate and rectangular or transversely rectangular, sometimes in many oblique rows, alar very much differentiated. key to the genera of entodontaceae: 1. leaf cells smooth, alar cells forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half way up the margins erythrodontium cells smooth or papillose, alar not as above 2 2. alar cells in many rows, quadrate, upper leaf cells short-rhomboid pterigynandrum alar cells not in many rows, irregular in shape, upper leaf cells not shortrhomboid but elongated entodon genus: erythrodontium hamp. in vid. medd. naturh. for. kjobenh. ser. 3, 2: 279 (1870) slender to moderately robust. stem elongate, branch rigid, more or less julaceous. leaves imbricate when dry, broadly oval or ovate-oblong, shortly apiculate from a strong decurrent base. leaf cells narrowly elliptic, alar cells in oblique series, rounded-quadrate or transversely rectangular, forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half length of leaf. 1. erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par. in index. bryol.: 436 (1896) (plate 1) neckera julacea hook. ex schwaegr. in sp. musc. suppl. 3(1): 245 (1828) pterogonium squarrosum griff. in cal. j. nat. hist. 3: 63 (1843) pterogonium squarrosulum mont. in lond. j. bot. 4: 9 (1845) leptohymenium julaceum (schwaegr.) hamp. in linnaea 20: 83 (1847) pterogonium julaceum (schwaegr.) hook. in c. muell. syn. 2: 101 (1850) neckera squarrulosa c . muell in syn., 2: 101 (1850) pterogonium squarrulosum mont. in syn.: 21(1856) ortho. err. stereodon juliformis mitt. in musci ind. or.: 92 (1859) platygyrium julaceum (schwaegr.) bosch & lac. in bryol. java. 2: 107, 217 (1864) p. squarrosulum (mont.) jaeg. in ber. s. gall. naturw.ges. 1876-77: 277 (1878) entodon julaceus (schwaegr.) c. muell. in linnaea 42: 435 (1879) erythrodontium juliforme (mitt.) par. in index bryol.: 436 (1896) erythrodontium squarrulosum ( mont.) par. in index bryol.: 437 (1896) plant rigid, glossy, golden-green, brown in old, slender to moderately robust. stem elongate, prostrate, 5 cm or more long, branched, branches narrow, short, irregularly closely pinnate, julaceous, erect. leaves dense, terete, imbricate, closely appressed to stem when dry, oval or ovate-oblong when moist, c.1.04 mm long and 0.6 mm wide with suddenly narrowed short tip from a decurrent base, margin entire, nerveless. leaf cells narrowly elliptic to linear c. 37.92 × 13.2 µm at tip, c. 57.7 × 8.2 µm at middle. alar pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 133 rounded-quadrate, transversely rectangular, c. 17.5 × 8.7 µm forming large conspicuous triangular patches of cells extending obliquely about half way up the margins (length of the leaf) render it easily distinguishable. plate 1. erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c-e. leaves (×24), f. basal laminal cells (×200), g. apical laminal cells (×200), h. middle laminal cells (×200). specimens examined: this species is widely distributed all over the country. however, specimens were collected from the following districts: barisal (656, 660, 768), 134 khatun and hadiuzzaman brahmanbaria (155), bhola (728, 1336), bogra (1295), chittagong (760), dhaka (757, 1004), faridpur (514, 1441), rangamati (693), jamalpur (1292, 1323), jessore (695, 1423), khulna (1322), kushtia (692), madaripur (701), moulvi bazar (1287, 1408), mymensingh (637), narayanganj (644, 1324), naogaon (1203), noakhali (978), norsingdi (1348, 1510), rangamati (693), rangpur (1293), sirajganj (1448), sylhet (691, 27) and tangail (643). note: this species is distinguished by its brown (in old plants), rigid, julaceous habit, ovate, suddenly narrowed, short-tipped, ecostate leaves, basal angles on both sides with large triangular patches of transverse rectangular cells reaching to a considerable length on two margins. genus: pterigynandrum hedw. in sp. musc. : 80 (1801) pterigynandrum hedw. in lindb.: musc. scand.: 36 (1879) ortho. err. plants slender to medium sized, brownish mats. primary stems prostrate, branches elongate, slightly julaceous, irregularly closely branched. leaves closely imbricate, appressed when dry, slightly concave, ovate-oblong, small and narrowly acuminate, base decurrent, margin entire, nerve indistinct, sometimes distinct. cells linear-rhomboid, shorter at apex, alar cells in oblique series, rounded-quadrate and transversely rectangular, forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half way up the margins. 2. pterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) broth. in nat. pft. 1(3): 892 (1907) (plate 2) stereodon decolor mitt. in musci ind. or.: 92 (1859) pylaisia brevifolia wils. in mitt. : id., nom. nud. in synon. pterigynandrum brandisii c. muell. in fleisch. : hedwigia, 59: 218 (1917) nom. nud. leptopterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) fleisch. in musci fl. buitenz., 4: 1496 (1923) creeping, branches filamentous, rigid, deep green to brownish-green, more or less glossy plants in tufts, branches terete and sometimes slightly flattened. leaves dense, erectropatent, appressed to stem when dry, in more than one row, slightly concave, ovate, acuminate, c. 0.84 × 0.45 mm, margin smooth or entire. costa usually absent, rarely double, faint, short, about 1/3 to 1/4th of leaf length. leaf cells rhomboid, non-papillose, non-porous, irregularly rhomboid at tip, c. 17.25 × 5.25 µm, irregularly elongaterectangular at mid base c. 6.72 × 8 µm, rhomboid at mid above c. 6.7 × 25.5 µm, a few rows at basal angle are short as alar and transversely elongated c. 18.66 × 13.23 µm. main stem leaves and branch stem leaves similar, but branch leaves slightly larger in size. sporophyte not found. specimen examined: comilla (227), moinamoti, on the bark of tree. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 135 note: the species is distinguished by its creeping stem, ovate, elongated-rhomboid cells, shorter at apex, number of rows of cells at both basal angles and transversely elongated as alar. genus entodon c. muell. in linnaea 18: 704 (1845) plate 2. pterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) broth. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells (×133), f. upper middle laminal cells (×300), g. apical laminal cells (×300), h. basal middle laminal cells (×133). 136 khatun and hadiuzzaman genus: entodon c. muell. in linnaea 18: 704 (1845) moderately robust, yellow-green mats. main stem creeping, irregularly erect branching, leaves imbricate, ovate-lanceolate, acute, margin entire, costa short, double, cells narrow-linear, at the base large, thickened, alar cells sharply defined, quadrate, hyaline. 3. entodon flavescens (hook.) jaeg. in ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1876-77: 293 (1878) neckera flavescens hook. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 9: 314 (1808) (plate 3) stereodon schwaegricheni mitt. in musci ind. or.: 108 (1859) entodon schwaegrichenii (mitt.) broth. in par. index bryol. ed. 2, 5: 151 (1906) plate 3. entodon flavescens (hook.) jaeg. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells on one side of midrib (×200), f. basal laminal cells on the other side of midrib (×200), g. middle laminal cells (×200), h. middle laminal cells at the upper portion of leaf (×200), i. apical laminal cells (×200). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 137 stem creeping, irregularly pinnately branched. leaves complanate on main stem, triangular ovate-lanceolate c. 1.30 × 0.48 mm. branch leaves erect to erectopatent, ovatelanceolate, concave, tapering at base, c.1.03 × 0.42 mm, apex acute, sometimes acute acuminate, margin almost smooth. costa two, short, unequal. leaf cells elongated elliptic at top c. 26.4 × 6.6 µm, elongate-linear to elliptic at mid lamina c. 45.9 × 9 µm, alar formed of lax quadrate rectangular c. 9.79 × 6.86 µm wide cells, spreading towards costa and becoming narrower and longer above. specimen examined: jessore (188), jessore air force base, on soil. note: this species is distinguished by its ovate-lanceolate leaves, leaf cells elongateelliptic, alar differentiated with quadrate-rectangular, lax, transparent cells. references gangulee, h.c. 1980. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. a monograph. fasc. 8. calcutta , india. 1770-1795, 1802-1824. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2):183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004a. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 43-47. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004b. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family erpodiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 29-32. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005a. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 53-57. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005b. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 71-84. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2006. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family symphyodontaceae and amblystegiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 29-40. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. dacca univ. stud. 15(b): 1-14. (manuscript received on 11 october 2006; revised on 26 november 2006) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 41-47, 2006 (june) desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh: 3. genus staurastrum meyen (2) a.k.m. nurul islam and nasima akter department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: desmids, staurastrum, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with 13 taxa belonging to desmid genus staurastrum meyen from some selected areas of bangladesh. of these, eight taxa are new records for bangladesh and two taxa are new to science. introduction this is in continuation of the previous work on desmids collected from some selected areas of bangladesh and published under the same title in the same journal (islam and akter 2004). the latter paper dealt with the genus staurastrum meyen, in which 30 taxa belonging to it have been described. in the present instalment further addition of 13 taxa belonging to the same genus, not included in the previous paper, have been made. of these taxa included here, eight taxa are new records for bangladesh and two taxa are new to science. the new taxa and new records are marked by the asterisk (*) in the text. materials and methods for details see islam and akter (2004). taxonomy class: chlorophyceae; order: desmidiales; family: desmidiaceae genus: staurastrum meyen 1. *staurastrum excavatum west & west var. spinosum islam and akter var. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 14-15) cell medium-small, with distinct notch-like median constriction; broader than long; cell length without process 11.5 µm; mid-diam. without processes 10.3 µm, with processes 37-54 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm; differs from the typical by its shorter length and greater breadth, and with one large spine at the basal angles of each semicell; additional spines are present on the cell wall and the processes are relatively longer; top view is somewhat twisted; apex with distinct depression. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 42 islam and akter 1. *staurastrum excavatum west & west var. spinosum islam and akter var. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 14-15) cellulis medio-parvus, cum mediano incisura distinctus; aspectus apicalis aliquantum tortus; membrana cellulis spinosus; apicalis cum dipressio distinctus; cellulis sine processibus 11.5 µm longis; medio-diam. sine processibus 10.3 µm, cum processibus 37-54 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm; varieties a typo divergens a longitudo brevis; diametro latus, et unus spina ad angulis basalis et semicellulis; membrana cellulis spinosus. typus: pl. 1 figs. 14-15; type locality: a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district. on 12 september 1989. 2. *st. indentatum west and west fa. minus scott & prescott (pl. 1, figs. 5-6) (scott & prescott 1961, 96, pl. 50, figs. 8,9) in cell shape and ornament this form is similar to the typical form, but is much smaller and with shorter processes; cell length 34-37 µm; mid-diam at base without processes 17.1 µm; with processes 59-62.5 µm; isthmus 5.7-7.1 µm; a form with two large spines at the apex of the semicell; arms more or less horizontal. specimens studied: collection no.kg3, from a rice-field near the kaliganj railway station, district gazipur; collected on 4 november, 1989; common in the collection. 3. st. leptocladum var. cornutum west & west (islam and haroon 1980, pl. 17: 243) cell l. without spines 36.9 µm; l. with processes 38.8 µm; mid-diam without processes 17.1 µm, with processes 82.4 µm; isthmus 7.1 µm; the process are horizontally elongted; dentatum at the base of each semicell present. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, from a rice-field near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 4. *st. leptocladum nordst., var. smithii grönblad (pl. 1, figs. 7-9) (förster 1969, pl. 38: 1; 1974, 179, pl. 24: 1-4) in shape and size it fits well with this variety as shown by förster (1969, pl. 38: 1) from brazil. his illustrations of the same taxon in 1974 are little different; cell length without spine 39.8 µm; mid diam. without processes 17.1 µm, and with processes 85.2 µm; isthmus 5.7 µm broad. specimen studied: collection no. kg3, from a rice-field near kaliganj railway station on 4 november, 1989. 5. *st. leptocladum var. subinsigne scott & grönblad (pl. 1, figs. 10-11) (scott and grönblad 1957, pl. 22: 8) desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 43 plate 1 (figs. 1-16) figs. 1-2. staurastrum saltans var. javanicum; 3-4. st. saltans var. sumatranum; 5-6. st. indentatum fa. minus; 7-9. st. leptocladum var. smithii; 10-11. st. leptocladum var. subinsigne; 12-13. st. subjavanicum sp.nov.; 14-15. st. excavatum var. spinosum var. nov. 16. st. tetracerum. 44 islam and akter cell length with spines 37 µm; mid-diam. at base without processes 20 µm, with processes 75.3 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; note: slightly smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collection no. kg1, from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, on 14 august, 1989. 6. *st. pinnatum turner var. hydra krieger fa. (pl. 2, figs. 19-20) (grönblad et al. 1968, 24, fig. 138). cell small, length without spines 25.6 µm; mid-diam. without process 15.4 µm, with process 36 µm; isthmus 9 µm broad; each semicell with 5 arms or proceses at top view; 2 additional processes at the base of each arm/process; main process/arm is not bifurcated, spines absent on cell wall; it slightly differs from the african specimens shown by grönblad et al. (1968). specimen studied: collection from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, district gazipur, on 14 august 1981 and also from a pond at cox's bazar by squeezing utricularia sp.; common in all collections. 7. *st. pinnatum turner var. hydra krieger fa. supernumerarium scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1961, 101, pl. 46, fig. 7) (pl. 2, figs. 17-18) the cell is similar in shape, size and ornamentation to the variety, but with an extra small quadrifid verruca on the left side of each of the principal processes; cell with processes 24.5 µm long; mid-diam. without process 14.1 µm;, with processes 34.4 µm; isthmus 7.7 µm broad; cell wall with small spines. note: almost similar structure, but poorly drawn, was shown by turner (1892, pl. 13, fig. 28) as st. ornatum (boldt) turner (l. 38 µm; br. 42 µm; isth. 12 µm; process 11 µm). the above forma of scott and prescott (l.c.) is almost similar in size and most likely the same taxon as that of turner (l. 30 µm; br. 44 µm with processes, isthmus 12 µm) specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 8. *st. pinnatum tumer var. simplex turner (pl. 2, figs. 21-22) (turner 1892, pl. 13, fig. 29) cell small, broader than long; cell length with spines 30 µm; mid-diam. without process 20.5 µm, with process 47.5 µm; isthmus 11.5 µm; it is somewhat smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 14 august 1989; common in the collection. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 45 plate 2 (figs. 17-24) figs.17-18. staurastrum pinnatum var. hydra fa. supernumerarium; 19-20. st. pinnatum var. hydra fa.; 21-22. st. pinnatum var. simplex; 23-24. st. pinnatum var. subpinnatum. 46 islam and akter 9. st. pinnatum turner var. subpinnatum w. & w. fa. (pl. 2, figs. 23-24) cell small, slightly broader than long; cell length 35.5 µm; mid-diam. without process 20 µm, with process 54 µm; isthmus 11.4 µm; a form with diverging arm, prominent spine at the base of isthmus, relatively few number of spines on the cell wall; it differs from the typical. specimen studied: collected from a khilkhet beel, dhaka by squeezing the hydrophytes on 6 september, 1989; common in the collection. 10. *st. saltaus joshua var. javanicum scott and prescott (pl. 1, figs. 1-2) (scott and prescott 1961, 105, pl. 57: 8,9) cell length with the spines 37 µm; mid-diam. without processes 22.7 µm, with processes 62.5 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; this is slightly smaller in length than the typical. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district; collected on 12 september, 1989; common in the collection. 11. *st. saltans joshua var. sumatranum scott and prescott. (pl. 1, figs. 3-4) (scott and prescott 1961, 106, pl. 51: 3,4) cell length without spines 34.1 µm; with spines 42.6 µm; mid-diam. without processes 20 µm; with processes 91 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; a form with narrow isthmus. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur distract, collected on 22 september 1989; common in the collection. note: our specimen is like the typical form as shown by scott and prescott (1961, pl. 51, fig. 3). 12. *staurastrum subjavanicum islam and akter sp. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 12-13) cell medium-large, broader than long, with prominent depression/incision at middle; each semicell with 3-radating arms/processes, apical 2 horizontal and the third process developed from almost the mid-region of the semicell, straight but twisted at the base; process margins serrated; apical margin with bifurcated spines, 2 bigger spines one at each apical corner and 4 small spines in between; at the apex; top view triangular with asymmetric arrangement of the central arm; cell length with spines 57 µm; mid-diam. without processes 25.5 µm; with processes 96.5 µm; isthmus 14.2 µm broad; bifurcated spines are present at the base of each arm/process. holotype: pl. 1, figs. 12-13; collection no. utt1, collected from a shallow pond (part of an old beel) opposite uttara shopping centre, near zia international airport, dhaka, on 6 september 1989; rare in the collection. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 47 staurastrum subjavanicum islam and akter sp. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 12-13) cellulis medio-grandis, latus quam longior, medianus incisura/depressus nonprofundus; semicellulis cum triprocessus, 2-apicalis horizontalis, tertius irregularis, basalis tortus; marginem processus serratis; marginem apicalis cum medio spinis bifidus ad centralis, et unus spina in quoque angulis apicalis; cellulis 57 µm longis cum spinis; medio-diam. sine processes 25.5 mm, cum processus 96.5 µm; isthmus 14.2 µm latus; bifid spinis in quoque basalis ad processus. holotypus: pl. 1, figs. 12-13. 13. *st. tetracerum ralfs (pl. 1, fig. 16) (grönblad et al. 1968, 25, pl. 9, figs. 140, 141; scott & prescott 1961, 112, pl. 57, fig. 12) cell length without processes 8.9 µm; mid-diam. without processes 7.7 µm, with processes 19.2 µm; isthmus 3.8 µm; in shape and size it is similar to sierra leone material shown by gönblad et al. (1968). specimen studied: collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station; gazipur district, on 14 august 1989; common in the collection no. kg1. references förster, k. 1969. amazonische desmidiaceen. amazonia, 2: 5-116, + pl. 1-56. grönblad, r., scott, a.m. and croasdale, h. 1968. desmids from sierra leone, tropical west africa. acta bot. fennica, 78: 1-41. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh. 2. genus staurastrum meyen. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 15-28. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. rev. ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. scott, a.m. and grönblad, r. 1957. new and interesting desmids from the southern united states. acta soc. sci. fennicae, n.s. 811(8): 1-62 + pls. 1-37. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia, 17: 1-132 + pl.s. 1-63. turner, w.b. 1892. freshwater algae of east india. kg. sv. vet. akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187 + pls. 1-23. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 105-108, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh b. m. rezia khatun, md. oliur rahman1 and syeda sharmeen sultana bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: hydrocotyle verticillata; new record; bangladesh. the genus hydrocotyle l. belongs to the family apiaceae consists of about 100 species distributed throughout temperate and tropical region of the world (airy-shaw, 1897). in the indian subcontinent clarke (1879) reported 5 species of hydrocotyle from the british india, namely, h. javanica thunb., h. burmanica kurz, h. conferta wight, h. rotundifolia roxb. and h. asiatica l. prain (1903) documented only 2 species of hydrocotyle viz. h. rotundifolia roxb. and h. asiatica l. from the then bengal. this genus is represented by a single species hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. (h. rotundifolia roxb.) in bangladesh (rahman, 2008). recently a specimen of the genus hydrocotyle was collected from azimpur of dhaka city. after critical study, it has been identified as hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. with the help of britton and brown (1913). hydrocotyle verticillata is distinguished from h. sibthorpioides lam. by having verticillate inflorescence, larger leaflets and longer petiole. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. was not reported earlier from the areas that now falls under the present territory of bangladesh by the workers of this region, viz. clarke (1879), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1926), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), rahman et al. (2001), rashid and mia (2001), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b), hossain et al. (2005), alam et al. (2006) and islam et al. (2009). hence, it is being reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic account along with illustration of the plant has been made based on the fresh materials. the collected specimen has been preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka (dacb). hydrocotyle verticillata thunb., diss. hydrocotyle 2: t. 5 (1778). briton & brown, an illustrated flora of the northern united states, canada and the british possession 2: 649 (1913). hydrocotyle vulgaris thunb., flora of capensis: 252 (1782). (plate 1) a perennial, glabrous, succulent, prostrate herb, 10-15 cm long. stem creeping, rooting at the nodes, with long stolon. leaves simple, alternate, leaflets c. 2.0-5.0 x 2.56.0 cm, orbicular-reniform, rather broader than long, palmately lobed, margin very 1corresponding author. present address: department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. e-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 106 khatun et al. plate 1. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (a) habit sketch (x1); (b) a flower (×25); (c) l.s. of a flower (×25); (d) a corolla (×20); (e) stamen (×25); (f) a stigma (×25); (g) a fruit (×20). hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae) 107 coarsely repand-serrate, shiny, blackish-green above, pale beneath, smooth, prominently veined; petiole c. 8-25 cm long. inflorescence c. 5-25 cm long, arising from the axil of the leaves; peduncle 3-13 cm long with at least 2-6 verticillate flowers clustered at 1-3 cm apart, each cluster consisting 6-12 flowers. flowers greenish to creamy-white, starshaped, small; pedicel very short, 2-3 mm long in fruit; perienth 5, c. 1.5 × 1.0 mm, ovate-acute, each flower subtended by a minute bract at the base. stamens usually 5. ovary orbicular, glabrous; style filiform, divericate. fruits sub-orbicular, 1.0-1.5 × 2.02.5 mm, broader than long, laterally compressed with prominent ribs. flowering and fruiting: november january, also between march may. specimen examined: dhaka: azimpur residential area, 10.11.2007, b.m. rezia khatun, rk 5702 (dacb). ecology: grows in moist and waste places, by the side of drains of sewerage line and in shady moist soil. economic value: used as background in aquarium, garden pond, sometimes used as indoor plant in america. distribution: native of north and south america, distributed in canada, denmark, france, puerto rico and hawaii. acknowledgement the authors would like to thank mahmuda akhter, artist-cum-illustrator of bangladesh national herbarium for the illustration. references airy-shaw, h.k. 1897 (reprinted 1980). a dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns by j. c. willis (ed. 8). cambridge university press, england. alam, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2006. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of gagotia union under kapasia upazila in gazipur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 155-170. brighton, n.l. and brown, a. 1913. an illustrated flora of the northern united states, canada and the british possessions. vol. 2. p. 649. clarke, c.b. 1879. umbelliferae. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india. vol. 2. pp. 665-669. cowan, j.m. 1926. flora of chakaria sunderbans. rec. bot. surv. india 11(1): 209-211. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. pp. 17-26. hossain, m.m., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2005. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85-96. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. 108 khatun et al. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35-37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts 2. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 63-68. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 76-78. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d.1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 390-391. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rahman, m.m. 2008. apiaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperm: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 162-163. rahman, m.m., rashid, m.h. and rashid, s.h. 2001. assessment of plant biodiversity of sand dune ecosystem along cox's bazar to teknaf coast. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 27-45. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a.1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rashid, s.h. and mia, m.m.k. 2001. angiospermic flora of madhupur national park, tangail, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 63-82. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 92-94. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox's bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 43-46. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. (manuscript received on 26 april 2010; revised on 18 may 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167-169, 2007 (december) short communication new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas md. almujaddade alfasane1 and moniruzzaman khondker2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: new records, phytoplankton, lepocinclis, phacus, pteromonas in bangladesh, the genus phacus is so far represented by 40 species and lepocinclis by 10 species (islam and khatun 1966, islam et al. 1991, islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, islam and irfanullah 2003, 2005). on the other hand, the genus pteromonas is represented by a single species, pteromonas aculeata lemm. var. lemmermanni skuja (islam and alfasane 2002). recently, studies made on some new collections of algal material revealed the occurrence of few more taxa to the above-mentioned genera so far unreported from bangladesh, namely, phacus horridus and lepocinclis ovum var. globula of euglenaceae and pteromonas angulosa of phacotaceae. the samples for the present study were collected from a small temporary rainwater pocket created on the ground in ramna park, dhaka city and from an industrially polluted pond at fatullah in narayanganj district. water samples from both the habitats were blackish to greenish in colour, and mixed with fine sand and organic particles of moderate concentration. the algal samples were fixed with formalin-aceto-alcohol (faa), examined under microscope, and photo-micrographed. the newly recorded taxa are described below. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales family: euglenaceae 1. phacus horridus pochmann (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 239, 55: 343; dillard 2000, 58, 9: 1) cells oval or spoon-shaped, lateral margins parallel, anterior end broad and posterior end sometimes abruptly produced into a straight or slightly bent caudus. cells 46 µm long and 27 µm broad, caudus 7 µm long. pellicle ornamented with disposed rows of small posteriorly directed spines, caudal region devoid of ornamentation. number of longitudinal rows of spines per 10 µm is 6-7 in the middle of the cell, number of individual spine along the axes in 10 µm is 7-8. ramna park, dhaka, 13.01.2005. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 2e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 168 alfasane and khondker 2. lepocinclis ovum var. globula (perty) lemm. [syn.: phacus ovum var. globula klebs.] (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 152, 30: 158) cells broadly ovate, anterior end broadly rounded, sometimes slightly indented, posterior end produced into a short caudus. cells 27 µm long and 24 µm broad. flagellum about cell length. pellicular striations with a left-hand spiral (not visible in the present specimen). chloroplasts discoid. paramylon bodies 2 large rings, 7 µm long and 2.5 µm broad. ramna park, dhaka, 13.01.2005. figs. 1-3. 1. phacus horridus, 2. lepocinclis ovum var. globula, 3a-b. pteromonas angulosa, (a. two individuals in opposite direction, b. a single individual). (bar = 10 µm) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 169 division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales family: phacotaceae 3. pteromonas angulosa (carter) lemm. [syn.: pteromonas alata cohn, seligo; phacotus alatus dang.; p. angulosus stein; cryptoglena alata carter] (figs. 3a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 587, 119: 827; dillard 2000, 27, 4: 11) lorica ovoid, posterior broadly rounded, anterior widely flat, apical view with two curved wings, 20 µm long and 17 µm broad. protoplast broadly ovoid, margin smooth, 11 µm long and 8 µm broad with an anterior papilla. fatullah, narayanganj, 02.07.2005. acknowledgement the authors are indebted to rinat fauzia, a 4th year b.sc. (honours) student of the department of botany, university of dhaka for bringing the collection from narayanganj. references dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae . bibl. phycol. vol. 106. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 1-135 + pls. 20. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4. teil: euglenophyceen. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-606 + pls. 114. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1961. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-744 + pls. 158. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh ii: lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15-26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2003. freshwater algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 33-45. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. (manuscript received on 6 may 2007; revised on 10 may 2007) md. almujaddade alfasane1 and moniruzzaman khondker2 division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglen family: euglenaceae division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocal family: phacotaceae acknowledgement references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61, 2006 (june) ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati district mohammed yusuf, md. abdul wahab, jasim uddin chowdhury and jaripa begum bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong-4220, bangladesh key words: ethno-medico-botany, kaukhali, betbunia, rangamati abstract a survey was carried out between july 2001 and june 2002 in kaukhali proper and betbunia area of rangamati district to document the medicinal plants of that area and their uses. during this work 34 species representing 23 genera and 17 families were found, which are used by the chakma and marma tribes and the bangalis living there for the treatment of 31 diseases. botanical and tribal names of the plants, parts used, name of the diseases, and name of the users have been mentioned. introduction kaukhali proper is about 10 km west to rangamati town. betbunia is a union under kaukhali p.s. situated about 9 km south of kaukhali proper and about 18 km south-west to rangamati town. being a hilly area they are rich in floral diversity. inhabitants of those areas are mostly tribal, dominated by chakma and marma. many of them still depend on local medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases. a good number of bangali families are also living there. they also use quite a good number of medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases. in recent years due to development of good communication, modern doctors and medicines have reached there, resulting decline in the use of traditional medicine. therefore the knowledge of traditional use of medicinal plants by the local people is likely to be lost in near future, and for this it is necessary to document as much as possible the existing available information. only a limited work has been done on the tribal folk medicine in the chittagong hilltracts i.e., alam 1992, chakma, et al. 2003, rahman et al. 1998; rahman and uddin 1998, rahman 2003, uddin 2001, yusuf et al. 2002. keeping this in mind this survey was done to document those valuable ethno-medico-botanical knowledge. the survey was carried out for about a year. during this work 34 species representing 23 genera and 17 families were documented which are used for the treatment of 31 diseases. local names of those plants, parts used, method of use and doses are mentioned. 56 yusuf et al. materials and methods uses of medicinal plants have been documented on ethnobotanical data sheet by interviewing tribal healers and elderly people of the study areas, namely, kaukhali and betbunia. the study was made for about one year, between july 2001 and june 2002 by repeatedly visiting the areas in different seasons to get the information on the plants. the information were verified by repeated inquiries and asking the tribal healers as far as possible. the voucher specimens of most of the species have been collected, identified and preserved in the herbarium of bcsir laboratories, chittagong. plants are arranged alphabetically by their botanical names followed by tribal names, family names and voucher number. in case of most common and well-known plants voucher number has not been mentioned. results and discussion data collected on the uses of medicinal plants by the tribes and bangali of the study areas are given below in the tabular form (table 1) uses of the following 18 plants described above viz., abrus sp., alocasia cuculata, alstonia scholaris, asparagus acerosus, boreria articularies, clerodendrum indicum, costus speciosus, desmodium triquetrum, pavetta sp. leucas zeylanica, leucas aspera, mitracarpus hirtus, ocimum americanum (citral type), plumbago zeylanica, pouzolzia zeylanica, scoparia dulcis, sida orientalis, synedrilla nodiflora do not match with the reports consulted. probably the usage is new so far known. additional uses along with the reported one was documented in case of achyranthes aspera, acorus calamus, amaranthus spinosus and rauvolfia serpentina (kirtiker and basu1975, alam et al. 1996, khan et al. 2002, chakma et al. 2003). in case of cassia fistula same use was reported for bark and wood (kirtiker 1975) instead of fruit pulp as recorded here. marma tribe uses the root of plumbago zeylanica in case of suppression of menses. it has a rational basis, because “plumbagin” contained in the root has stimulant effect on muscular tissue of uterus and on nervous system (kirtikar and basu 1975). it was observed during the investigation that tribal of betbunia and kaukhali generally use single plant for the preparation of medicine, rarely two or more than two plants. but the bangalis in kaukhali were found to use a number of plants instead of single plant. moreover, they use some minerals also, which was not found in tribal preparations. probably this is due to the influence of ayurvedic and unani systems of medicine on them. the local people reported during the investigations that the number of tribal practitioners has declined to only a few now-a-days than in the past. table 1. ethno-medico-botanical data from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati. scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses abrus precatorious l. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1190 bengali. kunch, rati, jostimadhu kaukhali gastric pain dry roots of this plant along with the dry leaves of coccinea cordifolia, cassia angustifolia and whole herb of ipomea quamoclit, cleome viscosa and clitoria ternatea are pounded together and pills (size of a small marble) made from this is given orally. dose: 1 tablet daily in the morning with water (users: bangali). abrus sp. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1098 marma yattaripru betbunia urinary arrest/ oliguria root paste mixed with rice-socked water is prescribed orally. dose: 1 cup twice daily for 3 days (users: marma). achyranthes aspera l. (amaranthaceae) marma chainchi betbunia impotency, jaundice, dropsy root paste is given orally with honey for impotency. dose: 1 teaspoonful once daily for 3-4 days. in jaundice and dropsy, necklets made of root pieces worn on head and kept till cure (users: marma). acorus calamus l. (araceae) voucher no.1106 marma laonochi betbunia paralysis, epileptic faint rhizome paste along with the bile of python and fruits of myristica fragrans is rubbed on the affected parts in paralysis. bruised leaves are put before nose of the patient of epilepsy for relief (users: marma). albizia procera benth. (leguminosae) chakma sadakoroi betbunia thread worm fresh leaves or paste of the young leaves are prescribed orally along with rice. dose: teaspoonful of paste twice daily for 2-3 days (users: chakma). allium sativum l. (liliaceae) chakma rasun betbunia localized baldness (alopecia) blood of monopterous cuchia is applied over head after cleaning and then paste of garlic is applied along with the jhul i.e., spider net along with dirt (users: chakma). alocassia cuculata schott.( araceae) voucher no. 1104 marma sapposraku betbunia hardness of abdomen (peterdhola) rhizome paste is swallowed along with ripe banana. dose: about a tablespoonful once daily for 2-3 days (users: marma). alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. (apocynaceae) voucher no. 1100 marma chailoi betbunia arthritic pain leaf paste is warmed and applied as a poultice twice daily over affected parts. (users: marma). amaranthus spinosus l. ( amaranthaceae) chakma kata marish betbunia fever and ranikhet disease in chicken root extract along with the fruit of myristica fragrens is given in fever along with rice soaked water. dose: half glass twice daily for three days. infant dose is half. in ranikhet of chicken root juice mixed with boiled rice and cow dung is prescribed. dose: half teaspoon 2-3 times a day (users: chakma). scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses asparagus acerosus roxb. (liliaceae) voucher no. 1097 marma saktichara, chulanopay betbunia arthritis, leucorrhoea, abdominal pain paste of the roots along with other ingredients is given orally. dose: one teaspoon twice daily for a week for arthritis and leucorrhoea and one table spoon twice for one day in abdominal pain (users: marma). borreria articularies (l.f.) f.n.will. ( rubiaceae) voucher no. 1162 bengali – ekdaira kaukhali bronchitis dried leaves of this plant along with the leaves of nyctanthes arbortristis is grind together and tablet (size of a pea) made and given orally. dose: 1 tablet twice daily for 15 days (users: bangali). cassia alata l. (leguminosae) chakma dadgach betbunia thread worm decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally before meal at night. dose: one glassful for 2 days (users: chakma). c. fistula l. (leguminosae) marma miaopiga betbunia dysentery inner portion of the young fruit is prescribed orally. dose: small amount (5-6 gms) twice daily for a week (users: marma). c. occidentalis l. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1101 marmakajor betbunia respiratory problem decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally. dose: half cup of decoction twice daily for 2-3 days (users: marma). clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze. (verbenaceae) voucher no. 1196 bengali ekdaira gach kaukhali carbuncle leaves of the plants along with the whole herb of commelina diffusa, cynodon dactylon and plumbago indica is made into paste and applied over the carbuncle. it is applied after washing with warm water and continues for a week (users: bangali). c. viscosum l. (verbenaceae) voucher no. 1096 marma vegach betbunia poisonous insect bite paste of few young leaves is applied as a poultice on the affected area (users: marma). costus speciosus (koinig) sm. (costaceae) marma kedogi betbunia pus in ear juice of the roasted stem of the plant is squeezed out and given as a drop in ear. dose: few drops 2-3 times a day for three days (users: marma). cyathula prostrata bl. (amaranthaceae) voucher no. 1086,1163 chakma & bangali – uphutlengra betbunia and kaukhali urinary calculi, headache in betbunia, red iron dipped in to the juice of the root and the juice is prescribed orally for urinary calculi. dose: half cup of juice twice daily. in primary stage 3 doses only. in kaukhali garland made from the root pieces is tie on head to get relief from headache (users: chakma & bangali). scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses desmodium triquetrum dc. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1092 marma pha loy joy betbunia threadworm, bleeding piles decoction of the fresh leaves is prescribed orally. dose: 2 teaspoon 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days in both the cases (users: marma). holarrhena pubescens (buch.ham.)wall. (apocynaceae) chakma kuruch betbunia dysentery paste of the bark is prescribed along with curd. dose: 1 table spoon twice daily for three days (users: chakma). kaempferia parviflora l. (zingiberaceae) voucher no. 1089 chakma kala halud betbunia poisonous insect bite paste of the rhizome and leaf is applied as poultice on bite area. k. rotunda l. (zingiberaceae) voucher no. 1105 marma bhujuraphul betbunia scabies, wound paste of the rhizome along with some other ingredients (untoled) is applied as a poultice. it is applied once daily for a week. leucas aspera (willd.) link. (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1164 bengali – shetadron, donkalash kaukhali earache, arthritic pain slightly wormed leaf juice is pour into ear to cure earache. for arthritic pain leaves are cooked and taken as vegetables. l. zeylanica (l.) r.br. (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1095 marma paichangcha betbunia convulsion due to fever necklet made with the pieces of roots are tie on arms and legs and kept till cures. melia sempervirens (l.) all. (meliaceae) voucher no. 1157 bengali ghoranim kaukhali skin disease leaf paste of this plant along with camphor, copper sulfate, alum and borax is applied superficially. it is applied twice daily until cure. mitracarpus hirtus (rubiaceae) voucher no. 1161 bengali – padmamukhi kaukhali blood dysentery dried herb, dried mango seed kernel, dried green fruit of aegle mermelos and fruits of terminalia balerica is grind together and tablet (size of a pea) made from the powder is prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablets thrice daily for 5 days. ocimum americanum l.camphor type (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1159 bengali – tulsi kaukhali cataract juice of this plant along with ludwigia hyssopifolia is given in eye as a drop. dose: two drops thrice daily for 7-8 days. scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses ocimum americanum l.citral type (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1090 chakma sabrang betbunia eye disease of chicken leaves rubbed on eyelids 2-3 times daily for 4-5 days. pavetta sp. (rubiaceae) voucher no. 1102 marma sangraimay betbunia menstrual irregularity root paste of this plant along with the root of clerodendrum viscosum and plumbago zeylanica is prescribed orally. dose: 1 tablespoonful 2-3 times a day for a week. plumbago zeylanica l. (plumbaginaceae) voucher no.1099 marma kaincho apru betbunia suppression of menses paste of the root along with the root of clerodendrum viscosum is prescribed orally. dose: about a tablespoonful once daily for 2-3 days. pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. (urticaceae) chakma biskatali betbunia pustules paste made from the leaves of this plant along with the leaves of sida rhombifolia is applied as a poultice over pustules to hasten suppuration. rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth.ex kurz. (apocynaceae) voucher no. 1093 chakma surchan betbunia high blood pressure, respiratory problem fresh root juice or dried root powder soaked in water is prescribed orally. dose: 1 teaspoonful twice daily. scoparia dulcis l. (scrophulariaceae) voucher no. 1165 bengali bondhoinna kaukhali jaundice tablet (size of a pea) made from the whole plant along with cardamom, black pepper and borax are prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablet twice daily for 2 weeks. sida orientalis cav. (malvaceae) voucher no. 1167 bengali bailodi kaukhali tumor in the uterus tablet ( size of a marble) made from the leaves of this plant along with the leaves of melochia chorchorifolia, ludwigia hyssopifolia and the flower of nelumbo nucifera are prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablet daily until cure. synedrilla nodiflora gaertn. (asteraceae) voucher no.1094 marma ochonsagor biai betbunia scabies water boiled along with the leaves of this plant is used as a bath for seven days. tagetis erecta l. (asteraceae) bengali genda kaukhali piles leaves of this plant are pounded along with the fruits of phyllanthus emblica, terminalia chebula, t. belerica and roots of glycirhyza glabra and the juice is expressed out. this juice is given orally in piles. dose: 1-2 tablespoonful once daily for 20-21 days. zingiber montanum (koenig) a.dietr. (zingiberaceae) marmapaley betbunia flatulance rhizome paste is prescribed orally. dose: 1 teaspoon 2-3 times a day. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge 61 acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and technology, government of the peoples republic of bangladesh, for providing financial support to carry out this investigation. thanks are also due to the director, bcsir laboratories, chittagong for his generous co-operation and encouragement during the work. references alam, m. k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. alam, m. k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1)49-63. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news, xiii(3) : 3-7. dehra dun, india. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1) : 51-60. kirtikar, k.r. and basu, b.d. reprint 1975. indian medicinal plants vol. i-iv. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, new connaught place, dehrahun. rahman, m.a., 2003. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge among tribals of bangladesh. in: ethnobotany and medicinal plants of indian subcontinent. scientific publisher, jodhpur, india pp. 89-93. rahman, m.a., and uddin, s.b. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of the hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisha, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. uddin, s.b. 2001. a comparative ethnobotanical study among the tribal communities of chittagong hilltracts. bangladesh. ph.d. thesis submitted to the university of aberdeen. yusuf, m., rahman, m..a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j.econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong abstract references 06. yousuf.pdf bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong abstract references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 155-170, 2006 (december) a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of ghagotia union under kapasia upazila in gazipur district, bangladesh mohammad shah alam, md. abul hassan and mohammad zashim uddin1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: preliminary checklist, angiospermic flora, ghagotia union, gazipur, bangladesh abstract angiospermic flora of ghagotia union representing magnoliopsida (dicots) and liliopsida (monocots) have been inventoried after survey during the years of 2004 and 2005. a total of 187 species have been recorded from the area. these have been assigned to 65 families and 160 genera. magnoliopsida is represented by 50 families, 113 genera and 133 species, whereas liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 47 genera and 54 species. introduction ghagotia union is located in kapasia upazila under gazipur district, bangladesh. it lies between 24º07′ and 24º11′ n latitudes and 90º38′ and 90º42′ e longitudes. it is about 70 km north-east from dhaka. the union consists of mainly medium high plain land and low plain land. some small hillocks are also present in the western part of the union which are covered by natural secondary sal (shorea robusta) forest. other parts are covered by homestead vegetation and cultivated lands. ghagotia union is mainly dominated by the extension of shallow upland soil. dissected terrace soil is found in some high ridges and alluvial soil is found in the valleys. the western part of the area is composed of some red and brown clay of the mixed variety of deep dissected terrace soil. the eastern part of the area contains some fertile soil with grey and white-brown plain clay soil (rizvi 1969). the area enjoys a tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from may to october and six months of relatively dry period from november to april. the mean annual rainfall is about 1693 mm. temperature of the area ranges from 21-34°c. the maximum temperature was recorded in april and the minimum was recorded in january during the study period. a number of floristic works have so far been done in greater dhaka district including ismail and mia (1973), alam (1995), hossain et al. (1995), rahman and hassan (1995) and rashid et al. (1995). but no floristic studies are found in the ghagotia union of gazipur district. moreover, the area supports a large number of angiospemic species including herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, epiphytes, parasites and also plenty of hydrophytes. like other parts of the country, the floristic elements of this area is in risk 1corresponding author. 156 alam et al. because of various anthropogenic activities including irrigation and modern agriculture, population settlements and firewood collection and also habitat degradation. in order to make a documentation of the angiospermic vegetation of the area, an attempt has been made to prepare a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic plant species occurring in ghagotia union of gazipur district. materials and methods the work is based on the fresh materials collected through repeated field trips (eight in total) to the area during the years of 2004 and 2005. botanical specimens were collected, and field identification of the collected specimens were confirmed comparing with herbarium specimens at salar khan herbarium (university of dhaka) and bangladesh national herbarium. in some cases, standard literature, such as hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), brandis (1906), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940), bor (1960), khan (1977, 1984, 1985), deb (1981, 1983), matthew (1999a, 1999b, 1999c) and uddin and hassan (2004) were consulted for identification purposes. the specimens were mounted and deposited in the salar khan herbarium, university of dhaka for future references. results in the present survey, a total of 187 angiospermic species under 160 genera and 65 families have been recorded from the ghagotia union. magnoliopsida is represented by 50 families, 113 genera and 133 species, while liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 47 genera and 54 species. the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera under each family and the species under each genus are arranged in an alphabetical order. for each species, nomenclature has been brought up to date and local name (wherever available) and a short annotation is provided. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. annonaceae uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thomson, fl. ind.: 96 (1820). local name: bandor kola. a scandent shrub. 2. lauraceae litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. robinson in philip. j. sci. bot. 6: 321 (1911). sebifera glutinosa lour., fl. cochinch.: 638 (1990). local name: chapaitta. a medium-sized, evergreen tree. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 157 3. piperaceae peperomia pellucida (l.) h.b.k., nov. gen. et. sp. 1: 64 (1815). piper pellucidum l., sp. pl. 1: 30 (1753). local name: luchipata. a small, annual herb. 4. nymphaeaceae nymphaea nouchali burm. f., fl. ind.: 120 (1768). nymphaea pubescens willd., sp. pl. 2: 1154 (1799). local name: shapla. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. n. rubra roxb. ex salisb., parad. london 1: sub. t. 14 (1805). local name: ogul phul. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. n. stellata willd., sp. pl. 2: 1153 (1799). local name: shinduk. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. 5. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) bl., mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 63 (1856). celtis orientalis l., sp. pl.: 1044 (1753). local name: narsa. an evergreen, small tree. 6. moraceae ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local name: bot. a large, spreading tree. f. heterophylla l. f., suppl.: 442 (1781). local name: bhuidumur. a hispid, scandent shrub. f. rumphii bl., bijdr.: 437(1825). local name: guya assawth. a large tree. 7. portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l., sp. pl.: 445 (1753). local name: bara nunia. a prostrate, annual herb. 8. chenopodiaceae chenopodium ambrosioides l., sp. pl.: 219 (1753). an annual, erect herb. 9. amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. 1: 204 (1753). local name: apang. a perennial herb. alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb., abh. ges. goett. wiss 24: 36 (1879). bucholzia phyloxeroides mart., beitr. amar.: 107 (1825). local name: helencha. an annual herb. a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc., cat. hort. monsp.: 77 (1813). gomphrena sessilis l., sp. pl.: 225 (1753). local name: kantanotey. an annual, profusely branched herb. celosia argentea l., sp. pl.: 205 (1753). local name: thainthainna. an annual, erect herb. 158 alam et al. 10. polygonaceae persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach, hist. veg. 10: 536 (1841). polygonum hydropiper l., sp. pl.: 361 (1753). local name: pakurmul. an annual herb. p. minor (huds.) opiz, seenam, rosplin, kbeteny, ceske: 72 (1852). polygonum minus (huds.), fl. angl. 1: 148 (1762). an annual, erect or ascending herb. polygonum plebejum r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 420 (1810). a prostrate or diffuse herb. rumex maritimus l., sp. pl.: 335 (1753). local name: ban palang. an annual herb. 11. dipterocarpaceae shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f., de fruct. 3: 48, t. 186 (1805). local names: gojari, sal. a tall, deciduous tree. 12. tiliaceae microcos paniculata l., sp. pl. 1: 514 (1753). local name: dattoi. a shrub or small tree. 13. malvaceae sida cordata (burm. f.) borss. in blumea 14 (1): 182 (1966). melochia cordata burm. f., fl. ind.: 143 (1768). local name: junka. an annual, prostrate or ascending herb. urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). local name: banokra. an undershrub. 14. lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 97 t. 101 (1791). eugenia acutangula l., sp. pl.: 471 (1753). local name: hizol. a small tree. careya arborea roxb., corom. pl. 3: 14. t. 218 (1811). local name: gadila. a small to medium-sized, deciduous tree. 15. flacourtiaceae flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merril, interpr. rumph. herb. amb.: 377 (1917). gmelina indica burm. f., fl. ind.: 132, t. 39, f. 5 (1768). local name: dephoi gota. a much branched, thorny shrub. f. jangomas (lour.) raeusched. nomencl. bot. 3: 290 (1797). stigmarota jangomas lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 634 (1790). local name: fela gota. a middle-sized tree. 16. cucurbitaceae coccinia grandis (l.) voit., hort. suburb. calcut.: 59 (1845). bryonia grandis l., mant. pl. 1: 126 (1767). local names: kawajhinga,telakucha. a much branched, climbing or prostrate herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 159 17. capparaceae cleome viscosa l., sp. pl.: 672 (1753). local name: hurhuria. an erect, glandularpubescent herb. 18. sapotaceae manilkara hexandra (roxb.) dub. in ann. muss. col. marseille, ser. 3, 3: 9 (1915). mimusops hexandra roxb., pl. cor. 1: 16, t. 15 (1795). local name: khiron gota. a tree with deeply furrowed bark. 19. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 464 (1825). mimosa concinna willd., sp. pl. 4: 1039 (1805). local name: banritha. a prickly shrub. albizia chinensis (osb.) merr., amer. j. bot. 3: 575 (1916). mimosa chinensis osb., degbok ostind. resa.: 233 (1757). local name: mashkala. a tall, unarmed tree. a. procera benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). local name: koroi. a medium sized tree. mimosa pudica l., sp. pl.: 518 (1753). local name: lojjabati. a prickley, woody herb. 20. caesalpiniaceae senna sophera (l.) roxb., mem. n.y. bot. gard. 35: 440 (1982). cassia sophera l., sp. pl.: 279 (1753). local name: jhingi. a woody herb to undershrub. 21. fabaceae (papilionaceae) crotalaria pallida aiton, hort. kew, 2: 20 (1789). local name: bara jhanjhani. an annual herb. desmodium heterophyllum (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 334 (1825). desmodium triflorum wight. & arn., prodr.: 229 (1834). a procumbent herb. erythrina ovalifolia roxb. [hort. beng.: 53 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. 3: 251(1832). local name: mandar. a deciduous, small tree. pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). dolichos phaseoloides roxb., fl. ind. 3: 316 (1832). a herbaceous, pubescent climber. 22. lythraceae lagerstroemia parviflora roxb., pl. corm. 1: 47, t. 66 (1795). local name: tila jarul. a small, bushy tree. l. speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). munchausia speciosa l., mant. pl. 2: 243 (1771). local name: jarul. a large, deciduous tree. 160 alam et al. 23. myrtaceae syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 87 (1832). local name: titijam. a small tree. 24. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). jussiaea adscendens l., mant. 1: 69 (1767). local name: keshardam. a creeping or floating herb. l. hyssopifolia (g. don.) exell. garica de orta 5: 471 (1957). jussiaea hyssopifolia g. don, gen. syst. 2: 693 (1832). a branched herb. 25. melastomaceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl.: 390 (1753). local name: datranga. a shrub. 26. combretaceae terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., pl. corom. 2: 54, t, 198 (1805). myrobalanus bellirica gaertn., de. fruct. semi. 2: 90, t. 97 (1791). local name: bohera. a large tree. 27. rhizophoraceae carallia brachiata (lour.) merr., philip. j. sci. 15: 249 (1919). a small to mediumsized tree with erect trunk. 28. alangiaceae alangium salvifolium (l. f.) wangerin in pfreich 41: 9 (1910). grewia salvifolia l. f. suppl.: 409 (1781). local name: gugur. a small tree. 29. loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. in denschr. akad. wissench. wien. mathem – naturawiss. cl. 32: 52 (1872). loranthus falcatus l. f., suppl. sp. pl.: 221 (1781). a parasite with terete branchlets. macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh., bull. soc. b. fr. 41: 122 (1895). loranthus cochinchinensis lour., fl. cochin. 1: 195 (1790). local name: chhota banda. a stout, parasitic shrub. 30. euphorbiaceae antidesma gaesembilla gaertn., fruct. 1: 189, t. 39 (1788). local name: khudijam. a small tree. aporusa dioica (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 472 (1866). alnus dioica roxb., fl. ind. 3: 580 (1832). a medium-sized, evergreen tree. a. wallichii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 350 (1885). a medium-sized tree. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 161 bridelia retusa (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 3: 48 (1829). clutia retusa l., sp. pl.: 1042 (1753). a medium-sized tree. croton bonplandianum baill., adansonia 4: 339 (1864). an annual herb. gelonium multiflorum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 832 (1832). a medium-sized tree. jatropha curcas l., sp. pl.: 1006 (1753). local name: veron. a large, glabrous shrub or rarely small tree. j. gossypifolia l., sp. pl.: 1006 (1753). local name: lalbherenda. a small shrub. macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 1010 (1866). osyris peltata roxb. (1832). local name: pidali. a small tree. mallotus philippensis (lam.) muell.-arg. in linnaea 34: 196 (1865). croton philippense lam., encycl. meth. b. 2: 209 (1786). a medium-sized tree. phyllanthus reticulatus poir. in lam., encycl. meth. b. 5: 298 (1804). local name: sitki. a large, scandent shrub or small tree. p. urinaria l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). an erect, glabrous, annual herb. putranjiva roxburghii wall., tent. fl. nep.: 61 (1826). local name: phoolgach. a large tree. ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). local name: rerhi. a shrub. trewia nudiflora l., sp. pl. ed. 3: 166 (1753). local name: latim. a deciduous tree. 31. leeaceae leea aequata l., syst. nat. ed. 12, 2: 627 (1767). leea hirta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 469 (1824). local name: pagol gota gach. a shrub. 32. sapindaceae allophyllus cobbe bl., rumph. 3: 131 (1849). local name: chitta. a shrub. erioglossum rubiginossum (roxb.) bl., rumphia 3: 118 (1849). sapindus rubiginossus roxb., fl. corom. 1: 44. t. 62 (1795). local name: hanni gota. a small tree. 33. anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. j. arnold. arbor. 19: 353 (1938). dialium coromandelicum houtt., nat. hist. 2: 39, t. 5, f. 2 (1774). local name: kaphila. a medium-sized, deciduous tree. 34. meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker in ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). aglaia polystachya wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 429 (1824). local name: roonna. a tree with dense spreading crown. 162 alam et al. melia azedarach l., sp. pl.: 384 (1753). local name: gora nim. a medium-sized tree. 35. rutaceae clausena suffruticosa wight & arn., prodr.: 96 (1834). a small shrub. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). limonia pentaphylla retz. obs. bot. 5: 24 (1788). local names: motkila, matmoti. a shrub or small tree. micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wight & arn., prodr. 1: 448 (1834). limonia minutum forst. f., prodr.: 33 (1786). local name: thullui. a bushy shrub. zanthoxyllum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. prodr.: 728 (1824). fagara rhetsa roxb. fl. ind. 1: 437 (1820). local name: bazna. an evergreen, small tree. 36. oxalidaceae oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). local name: amrul. an annual herb. 37. apiaceae (umbelliferae) centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. bras. 11. 1: 287 (1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l., sp. pl. : 234 (1753). local names: manik pata, thankuni. a perennial, trailing herb. 38. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. in mem. wern. nat. hist. s. 1: 75 (1811). echites scholaris l., mant. pl. 1: 53 (1767). local name: chatim. a medium-sized tree. ervatamia coronaria (jacq.) stapf, fl. trop. africa 4(1): 127 (1904). nerium coronarium jacq., ic. pl. rar. 1: 5, pl. 52 (1781). local name: ban marich. a shrub or small tree. holarrhena pubescens (buch.-ham.) wall. ex g. don, gen. syst. 4: 95 (1837). echites pubescens buch.-ham. in trans. linn. soc. 13: 521(1821) local name: kudishar. a shrub. wrightia arborea (dennst.) mabberly in taxon 26: 533 (1977). periploca arborea dennst., schlüs. h. malabar.: 13, 23 (1818). local name: dhudi. a small, deciduous tree. 39. solanaceae nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., elench. pl. hort. dinergo : 26. t. (1802). a slender, erect, annual herb. physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). an annual, glabrous, herb. solanum lasiocarpum dunal, hist. solanum: 222 (1813). solanum indicum l. sp. pl.: 187 (1753). local name: titbegun. an under-shrub with prickles. s. torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47 (1788). local name: bootbegun. a small shrub. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 163 40. convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. geneve. 6: 418 (1833). lettsomea argentea roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey & wall. 2: 79 (1824). a creeping herb. ipomoea aquatica forsk., fl. aeg.-arab.: 44 (1775). local name: kalmilata. a glabrous trailer on water. i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). local name: dholkalmi. a fistular shrub. merremia hederacea (burm. f.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 18 : 118 (1994). evolvulus hederaceus burm. f., fl. ind.: 77, t. 30 (1768). local name: puhilot. a twinner. 41. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local name: swarnalata. a fleshy parasite, forming dense yellow masses on small trees or shrubs. 42. boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl.: 130 (1753). local name: hatisur. an annual, erect herb. 43. verbenaceae callicarpa lanceolaria roxb., fl. ind. 1: 395 (1820). a shrub. clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 506 (1891). siphonanthus indica l. sp. pl. : 109 (1753). a small shrub. c. viscosum vent., gard. malm. 1: t. 25 (1803). local name: vant. a perennial, woody herb to undershrub. lippia javanica (burm. f.) spreng., syst. 2: 752 (1825). an undershrub. vitex negundo l. sp. pl. : 638 (1753). a small tree. 44. lamiaceae (labiatae) anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. : 512 (1891). nepeta indica l. sp. pl. : 571 (1753). annual or perennial bushy undershrub. dysophylla crassicaulis benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1.: 30 (1830). an annual herb. d. verticillata benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 30 (1830). an annual herb. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1100 (1859). local name: tokma. an aromatic herb. leonurus japonicus houtt., nat. hist. pl. 9: 366, t. 57 (1778). leonurus sibiricus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 678 (1885). local name: roktadron. an erect, stout, leafy herb. leucas aspera spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). local name: dorhalash. a herb. 164 alam et al. l. lavandulifolia sm. in rees, cyclop. 20: n. 2 (1819). local names: dorhalash, shetodron. an annual, erect, branched herb. ocimum sanctum l., mart. 1: 85 (1867). local name: kalo tulshi. a much branched, soft hairy, perennial herb. 45. scrophulariaceae limnophylla heterophylla (roxb.) benth., scroph. ind.: 25 (1835). columnea heterophylla roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 97 (1832). a glabous, aquatic herb. lindernia crustacea (l.) f. muell., cens. austr. pl.: 97 (1882). capraria crustacea l. mant. pl. 1: 87 (1767). a dichotomously branched, prostrate herb. 46. bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz., for. fl. br. burma 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l., sp. pl.: 625 (1753). local name: kanaidengi. a medium-sized tree. 47. acanthaceae adhatoda zeylanica medik., hist. & comment. acad. elect. sci. theod. palat. 6: 393 (1790). adhatoda vasica nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 103 (1832). local name : basok. a shrub. ecbolium linneanum kurz. in j. as. soc. 2: 75 (1871). a shrub. justicia gendarusa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). local name: bishdoloni. an undershrub. phlogacanthus curviflorus nees in dc., prodr. 11: 320 (1847). a small shrub. rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). justicia pectinata l., amoen. acad. 4: 293 (1759). a much branched, prostrate or suberect herb. thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb. in bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). flemingia grandiflora roxb. ex. rottler, ges. naturf. freund berlin neue schriften 4: 202 (1803). a climber. 48. lentibulariaceae utricularia aurea lour., fl. cochinch.1: 26 (1790). utricularia flexuosa vahl. enum. 1: 198 (1804). an aquatic insectivorous herb. 49. rubiaceae hymenodictyon excelsum (roxb.) wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 149 (1824). cinchona excelsa roxb., fl. corom. 2: 4. t. 106 (1799). a large tree. ixora acuminata roxb. [hort. beng.: 10 (1814) nom nud.], fl. ind. 1: 383 (1820). an undershrub. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 165 i. cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). an evergreen shrub. morinda angustifolia roxb. [hort. beng. 15 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. 2: 201 (1824). an erect shrub. m. citrifolia l., dc. prodr. 4: 446 (1830). a glabrous, small tree. pavetta tomentosa roxb. ex smith in rees, cycl. 26: 2 (1819). a shrub. xeromphis spinosa (thunb.) keay in bull. jard. b. brux. 28: 37 (1958). gardenia spinosa thunb., diss. gard. n. 7. t. 2 (1780). locol name: monkata. a shrub with strong spines. 50. asteraceae ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). local name: hialmuti. an annual herb. blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight., contrib. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). conyza lacera burm. f., fl. ind.: 180, t. 59. (1768). an erect, annual, aromatic herb. eclipta prostrata l., mant. 2: 286 (1771). local name: kalokeshoti. an erect, annual herb. enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. cochinch.: 511 (1790). local name: helencha. a profusely branched, annual herb. eupatorium odoratum l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1205 (1759). local names: podina, motmoitta. a shrub. gnaphalium luteo-album l., subsp. affine (d. don) koster, blumea 4: 484 (1941). an erect, annual herb. grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., enc. suppl. 2: 825 (1811). artemisia maderaspatana l., sp. pl.: 849 (1753). an annual herb. mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson in contrib., gray herb. 104: 65 (1934). eupatorium cordatum burm. f., fl. ind.: 176 (1768). local name: assamlata. an annual, twining herb. spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834). an annual herb. synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). verbesina nodiflora l., cent. pl. 1: 28 (1755). a small woody herb. xanthium strumarium l., sp. pl. : 987 (1753). an erect, annual herb. liliopsida (monocots) 1. hydrocharitaceae blyxa octandra (roxb.) planch. ex thw., enum. pl. zeyl.: 332 (1864). vallisneria octandra roxb., pl. cor. 2 : 34, t. 165 (1802). a stemless, submerged herb. 166 alam et al. hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle, 111. bot. himal. t.: 376. (1839). serpicula verticillata l. f., suppl.: 416 (1781). an aquatic herb. 2. aponogetonaceae aponogeton natans (l.) eng. & krause in engl. pflan. 24: 11 (1906). saururus natans l., mant. 2: 227 (1771). an aquatic herb. 3. araceae alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott, oestr. bot. wochenbl. 4: 410 (1854). arum fornicatum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 501 (1832). a tuberous, coarse herb. amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) bl., rumphia 1: 148 (1837). arum bulbiferum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 510 (1832). local name: amla-bela. a tuberous herb. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). arum esculentum l., sp. pl.: 965 (1753). local name: kachu. a tall coarse herb. pistia stratiotes l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). local name: topapana. a floating, gregarious herb. scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott. in schott & endl. melet. bot. 1: 21 (1832). pothos officinalis roxb., fl. ind. : 431 (1820). a scandent herb. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. in wien., zeitschr. 3: 72 (1829). arum trilobatum l., sp. pl. : 965 (1753). a tuberous herb. 4. commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl. : 41 (1753). a slender herb. murdania nudiflora (l.) brenan, kew bull. 7: 189 (1952). commelina nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). an annual, diffuse herb. 5. cyperaceae cyperus difformis l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). local name: mutha. an annual, tufted herb. c. diffusus vahl., enum. pl. 2: 321 (1806). a perennial herb. c. iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1. : 45 (1753). an annual or rarely perennial herb. c. tenuispica steudl., syn. pl. glumac. 2: 11 (1855). an annual, occasionally short-lived perennial herb. eleocharis retroflexa (poir.) urban., symb. ant. 2: 165 (1900). scirpus retroflexus poir (1804). an annual, tufted herb. fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl, enum. pl. 2: 287 (1806). scirpus dichotomus l. sp. pl.ed. 1.: 50 (1753). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 167 f. miliacea (l.) vahl., enum. pl. 2: 287 (1806). scirpus miliaceus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 868 (1759). an annual or occasionally biennial, tufted herb. f. squarrosa vahl, enum. pl. 2: 289 (1806). an annual, tufted herb. pycreus pumilus (l.) nees, linnaea 9: 283 (1835). cyperus pumilus l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). an annual, densely tufted herb. scleria levis retz., obs. bot. 4: 13 (1786). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. 6. poaceae (gramineae) axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 12(154): 167 (1812). milium compressum sw., prod.: 24 (1788). a tufted, perennial herb. bambusa balcooa roxb., fl. ind. 1: 196 (1820). local name: barakbans. a tall, stout, densely caespitose bamboo. chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost. 188 (1820). andropogon aciculatus retz. obs. bot. 5. 22. (1989). a glabrous herb. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. ed.1.: 85 (1805). panicum dactylon l., sp. pl.: 58 (1753). local name: durba. a creeping herb. cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf in hook., ic. pl. t.: 3096 (1922). panicum accrescens trin., sp. gram. ic. 1, t. 88 (1828). an annual herb. echinochloa crusgalli (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 53: 161 (1812). panicum crusgalli l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 56 (1753). annual or perennial grass. eleusine indica (l.) gaertn., fruct. 1: 8 (1789). cynusurus indicus l., sp. pl. ed.1.: 72 (1753). a tufted, annual herb. eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 264 (1854). poa unioloides retz. obs. bot. 5: 19 (1789). an annual herb. hemarthria protensa steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 359 (1854). local name: chailla. an erect to decumbent herb. hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees in wight & arn., edinb. new philos. j. 15: 380 (1833) pharus aristatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 23 (1789). a floating, glabrous herb. hymenachne pseudointerrupta c. mueller, bot. zeitung (berlin). 19: 333 (1861). an annual grass. ichananthus vicinus (f. m. bailey) merr, enum. philipp., fl. pl. 1: 70 (1923). panicum vicinus f.m. bailey, syn. queens., fl. suppl. 3: 82 (1890). a perennial herb. imperata cylindrica (l.) reaeschel, nom. bot. ed. 3: 10 (1797). lagurus cylindricus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 878 (1759). local name: son. a rhizomatous, perennial grass. leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees, syll. pl. nov. 1: 4 (1824). poa chinensis l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 69 (1753). a tufted grass. 168 alam et al. melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu. app. b.: 94 (1875). bambusa baccifera roxb., pl. corm. 3: 38, 243 (1819). local name: moli bansh. an evergreen, unarmed bamboo. oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost 54:168 (1812). panicum compositum l., sp. pl. ed. 1. : 57 (1753). a perennial grass. panicum notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18 (1786). a tufted, perennial grass. p. repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 87 (1762). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. paspalidium flavidum (retz.) a. camus in lecomte, fl. gen. indo-chine 7: 419 (1922). panicum flavidum retz., obs. bot. 4: 15 (1786). an annual grass. sporobolus diander (retz.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 26: 147 (1812). agrostis diander retz., obs. bot. 5: 19 (1789). a caespitose, perennial grass. vetiveria zizanioides (l.) nash in small, fl. south-east u.s. ed. 1: 67(1903). phalaris zizanioides l., mant. 2: 183 (1771). local name: binna. a rhizomatous, aromatic, perennial grass. 7. zingiberaceae curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc., trans. linn. soc. london, 8: 354 (1807). amomum zedoaria christm. in christm. & panzer, linn. pflanesyst. 5: 12 (1779). local name: hoiter gach. a stemless herb with pale yellow-white rhizome. 8. costaceae costus speciosus (koenig) smith in trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). banksea speciosa koenig in retz., obs. bot. 3: 75 (1783). a rhizomatous herb. 9. arecaceae (palmae) calamus viminalis willd., sp. pl. 2: 203 (1799). a thicket-forming climber. caryota urens l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). a tall, monoecious palm. 10. pandanaceae pandanus fascicularis lam. in hook, f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 485 (1894). local name: keya. a bushy shrub. 11. lemnaceae lemna perpusilla torrey, fl. new york. 2: 245 (1843). a small, floating aquatic herb. 12. pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 527 (1883). pontederia crassipes mart., nov. gen. sp.: 9, t. 4 (1823). local name: kachuripana. an aquatic, free-floating herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 169 monochoria hastata (l.) solms. in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). pontederia hastata l., sp. pl.: 288 (1753). an aquatic, emergent herb. 13. liliaceae curculigo orchioides gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 13 (1788). a slender herb with elongated rhizome. 14. dioscoreaceae dioscorea bellophylla (prain) j. o. voigt ex haines, forest fl. choto nagpur.: 530 (1910). dioscorea nummularia var. bellophylla prain, bengal pl. 2: 802 (1903), ind. rep. 1963. a perennial climber. d. pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). a large, slender twinter. 15. orchidaceae vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don in loud., hort. brit.: 372 (1830). epidendrum tessellatum roxb., pl. corom. 1: 34, t. 42 (1795). an epiphytic herb. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to dr. m. matiur rahman, director, bangladesh national herbarium for allowing to use herbarium facilities during the study. they also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation rendered by dr. mahbuba khanam, dr. m. oliur rahman and mr. sarder nasir uddin of bangladesh national herbarium particularly for identification of some critical specimens. the authors thank dr. m. oliur rahman also for his comments on an early draft of the manuscript. references alam, m.k. 1995. diversity in the woody flora of sal (shorea robusta) forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. forest sci. 24(1): 41-51. brandis, d. 1906. indian trees (2nd repr. 1978). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, 767 pp. bor, n.l. 1960. the grasses of burma, ceylon, india and pakistan (excluding bambosoideae). pergamon press, oxford. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. deb, d.b. 1981. the flora of tripura state 1: 1-50. r. k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. deb, d.b. 1983. the flora of tripura state 2: 1-601. r. k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. hossain, a.b.m.e., khan, s.a. and islam, m.a. 1995. an inventory of plant diversity in relation with the ecology and environment of jahangirnagar university. vegetational composition and their taxonomic identity. bangladesh j. life sci. 7(1&2): 95-103. 170 alam et al. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india vols. 1-7 (ind. repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. ismail, m. and mia, m.m.k. 1973. studies on some deciduous sal forests of bangladesh. ecology of bangladesh vegetation 2: 81-103 kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam 1: 1-386 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam 2: 1-409 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam 3: 1-578 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam 4: 1-377 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. khan, m.s. 1977. onagraceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 6: 1-10. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. 1984. dipterocarpaceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 25: 1-15. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. 1985. convolvulaceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 30: 1-59. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. matthew, k.m. 1999a. the flora of the palni hills, south india 1: 1-575. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k.m. 1999b. the flora of the palni hills, south india 2: 576-1196. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k.m. 1999c. the flora of the palni hills, south india 3: 1197-1880. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1&2 (ind. repr. 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman, m.o. and hassan m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rashid, s.h., rahman, m.m. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 1995. an inventory of the under growth resources in chandra sal forest at gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 7(1&2): 111-118. rizvi, s.n.h. 1969. bangladesh district gazeteers, dacca. east pakistan govt. press, dacca. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, vi+120 pp. (manuscript received on 18 october 2006; revised on 18 november 2006) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 101-103, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of two hyphomycetous fungi monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes and stachybotrys atra corda for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and razia sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: monodictys putredinis; new records; stachybotrys atra. two hyphomycetous fungi, namely monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes and stachibotrys atra corda have been recorded for the first time for bangladesh. monodictys putredinis was earlier recorded on rotten wood and prunus spinosa l. (ellis and ellis, 1985). this is the first record of association of this species with jute (corchorus capsularis l.). stachybotrys atra, on the other hand, is cosmopolitan and a very common fungus, frequently isolated from paper, seeds, soil, textiles and dead plant parts (ellis, 1971). this is the first record of association of this fungus with chayote (sechium edule (jacq.) sw.). both the fungi were isolated following “blotter” method (cab, 1968). microscopic details of the fungi were made from freshly collected samples. species determination was made following ellis (1971, 1976), and ellis and ellis (1985). 1. monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes, 1958, can. j. bot. 36: 785. (figs. 1& 2) colonies blackish-brown on pda medium at room temperature between 27-32 ºc at ph 6. hyphae brown, smooth, septate. conidiophore cells not markedly swollen. conidia pyriform, ellipsoidal or subspherical, multicellular, sometimes slightly constricted at the septa, dark, reddish-brown to almost black, smooth, 18-30 × 15-24 µm. specimen examined: on dried stems of corchorus capsularis, botanic garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2127, 22 september 2008. 2. stachybotrys atra corda, 1837, icon. fung. 1: 21. (figs. 3&4) colonies effuse, blackish-green on pda medium at room temperature between 2429º c at ph 6. hyphae partly superficial, brown. conidiophores at first hyaline but soon becoming olivaceous brown to black and rough or covered with granules, especially towards the apex, mostly unbranched, up to 95 µm long, 3-5 µm wide. phialides mostly 10-13 µm long, 5-7 µm wide in the broadest part. conidia broadly ellipsoidal to subspherical, dark, blackish-brown to black, verrucose, 8-13 × 5-9 µm. specimen examined: on dried leaves of sechium edule, botanic garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2098, 19 march 2008. 1 e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 102 shamsi and sultana figs. 1-2. monodictys putredinis. 1a. colony on dried stems of jute (corchorus capsularis); 1b. mycelia and conidiophores with conidia (bar = 10 µm). 2a-2b. conidiophores with conidia (bars: a = 30 µm, b = 10 µm). figs. 3-4. stachybotrys atra. 3a. colony on dried leaf of chayote (sechium edule); 3b. mycelia, conidiophores and conidia (bar = 40 µm). 4a. conidiophores with phialides and conidia (bar = 30 µm); 4b. single conidiophore with phialides; 4c. conidia (bar = 10 µm). new records of two hyphomycetous fungi 103 acknowledgement the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to prof. md. abul hassan, chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities to carry out the present research work. references cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edition. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england. pp. 1-267. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 1-608. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 1-507. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1985. microfungi on land plants. biddles ltd., guildford and kings lynn, great britain. pp. 1-818. (manuscript received on 22 june 2009; revised on 15 november 2009) microsoft word 03. munronia_edited_10.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 39-49, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists geographical distribution and conservation of a rare medicinal plant munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. (meliaceae) in sri lanka r.m. dharmadasa1*, p.l. hettiarachchi2 and g.a.s premakumara1 herbal technology section, industrial technology institute, 363, bauddhaloka mawatha, colombo 7, sri lanka key words: munronia pinnata; systematic survey; meliaceae; conservation; cultivation; medicinal plants. abstract in the present study, distribution and abundance of munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. in sri lanka were explored in 6 provinces, 7 districts, 68 divisional secretariat divisions (dsd) and 395 grama niladari (gn) areas. fifty three gn areas were identified as m. pinnata abundant areas. in 217 gn areas, the plant is found in small scale and in 65 gn areas it was rarely found. m. pinnata was not found in 8 dsds. ten new localities were found and three of them were in the wet zone. the highest diversity was found in monaragala and matale districts. populations well adopted for a range of climatic conditions were observed in madulla, nilgala, warakapola, ritigala and haldumulla. monaragala, wellawaya, mathurata, meemure and kithulpe were identified as unique populations for conservation. monaragala, badulla and matale appear to be the most suitable districts for commercial cultivation of m. pinnata. this is the first record of an extensive systematic survey on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka. introduction the genus munronia wight. (meliaceae), comprising 13-15 species, is naturally distributed in southern china, vietnam, myanmar, java, sri lanka, india, indonesia and the philippines (qi et al., 2003). out of these, five species of munronia are restricted to tropical asia, and subtropical china, up to 1800 m and in sri lanka up to 700 m from the mean sea level (dassanayake et al., 1995; peng and bartholomew, 2008). munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. is a rare medicinal plant species (dassanayake et al., 1995). according to the literature available, plants of m. pinnata with an array of variable phenotypic characters (3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 leaflets types) exist in various locations in sri lanka (jayaweera, 1982; dassanayake et al., 1995). according to hooker (1874), m. pinnata was an abundant and widely distributed plant in sri lanka in early days. in chinese and sri lankan traditional medicine, munronia has been used since historic times for many ailments such as tuberculosis, cough, stomach-ache, sores, malaria, recurrent fever, dysentery and purification of blood (jayaweera, 1982; qi et al., 2003). moreover, there are over 32 written recipes including ‘sudarshana churna’, ‘chandraprabha watee’ and ‘denimba debatu adee kashaya’ in sri lankan ayurvedic *corresponding author. email: dharma@iti.lk 1herbal technology section, industrial technology institute, 363, bauddhaloka mawatha, colombo 7, sri lanka. 40 dharmadasa et al. pharmacopeia, in which the entire plant of m. pinnata is used as the major ingredient of preparations used for above ailments (anonymous, 1979). on the other hand m. pinnata is one of the most expensive plant materials (us$ 50-110/kg) used in traditional systems of medicine in sri lanka. further almost all raw material requirements are obtaining from natural habitats due to lack of systematic cultivations, lack of information on cultivation and processing and lack of sufficient planting materials to establish commercial cultivation in sri lanka as well as elsewhere. therefore, there is a tremendous pressure on this rare plant which might lead to extinction due to over exploitation. recording of existing populations in different locations with their abundance, identifying potential areas and morphotypes for cultivation, recognizing population/s for conservation and sustainable use of this valuable medicinal plant in traditional and ayurveda medicine seem to be timely important issues. these data will certainly provide information needed to establish cultivations for sustainable use of m. pinnata in sri lanka. information available on the distribution is very old and the most recent record is also more than 20 years old while some evidence are more than 100 years old (dassanayake et al., 1995). therefore, attempts were made to investigate the present distribution and the abundance of m. pinnata in different localities in physically accessible areas of the country. materials and methods island wide survey on the distribution: for administrative purposes, the country is divided into nine provinces and 26 districts. each district has 3-7 divisional secretariat divisions (dsd) and each dsd has many gramaniladari divisions (gn). the gn division is the smallest administrative division in sri lanka. the present study was carried out during 2004-2007. the systematic survey comprises four stages as collecting information from available literature, collecting data from gn divisions using a questionnaire, visiting areas of the country where m. pinnata is available (guided by available literature) and gathering information by personnel communication with traditional practitioners of ayurveda. collecting information from available literature: a literature survey was carried out on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka. information was collected from literatures and databases, herbarium specimens deposited at royal botanical garden peradeniya, sri lanka and personal communication with personnel involved in traditional medical practices. collecting data from gn divisions: a systematic survey was carried out covering all dsds of the country. a questionnaire for this survey was prepared and evaluated by trying out with 4-5 persons before giving the questionnaire to gramaniladaris. the questionnaire was distributed among traditional ayurvedic doctors, cultivators and collectors of medicinal plants in each of the gn divisions through the government distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 41 administrative officer (“gramaniladari”) of the area. completed questioners were collected through the same way and information was compiled. field visits: field surveys were carried out by visiting various places, which were selected based on available literature and information collected through the questionnaire survey in different ecological regions of the country. selected areas for field visits are given in map 1. distribution of m. pinnata as found in the present study was compared with data available in the literature (appendix b) to mark populations for conservation as well as for places for cultivation. collection and maintenance of different populations: out of the 16 locations listed in table 3, plants from 13 locations were collected for the present study. ten to twenty plants were collected from each location depending on the availability of plants. when there were only a few plants in a particular location, neighboring areas were searched for more plants without disturbing the existing population. plants collected were brought to industrial technology institute, sri lanka and potted in plastic or clay pots filled with a mixture of topsoil 1: compost 2: sand 1. each sample was labeled using the respective notation and was maintained in the greenhouse for 5 years. close observations were made during that period on the survival, growth performance, flowering and fruiting of each morphotype under normal day light and temperature 27oc ± 2. collection of ecological data: the altitude, latitude and longitude of each population were measured using global positioning system (etrex vista garmin model). soil samples were collected from each location using a soil auger to measure the soil ph. the agro-ecological region and rainfall data were adopted from panabokke and kannangara (1996). determination of the stomatal index: stomatal index was calculated as described by trease and evance (2002) with slight modifications. end leaflet pieces of each population (5 × 5 mm) other than from extreme margin and midrib were warmed up in saturated chloral hydrate solution until they become transparent. subsequently these were strained with 1% safranin in 50% ethanol and were made into temporary mounts using glycerin. slides were examined under compound light microscope fitted with an eye piece micrometer. counts were made of the number of epidermal cells and of stomata (two guard cells and ostiole being considered as a single unit) within the square grid. successive adjacent fields were examined until about 400 cells have been counted. the stomatal index value for each population was calculated using standard formula given by trease and evance (2002). stomatal index = where s = the number of stomata in a given area of leaf, e= the number of epidermal cells (including trichomes) in the same area of leaf. s × 100 e + s 42 dharmadasa et al. data analysis: the range of each variable/character was sub-divided and ranked, and then a numerical value was given to each level (table 1). using these numerical values, a data table (table 2) for cluster analysis was prepared. cluster analysis was done by using spss version 10. clusters were generated following unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means (upgma), which is an agglomerative clustering method. table 1. parameters used in numerical analysis and ranking of their data (the ranks are given in parenthesis). parameter ranks given 1. elevation (ev) < 100 m (1), 100 – 499 m (2), 500-1000 m (3), >1000 m (4) 2. soil ph (ph) 5 -5.9 (1), 6 – 6.9 (2), >7 (3) 3. agro-ecological region (aer) im (1), il (2), wl (3), dl (4) 4. rainfall (rf) <45 (1), 45-60 (2), > 60 (3) 5. soil type (st) rb/rbe (1), ryp (2) 6. stomatal index (si) 5.5 -6.4 (1), 6.5 -7.4 (2), 7.5 or more (3) im = mid country intermediate zone; il= low country intermediate zone; wl= low country wet zone; dl= low country dry zone; rb/ rbe= reddish brown/ reddish brown earth; ryp red yellow podzolic soils. table 2. data matrix for analysis of ecological data (ranking and notations are as in table 1 and table 3 respectively). . character populations elevation soil ph value aer rainfall soil type stomatal index madulla 2 1 1 2 1 2 monaragala 2 1 1 2 1 1 nilgala 2 1 2 2 1 2 warakapola 2 3 3 3 2 2 ritigala 2 1 4 1 1 2 kithulpe 3 3 2 2 2 1 haldummulla 3 2 1 2 1 1 wellawaya 2 2 2 2 1 3 pallewela 1 2 3 3 2 2 kuliyapitiya 1 1 3 2 2 1 naula 2 1 1 1 1 2 mathurata 4 2 3 2 2 1 meemure 2 1 2 1 1 3 results and discussion island wide survey carried out using a questionnaire revealed that out of the 68 dsds considered, m. pinnata could be naturally found in only 38 dsd divisions in sri lanka. m. pinnata was abundant in 395 gn divisions. in 217 gn divisions it was found in small scale and in 65 it was found very rarely. the 38 dsds are shown in appendix a and list of places where m. pinnata had been recorded in literature as cited in the handbook of flora of ceylon (dassanayake et al., 1995) is shown in appendix b. results of the present study on distribution and abundance of m. pinnata is presented in distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 43 table 3. different populations collected from different locations are shown in plate 1. areas recorded in the present study together with those recorded in literature are presented in map 1. presence/absence of flowering and fruiting of 13 populations are presented in table 4. table 3. distribution and abundance of m. pinnata (based on the present study) location district province leaflet no. abundance* 1. haldummulla (hm) badulla uva 3 a 2. kalundewa** matale central 3/5 a 3. kithulpe (kp) nuwaraeliya central 3 b 4. koslanda badulla uva 3 b 5. kuliyapitiya (kpt)** kurunegala nw 5 b 6. madulla (md)** monaragala uva 3 a 7. mathurata (mr) nuwaraeliya central 3 b 8. meemure (mm)** matale central 5/7 a 9. naula (nu)** matale central 5 a 10. nilgala (ng)** monaragala uva 3 a 11. pallegama** matale central 3 b 12. pallewela (pw)** gampaha western 3 a 13. ritigala (rg) anuradhapura nc 5 a 14. srivijayapura (mg)** monaragala uva 9/11 b 15. warakapola (wp)** gampaha western 3 b 16. wellawaya (ww) monaragala uva 7 a *abundance was estimated visually with relevant to the size of the populations aabundant, b only a very few plants available; **new localities found in the present study; ncnorth central, nwnorth western table 4. flowering and fruiting performance of 13 morphotypes of munronia pinnata under greenhouse conditions (temp. 27 ±2 oc, normal day length) performance populations flowering fruiting haldummulla normal normal kithulpe rare no fruiting kuliyapitiya medium medium madulla normal normal monaragala rare very rare meemure rare very rare mathurata rare no fruiting nilgala normal normal naula normal normal pallewela normal normal ritigala normal normal warakapola normal normal wellawaya rare no fruiting 44 dharmadasa et al. map 1. geographical distribution of munronia pinnata in sri lanka (bdgbalangoda; btbuttala, dk dolukanda; hmhaldummulla; kpnkalupahana; kp-kithulpe; kslkoslanda; kptkuliyapitiya; kldkundasale; lg lunugala; kdvkalundeva; plgpallegama;mmmeemure; mdgmadugoda; mrmathurata; mgmoneragala; mp – muppane; mdmadulla; nunaula; ngnilgala; pw pallewela; rgritigala; svpsrivijayapura; wpwarakapola, wwwellawaya) distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 45 however, in eight dsd divisions namely, attala, mundalama matara, pallepola, baticalloa, jaffna, katana and negombo, including 60 gn areas, m. pinnata was found neither growing naturally nor as in cultivation. ten new localities were recorded in present survey and three of them were in the wet zone (map 1). this plant had been reported only from dry and intermediate zones of the country. plate 1. different morphotypes of munronia pinnata, available in different locations in sri lanka. 1. dambagalla, 2. haldummulla, 3. kalumdewa, 4. kithulpe, 5. kuliyapitiya, 6. madulla, 7. monaragala, 8. meemure, 9. mathurata, 10. nilgala, 11. naula, 12. okadagala, 13. pallewela, 14. ritigala, 15. warakapola, 16. wellawaya. during this survey, several localities with m. pinnata were found in monaragala and matale districts. out of these two districts, the highest number of m. pinnata 46 dharmadasa et al. morphotypes was found in monaragala district, which comprises of four populations (two types of 3-leaflets, 7-leaflets and 9/11-leaflets types). out of 16 locations given in table 3, 10 locations contained 3-leaflet types of m. pinnata. populations bearing more than 3-leaflets were recorded only in five locations (kalundewa, naula, ritigala, kuliyapitiya and meemure). normal growth was observed in all populations under greenhouse conditions. flowering was rare and even when occurred, no fruiting was observed in five out of 13 populations under greenhouse conditions (table 4). flowering is one of the phenological processes influenced by external environmental factors especially temperature. therefore difficulty observed in flowering in populations of kp and mr is quite acceptable as they were collected from nuwaraeliya district which is in the hill country of sri lanka where the average temperature is around 20 oc. furthermore, day length fluctuation is also higher in this area than that of the low laying areas of the country, where these plants were acclimatized in greenhouse. it indicates that conservation of these populations demands in situ conservation. if not they have to be grown in greenhouses under carefully controlled conditions. the morphotype collected from meemure (matale district) produced some flowers, but did not produce fruits. since meemure is isolated and surrounded from huge mountains it has its own microclimatic conditions. therefore, this population may have adapted to these climatic conditions especially for flowering and fruiting. on the other hand population collected from ritigala performed well producing flowers and fruits under normal greenhouse condition in colombo. although ritigala is separated from wet and intermediate zones by dry plains, its isolation and high elevation has produced a unique climate with wet and intermediate characteristics. hence ritigala provides platform for 410 taxa of lower and higher plants. it shows that this population could easily be cultivated in areas with wet and intermediate characteristics. geographical isolation must have restricted rg population to that area. some populations collected from monaragala and matale performed well under climatic conditions of greenhouse in colombo, while three of them namely, monaragala, wellawaya and meemure did not. these populations bear 7-9 and 11-leaflets and are not common in other areas indicating that they may be genetically adapted to grow in these areas and their restricted distribution is not merely due to geographical isolation. in situ conservation seems to be the best method for these populations, but when ecological conditions were analyzed, these three clustered with the rest of the populations collected from matale and monaragala. it shows that there is a possibility for cultivation of these populations in other localities. according to the analysis of ecological data (fig. 1), m. pinnata growing in sri lanka could be separated into three main clusters such as 1. md, nu, ng, mg, hm, ww, mm; 2. wp, pw, kpt; 3. rg, kp and mr. this indicates that md, nu, ng, mg, hm, ww and mm require approximately the same climatic conditions compared to the other populations. these include plants collected from badulla, matale and monaragala distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 47 districts. this group comprises of populations varying from 3, 5, 7 9 and 11 leaflet types. flower and fruit setting of mg, ww and mm populations were very unsatisfactory under greenhouse conditions. these findings are very important in the conservation point of view as it shows the possibility of establishing large scale cultivation in areas where these populations do not exist naturally at present. populations collected from nuwara eliya (kp and mr) formed a separate cluster which was collected from hilly areas with a cold climate. their failure in producing flowers and fruits under low country conditions (temperature around 27oc ± 2) shows that they can be cultivated only in the areas with fig. 1. a dendrogramme of ecological relationship of 13 m. pinnata populations (for abbreviations see table 3). similar environmental conditions. in the conservation point of view, they need special attention for survival. population collected from ritigala got separated from all three clusters. this is acceptable as the microclimate in this area is very specific and quite different from those of other locations. according to the present study, m. pinnata could be grown within a considerable range of ecological conditions including all three agroecological regions in the country and within a considerable range of altitude (30-1000 m). moreover, studies on stomatal index of different populations did not show clear correlation with environmental factors or number of leaflets of different populations. our findings are in agreement with the previous reports (dassanayake et al., 1995; peng and bartholomew, 2008), who pointed out that m. pinnata, was grown up to 700 m from mean sea level in sri lanka and up to 1800 m in china. furthermore, qi et al. (2003) and peng and bartholomew (2008) reported that munronia species can grow in heights 48 dharmadasa et al. varying from 200 m to 1800 m from mean sea level in china. findings of the present study are in agreement with the previous work. in order to conserve the medicinal plants ethnobotanical surveys are very useful (chellaiah et al., 2006; bekalo et al., 2009). the present study also highlights his important issue. the present study revealed that this rare and valuable medicinal plant could easily be cultivated in different parts of sri lanka under various climatic conditions. this opens up an avenue to establish large growing areas of m. pinnata in places where it has not been reported or cultivated before. this study was unable to find, m. pinnata in some of the localities reported earlier (dassanayake et al., 1995). several reasons including urbanization, clearing forests for cultivation, natural disasters such as landslides and over-exploitation might have exerted unfavorable impacts on these populations, making them very rare or extinct in those localities. conclusion this is the first record of an extensive systematic survey on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka finding 10 new localities including three in the wet zone. it shows that this plant could be cultivated in the wet zone though it has been previously recorded only from the dry and intermediate zones. matale, badulla and monaragala seem to be the most suitable districts to establish large scale cultivations of m. pinnata. populations collected from ritigala (rg) could easily be cultivated even in colombo. this is quite promising as it was identified as a unique population for conservation with regard to morphology and molecular characters (unpublished data). six populations i.e. md (madulla), nu (naula), ng (nilgala), wp (warakapola), rg (ritigala) and hm (haldummulla), were grown well, under a range of climatic conditions producing large number of flowers and fruits. however the ability to produce flowers and seeds of the morphotypes kp, mr, mg, ww and mm are very low and hence there should be a special conservation plan for them particularly, otherwise they might be extinct from the country soon. appendix a. dsds of m. pinnata. 1. ahatuwewa 2. alawwa 3. anamaduwa 4. bammunukotuwa 5. bibile 6. dambulla 7. dankotuwa 8. galgamuwa 9. gomarankadawela 10. hambanthota 11. horowpathana 12. ibbagamuwa 13. kaluthara 14. katupotha 15. kebithigollewa 16. kotawehera 17. kurunegala 18. laggala 19. madulla 20. mallawapitiya 21. mawathgama 22. medagama 23. mihintala 24. morawewa 25. naula 26. nikaweratiya 27. palagala 28. pallegama 29. palugaswewa 30. pannala 31. polgahawela 32. polpithigama 33. rasnayakepura 34. raththota 35. udubaddawa 36. wariyapola 37.kulama 38. wellawaya distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 49 appendix b. locations of m. pinnata previously recorded (dasanayake et al., 1995). haldummulla (1986)* balangoda (1906) buttala*(n/a) dammenthenna (1987) doluwa (1972) kalupahana (1987)* katharagama (1897) kundasale (1987)* (n/a) laggala 1987* lunugala (1888)*n/a madugoda (1990) mathurata (1883)* mediwaka (1990) muppene (1928) ritigala (1887,1905, 1971,1973,1975)* wadinagala (1975) wellawaya (1906)* uma oya (1883) those marked with * were visited during this study acknowledgements the authors sincerely appreciate the efforts of anonymous reviewers who reviewed this manuscript. financial assistance provided by industrial technology institute and university of sri jayawardanapura, sri lanka are greatly acknowledged. references anonymous, 1979. ayurveda pharmacopeia 1. part (2). department of ayurveda, colombo, sri lanka. p.121. bekalo, t.h., woodmatas, s.d. and woldemariam, z.a. 2009. an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by local people in the lowlands of konta special woreda, southern nations, nationalities and peoples regional state, ethiopia. j. ethnobiol. ethnomed. 5:26. dassanayake, m.d., fosberg, f.r. and clayton, w.d (eds) 1995. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon. vol. 9. amerind publ. co. ltd. new delhi, india, pp. 230-239. hooker, j.d. 1874. flora of british india. vol. 1. london, pp. 540-569. jayaweera, b.m.a. 1982. medicinal plants (indigenous and exotic) used in ceylon, part 4. national science council, sri lanka p. 59. muthu, c., ayyanar, m., raja, n. and ignacimuthu, s. 2006. medicinal plants used by traditional healers in kancheepuram district of tamil nadu, india. j. ethnobiol. ethnomed. 2: 43. panabokke, c.r. and kannangara, r.p. 1996. agro-ecological regions of sri lanka: map 2. survey department of sri lanka. peng, h. and bartholomew, b. 2008. munronia. in: theobald, w. and burmah, m. (eds), flora of china 11: 118-119. qi, s.-h., chen, l., wu, d.g., maa, w.-b. and luoa, x.-d. 2003. novel tetranortriterpenoid derivatives from munronia henryi. tetrahedron 59: 4193-4199 trease, w.c. and evance, d. 2002. pharmacognosy. elsevier ltd, new york pp. 545-546. (manuscript received on 24 september 2009; revised on 21 october 2010) microsoft word 08. s3_cyanobacteria_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 73-76, 2011 (june) ` short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists occurrence of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria during different stages of paddy cultivation kaushal kishore choudhary* department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur-842001, bihar, india keywords: cyanobacteria; diversity; nitrogen-fixing; rice fields; north bihar. rapid decline in soil fertility and productivity due to excessive application of chemical fertilizer particularly nitrogen and its increasing cost has induced to develop alternate biological sources of nitrogenous fertilizers (boussiba, 1991). biological fertilizers maintain the nitrogen status of the soils and helps in optimum crop production to meet the demand of increasing human populations while maintaining the agricultural practices sustainable. with establishment of agronomic potential of cyanobacteria (singh, 1950), these photosynthetic prokaryotes were applied and studied for enrichment of different living ecosystems with nitrogenous compounds. cyanobacteria are endowed with a specialized structure ‘heterocyst’ with ‘nitrogenase complex’ capable of converting unavailable sources of molecular nitrogen into nitrogenous compounds (ernst et al., 1992). the ability of cyanobacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen is increasing concern worldwide to exploit this tiny living system for nitrogenous fertilizers for sustainable agriculture practices. advances in cyanobacteria have revealed their significant contribution in promoting the fertility of the soil and water including marine by adding nitrogen and phosphorus. cyanobacteria contribute phosphorus to the soil by mobilizing the insoluble organic phosphates present in the soil with enzyme ‘phosphatses’ (whitton et al., 1991). moreover, cyanobacteria enhance the water holding capacity by adding polysaccharidic material to the soil (richert et al., 2005) that increases the soil aggregation property. cyanobacteria have also been reported to excrete growth promoting substances into the soil (karthikeyan et al., 2007). in view of cyanobacterial potential, distribution and diversity of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in rice fields has been extensively studied (khan et al., 1994; prasanna and nayak, 2007; begum et al., 2008; choudhary, 2009; choudhary and bimal, 2010). the present study has been aimed to enumerate the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria belonging to family microchaetaeceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) in rice fields of north bihar. study sites: the study was conducted in certain rice fields of muzaffarpur district situated at latitude 26°7'12"n and longitude 85°24'0"e of north bihar. documentation of proposed cyanobacterial diversity was conducted during rice cultivation cycle by assuming that rice fields witnesses a gradual decrease in temperature and nutrient status with progress in cultivation cycle. * e-mail: kkc1970@gmail.com 74 choudhary enumeration of cyanobacterial diversity: heterogeneous biomasses of cyanobacteria growing on moist soil surfaces, floating on the water bodies and attached to rice plants were randomly collected from upland and lowland rice fields on 20th, 40th and 60th days of rice seedlings plantation. table 1. distribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria belonging to family microchaetaceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) during different stages of paddy cultivation. (+ = presence; – = absence; r = rare) sl. no. species family 20 days 40 days 60 days 1. calothrix fusca (kützing) bornet & flahault rivulariaceae r 2. calothrix javanica de wildeman rivulariaceae + + + 3. calothrix viguieri frémy rivulariaceae + 4. fortiea incerta skuja microchaetaceae + 5. gloeotrichia echinulata j.e. smith ex p.g. richter rivulariaceae  + 6. gloeotrichia indica schmidle rivulariaceae  + 7. gloeotrichia kurziana zeller rivulariaceae  + + r 8. gloeotrichia longicauda schmidle rivulariaceae  + + 9. gloeotrichia natans (hedwig) rabenhorst ex bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + + 10. gloeotrichia pilgeri schmidle rivulariaceae  + 11. gloeotrichia pisum (c. agardh) thuret ex bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + 12. gloeotrichia raciborskii var conica dixit rivulariaceae  + 13. microchaete grisea thuret microchaetaceae + 14. microchaete tenera thuret ex bornet microchaetaceae  + + + 15. microchaete uberrima n. carter microchaetaceae  + + 16. microchaete violacea frémy microchaetaceae  r 17. plectonema notatum schmidle scytonemataceae + + 18. plectonema tomasinianum (kützing) gomont ex gomont scytonemataceae r 19. rivularia aquatica de wildeman rivulariaceae  + + 20. rivularia beccariana (de notaris) bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + 21. rivularia manginii fremy rivulariaceae  r 22. scytonema cincinnatum (kützing) thuret scytonemataceae  + 23. scytonema fritschii s. l. ghose scytonemataceae  + + + 24. scytonema pascheri bharadwaja scytonemataceae  r 25. scytonema simplex bharadwaja scytonemataceae  + + + 26. scytonema varium kützing scytonemataceae  + + 27. tolypothrix tenuis (kützing) scytonemataceae + +   the samples were collected in culture tube (50 ml) with 20 ml nutrient medium (rippka et al., 1979) and brought to the laboratory. the taxonomic enumeration of cyanobacterial occurrence of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria 75 species diversity was performed microscopically with collected samples (fresh materials) in the laboratory. the taxa were identified using morphological features such as cell size, shape, morphology of the terminal cell, presence or absence of heterocysts and akinetes (desikachary, 1959). twenty-seven nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial species belonging to microchaetaeceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) were recorded from field samples collected on 20th, 40th and 60th day of rice seedling plantation. out of 27 species, 8 were represented by gloeotrichia, 5 by scytonema, 4 by microchaete, 3 by calothrix and rivularia each, 2 by plectonema and 1 by tolypothrix and fortiea each. cyanobacterial species diversity was represented by 26 species (8 genera) on 60th day, 12 species (7 genera) on 40th day and 6 species (4 genera) on 20th day of rice seedling plantation with some common forms (table 1). the gradual increase in diversity of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria with progress in paddy cultivation was assumed to be related with increase in rice canopy that causes a decrease in light intensity reaching to the surface of the soil and depletion of nutrients particularly nitrogen. similar distribution pattern of cyanobacterial diversity was reported for fertilized and unfertilized rice fields (choudhary and bimal, 2010). granhall et al. (1987) reported the predominance of nitrogen fixation and cyanobacterial number under low concentration of nitrogen fertilizer. finally, it might be proposed that documentation on nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and their application in the rice fields can be used for management of nitrogen fertilizer at different stages of paddy cultivation for sustainable agricultural practices by making the field environment supportive for nitrogen-fixers. acknowledgements the author is grateful to head, department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar for providing laboratory facilities. the author is also thankful to prof. r. bimal for his support. references begum, z.n.t., mandal, r. and amin, f.b. 2008. quantification and nitrogen fixation of cyanobacteria in rice field soils of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 183-188. boussiba, s. 1991. nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria potential uses. plant & soil 137(1): 177-180. choudhary, k.k. 2009. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation in northern bihar, india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 57-63. choudhary, k.k. and bimal, r. 2010. distribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (nostocaceae) during rice cultivation in fertilized and unfertilized paddy fields. nord. j. botany 28(1): 100-103. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi, india. pp. 1-686. 76 choudhary ernst, a., black, t., cai, y., panoff, j.m., tiwari, d.n. and wolk, c.p. 1992. synthesis of nitrogenase in mutants of the cyanobacterium anabaena sp. pcc 7120 affected in heterocyst development. j. bacteriol. 174(19): 6025-6032. granhall, u., kulassoriya, s.a., hirimburegama, w.k., de silva, r.s.y. and lindberg, t. 1987. nitrogen fixation in some rice soils in sri lanka. world j. microb. biotech. 3(4): 67-88. karthikeyan, n., prasanna, r., nain, l. and kaushik, b.d. 2007. evaluating the potential of plant growth promoting cyanobacteria as inoculants for wheat. eur. j. soil biol. 43(1): 23-30. khan, z.u.m., begum, z.n.t., mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1994. cyanobacteria in rice soils. world j. microb. biotech. 10(3): 296-298. prasanna, r. and nayak, s. 2007. influence of diverse rice ecologies on cyanobacterial diversity and abundance. wetl. ecol. management 15(2): 127-134. richert, l., golubic, s., le guédès, r., ratiskol, j., payri, c. and guezennec, j. 2005. characterization of exopolysaccharides produced by cyanobacteria isolated from polynesian microbial mats. curr. microbiol. 51(6): 379-384. rippka, r., josette, d., waterbury, j.b., herdman, m. and stanier, r.y. 1979: generic assignments, strain histories and properties of pure cultures of cyanobacteria. j. gen. microbiol. 111(1): 1-61. singh, r.n. 1950. reclamation of usar lands in india through blue-green algae. nature 165(4191): 325-326. whitton, b.a., grainger, s.l.j., hawley, g.r.w. and simon, j.w. 1991. cell-bound and extracellular phosphatase activities of the cyanobacterial isolates. microbial ecol. 21(1): 85-98. (manuscript received on 26 september 2010; revised on 3 march 2011) microsoft word 10_review paper_final bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 81-91, 2011 (june) review paper © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists conserving threatened plants of bangladesh: miles to go before we start? haseeb md. irfanullah1 practical action, bangladesh country office, house 12/b, road 4, dhanmondi r/a, dhaka 1205, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm; biodiversity; convention on biological diversity; red data book; red list; vascular plants. abstract in the light of important developments in biodiversity conservation in the global and national arenas over the last decade (2001-2010), this paper appraises the progress in identifying threatened vascular plant species of bangladesh as a primary step of species diversity conservation. it is argued that, as per the iucn red list categories and the volume 1 of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ published in 2001, only four angiosperm species are threatened (1 critically endangered (cr), 1 endangered (en), 2 vulnerable (vu)) in bangladesh, not 106 vascular species. this account also records that, accordingly to the ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (20072009; volumes 5-12), 36 pteridophyte species (all vu; 18.46% of 195 recorded species), 1 gymnosperm species (en; 14.29% of 7 species), and 449 angiosperm species (30 cr, 126 en, 293 vu; 12.43% of 3,611 recorded species) are threatened in the country. the paper discusses and explores the importance, limitations and opportunities for red listing of threatened plants of bangladesh. this account further advocates for a well-planned initiative to effectively complete the red list of threatened plant species of the country by considering appropriate, established, updated assessment methods; following collaborative approach; and capitalizing on the progress made so far. such steps may subsequently contribute to the species diversity conservation endeavours in bangladesh. introduction the year 2001 is a significant year for plant conservation in bangladesh. this year saw the first-ever red data book on threatened plant species of the country, listing out 106 vascular plant species, published by the bangladesh national herbarium (khan et al., 2001). the purpose of this book was to initiate appropriate identification of threatened vascular plants of the country (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms), so that their conservation status (iucn red list categories) is understood with existing conservation measures and future conservation measures can be suggested. since the publication of this milestone book, a number of significant events happened – globally and nationally – in the field of biodiversity conservation. internationally, in 2002, the ‘2010 biodiversity target’ was set out in the 6th conference of parties to the convention of biological diversity (cbd cop 6) in hague, netherlands (cbd, 2007). 1 e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 82 irfanullah in the same year, the target was endorsed by the world summit on sustainable development in johannesburg, south africa, and in 2005 by the un world summit (countdown 2010). the year 2010 has been the ‘international year of biodiversity’ – declared by the united nations. in october of this year, the cbd cop 10 was held in nagoya, japan where some important decisions were taken by the country parties on conserving biodiversity. one of these is a revised strategic plan with 20 targets under five strategic goals to significantly reduce the current biodiversity loss by 2020 (cbd, 2010). the target 12 is directly related to threatened species: “by 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”. nationally, the government of bangladesh prepared the ‘national biodiversity strategy and action plan (nbsap)’ (moef, 2006) as its commitment to the cbd. the asiatic society of bangladesh published 28 volumes of ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’, sponsored by the ministry of environment and forests, government of bangladesh (ahmed et al., 2008a). early 2010 saw the publication of ‘biodiversity national assessment and programme of action 2020’ by the government (moef, 2010) as the fourth national report prior to the cop 10. in line with these important and historic events, more specifically on plant conservation in bangladesh, a new initiative has recently been taken by the bangladesh national herbarium to prepare and publish the second volume of the ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (moef, 2010). indeed, after the cop 10, focus now will increasingly be given on achieving cbd’s 2020 biodiversity target. completion of red listing would help us to go forward in achieving the target under species diversity conservation. against this backdrop, the present account highlights some important issues associated with listing of threatened plant species in ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (volume 1) and ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’. attempts shall also be made to identify some vital aspects which need to be addressed to take any future endeavour to complete red listing the flora of bangladesh, especially after the recent national and global developments. in this paper, ‘red list’ and ‘red data book’ are used interchangeably for convenience; ‘red listing’ refers to the whole process associated with identifying threatened species following standard assessment procedures; and ‘encyclopedia’ means ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ published by the asiatic society of bangladesh. red listing at global level there are a number of species assessment systems in place to check out the threat status of a species. of these, the system proposed by iucn is the most widely accepted. a leading organisation in management of natural resources, iucn is also a pioneer in conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 83 extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened)(adequate data) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) a extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened)(adequate data) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) a extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) b not applicable (na) regionally extinct (re) extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) b not applicable (na) regionally extinct (re) developing an assessment system of global red list of threatened species and has been continuing to do so over the last 47 years. now, the iucn red list of threatened species™ is a brand. the global iucn red list is updated on a regular basis. the latest version was released in october 2010 as ‘2010.4’ (iucn red list, 2010c). initially, experts alone used to compile a red list; but since 1994 appropriate conservation and environmental organizations and expert networks are involved in the assessment process through a rigorous process of data collection on certain criteria, validation of collected data, scoring, and assigning of red list categories (iucn red list, 2010c). as can be seen in the fig. 1, there are 9 or 11 categories (varies between global and regional/national assessments), but only three of these qualify as threatened categories: critically endangered (cr), endangered (en) and vulnerable (vu). each of these categories has its own set of criteria defining the category (iucn, 2003; iucn red list, 2010a). fig. 1. iucn red list categories and their interrelationships, a) as per the version 3.1 (iucn red list, 2010a); b) as per the guidelines for regional or national assessment (iucn, 2003). 84 irfanullah red listing at national level: bangladesh in addition to global species assessments, national red listing is also necessary to take conservation measures of threatened species in the national context. therefore, the global assessment criteria need to be modified to reflect country’s situation (iucn bangladesh, 2000; iucn, 2003). in bangladesh, iucn bangladesh set a good example of such adaptation in the late 1990’s by preparing the red books of threatened animals of bangladesh in five volumes covering the red list, fish, amphibians & reptiles, birds, and mammals. later on, iucn bangladesh translated these books into bangla in a single volume (iucn bangladesh, 2003). regarding the threatened flora, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, khan et al. (2001) still remains the only red data book on vascular plants of bangladesh. some important issues associated with this book are discussed in the following sections. red listing of flora of bangladesh the issues concerning threatened plant species of bangladesh were first presented in the early nineties (khan, 1991; khan et al., 2001). the published list of 12 vascular plants was based on the field experience of experts rather than following any standard quantitative or semi-quantitative methods. according to the ‘iucn red list of threatened plants’ of 1997, 24 plant species of bangladesh faced various degrees of threat of extinction (iucn, 1997, in nishat et al., 2002). despite the importance of identifying threatened species in plant conservation, no concrete measures were taken by any government or non-government agencies until 1998 when a project was launched by the bangladesh national herbarium supported by bangladesh agriculture research council (khan et al., 2001). iucn red list categories and criteria of 1994 were apparently followed to determine threatened vascular plant species. out of 106 species listed in this book, 1 is critically endangered (cr), 1 endangered (en), 2 vulnerable (vu), 3 lower risk (lr), 25 data deficient (dd), and 74 are not evaluated (ne). almost at the same time, under the national conservation strategy (ncs) implementation project-1, an attempt was made to determine the threatened categories of plant species found in 10 different ecologically important areas/ecosystems, but it was insufficiently planned and incomplete (moef, 2001). later on, khan (2003) mentioned 95 vascular plants as threatened (92 angiosperms and three gymnosperms) without citing any references. threatened status of plant and animal species from bangladesh is regularly recorded in the global iucn red list. for example, in the global red list 2006, 12 plant species were recorded as threatened; in 2010 it is 16 (iucn red list, 2010d). by consulting eight volumes of ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (volumes 5-12) on vascular plants (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) (siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; ahmed et al., 2008b, c; ahmed et al., 2009a, b, c, d), about conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 85 13% species were found designated as threatened (table 1). a few families are significantly threatened: for example, about 53% species of orchidaceae are threatened (94 species out of 179), whereas in lamiaceae it is more than 30% (26 species out of 86). needless to say, these threatened statuses are purely in the national context. the information presented in the encyclopedia can be considered as the most recent update for bangladesh. table 1. number of threatened species in major vascular plant groups according to the ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; ahmed et al., 2008b, c; ahmed et al., 2009a, b, c, d). vascular plant groups total no. of species critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) total no. of threatened species (% of total species in a group) pteridophytes 195 0 0 36 36 (18.46) gymnosperms 7 0 1 0 1 (14.29) angiosperms 3,611 30 126 293 449 (12.43) dicotyledons 2,623 8 80 179 267 (10.18) monocotyledons 988 22 46 114 182 (18.42) total 3,813 30 127 329 486 (12.75) limitations of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (2001)’ although khan and his co-workers’ endeavour of 2001 is pioneering to assess the threat on vascular plants of bangladesh, it has a number of fundamental weaknesses limiting its use. further, in reference to this red data book, misinterpretation of the information on threatened plants of bangladesh is widely continuing. i) the red data book does not put the threatened plants in a larger context. for example, there is no indication of how many species have so far been recorded from this country; or no attempt was made to relate the position of nationally threatened species in global context, i.e. whether they are globally threatened or not. ii) although it is stated that a standard format was used for data collection accompanied by extensive field visits and indication is made that iucn red list categories of 1994 was considered – the presented information does not comply with these. iii) there is no comment on how many species were actually evaluated to prepare the list of 106. iv) national adaptation of global assessment criteria is needed for any national assessment as done in iucn bangladesh’s red data book of animals (iucn bangladesh, 2000; iucn, 2003). apparently, no such adaptation was made. moreover, no list of criteria is given which was probably used to evaluate the species. 86 irfanullah v) according to the standard iucn system, only the ‘evaluated’ species can be broadly classified into either ‘data deficient’ or ‘adequate data’. the latter could successively be classified under any of the not threatened or threatened categories (cr, en, vu) (fig. 1). but about 70% of the listed species in khan et al. (2001) are categorized under not evaluated (ne), which is not a ‘threatened’ category. no explanation was given to justify this. the editors of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ recognized the limitations of their endeavour (preface, khan et al., 2001). nonetheless, the limitations mentioned above have never been clearly identified and clarified by any workers since then. islam (2002) reviewed this red data book and gave emphasis on the need for quantitative assessment which was missing in the book. in moef (2007, p. 68), designation of 74 species as not evaluated (ne) was mentioned as an ‘interesting’ step, indicating its incorrectness. all 106 plant species listed in khan et al. (2001) are now often misquoted as ‘threatened species’ in many national and scientific documents (e.g. nishat et al., 2002; moef, 2006; hassan and ahmed, 2008; moef, 2010). these 106 species were also indicated as the ‘only’ threatened plants in bangladesh on some occasions. clarifying some discrepancies this is being emphasized through this communication that, according to the volume 1 of the ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (khan et al., 2001), out of 106 plant species, only four angiosperm species are threatened in true sense, namely corypha taliera roxb. (critically endangered, cr), aldrovanda vesiculosa l. (endangered, en), knema bengalensis de wilde and licuala peltata roxb. (vulnerable, vu). the remaining 102 species designated as lower risk (lr, 3 species), data deficient (dd, 25 species) and not evaluated (ne, 74 species) are not threatened as these three are not threatened categories (fig. 1). according to the iucn red list category “a taxon is not evaluated when it has not yet been evaluated against the criteria” (khan et al., 2001; iucn red list, 2010b). fifteen species mentioned in khan et al. (2001) as not evaluated (ne), namely amomum costatum (roxb.) benth., ceropegia longifolia wall. subsp. longifolia, cynanchum wallichii wight, dendrobium longicornu wall. ex lindl., gymnema molle wall. ex wight, hoya acuminata (wight) benth. ex hook. f., h. lanceolata wall. ex don, justicia oreophila c. b. clarke, lagenandra gomezii (schott) bogener & jacobson, marsdenia eriocarpa hook. f., nothopegia acuminata j. sinclair, paphiopedilum insigne (wall. ex lindl.) pfitz, pentabothra nana (f. ham. ex wight) hook f., rotala simpliciuscula (s. kurz.) koehne and vernonia thomsoni hook. f., could have been classified into some other categories (e.g. threatened or data deficient (dd)) as these could not be found for conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 87 the last 50-150 years since they were reported last. but those were categorised as not evaluated (ne). as expected, statuses of many species as mentioned by khan et al. (2001) are changed in the encyclopedia (volumes 5-12). for example, endangered (en) aldrovanda vesiculosa was later evaluated as critically endangered (cr); not evaluated (ne) dendrobium longicornu as critically endangered (cr); while data deficient (dd) terminalia citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex fleming was evaluated as least concern (lc). opportunities ahead: some reflections in the light of above-discussed limitations and anomalies, the following sections shed some light on the opportunities lying before us and what are the vital issues need to be considered in any future red listing initiatives in bangladesh. putting red listing into global and national perspectives while preparing a red list or red data book, the aim should not be limited to preparing or updating the list or the book, but should be beyond that. since the publication of khan et al. (2001), a number of significant events happened globally and nationally pertinent to plant conservation (see introduction of this paper). therefore, any new initiative on red data book should consider supporting, for example, the ‘bangladesh programme of action 2020’ (moef, 2010) and cbd’s 2020 biodiversity target (cbd, 2010). the assessment process should be standard and acceptable nationally and globally. it, however, should be noted that at the moment national or regional assessments are not included on the iucn red list of threatened species, except those for endemic species (iucn red list, 2010b). therefore, assessment of possible 16 endemic vascular species of bangladesh (hassan and ahmed, 2008), national assessment must be fed into the global red list. completing and updating the red list khan et al. (2001) envisaged the need for continuous investigations to complete a red list and regular revision of the threat status of species based upon recent, updated information. more than 12 years have past since the start of the first red data book project in bangladesh (khan et al., 2001); therefore, updating of the information presented in the volume 1 is needed. in the meantime, we also have the encyclopedia (flora, volumes 2-12). it has already made significant effort to identify threats to the species and to gather information on their conservation (including status, measures taken, and measures proposed). the volumes 5-12 contain information on 3,813 vascular plant species ever recorded from the bangladesh territory, and alarmingly identified about 13% of them as threatened (table 1). therefore, earnest attempts should now be made to complete the red list of threatened plant species of bangladesh by considering the significant information 88 irfanullah presented in the encyclopedia. focus should be given on evaluating the not evaluated (ne) and data deficient (dd) species through extensive field survey. during this process, the current threatened species status could also be re-evaluated if new information comes in, thus updating the red list. it is particularly applicable for those species not found over the last 50-150 years since their first record (khan et al., 2001; hassan and ahmed, 2008). focusing on the assessment process updated, appropriate, standard assessment scheme is the key to prepare a red list. khan et al. (2001) supposedly used the assessment system of iucn proposed in 1994 (version 2.3). but since then major changes happened in the category systems and criteria, and currently ‘2001 iucn red list categories and criteria’ (version 3.1) is followed (baillie et al., 2004; iucn red list, 2010b). moreover, in 2003, iucn published guidelines on the application of the iucn red list criteria at national and regional levels (fig. 1; iucn, 2003). hence re-evaluation of threatened vascular plants of bangladesh is needed according to these guidelines overcoming the limitations and anomalies of khan et al. (2001) discussed above. furthermore, as suggested above, if we consider the categorization of the encyclopedia, we need to understand its strengths as well as weaknesses. here it should be noted that in the encyclopedia no methodology is described or referred to for determining the conservation status of a species, except that the iucn red list categories were used (siddiqui et al., 2007b). from the introduction of encyclopedia (ahmed et al., 2008b), it is understood that secondary information and author’s experience were the key elements for categorising a species. therefore, any future red listing attempts need to consider these issues as well. effective collaboration national and international collaboration is vital in preparing any red list. as can be seen in iucn’s red list development, although started by iucn in 1963, in 2000 it became an effort of ‘red list consortium’ of several organizations and networks. since 2004, the partnership grew in a big way bringing in more expertise, thus better knowledge, information, accuracy, confidence and acceptability. similarly, in bangladesh, as a government agency, the bangladesh national herbarium can bring together relevant bodies, like iucn, bangladesh botanical society, bangladesh association of plant taxonomists, department of botany of different universities and colleges, other research institutions, relevant projects & programmes, and nonprofessional naturalists to form working group(s) for completing or updating a national red list of plants. expert assistance may also be sought from relevant international bodies. these will make the process much comprehensive, rigorous and acceptable, and will ensure the best use of limited resources. conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 89 conclusion the title of this account posed a question if we have yet to start our threatened plant species conservation. red list preparation is one of the first stepping stones to reach to the goal of achieving species conservation. again, species conservation is not a stand alone effort. it is related to managing the threats putting pressure on biodiversity loss by creating awareness (in all senses and at all levels) and by putting in place effective policy and legal instruments. the current red listing process has its own challenges due to absence of complete species inventory, limited availability of information, changes in taxonomic status, biasness towards certain groups or ecosystems or regions, and difference between global and regional/national assessment processes (see iucn red list, 2010c). but a fresh, well-thought, well-planned, professional approach has to be taken for effective red listing of plants of bangladesh. only then it may effectively guide the future of plant conservation in this country. acknowledgements encouragement from prof. m.a. hassan, department of botany, university of dhaka during the preparation of this manuscript is duly acknowledged. comments of dr. m. oliur rahman of the same department on an earlier draft are appreciated. views expressed in this paper are the author’s own and do not reflect that of practical action. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 1. bangladesh profile. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-230. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae – zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-552. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 27 november 2010; revised on 4 april 2011) microsoft word 06. hosne ara.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 47-61, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus mill. (rhamnaceae) of bangladesh hosne ara1, md. abul hassan2 and mahbuba khanam bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh keywords: ziziphus, taxonomy, bangladesh abstract a taxonomic account of six species of ziziphus mill., viz. z. funiculosa buch.-ham. ex lowson, z. glabrata heyne ex roth, z. mauritiana lam., z. oenoplia (l.) mill., z. rugosa lam., and z. xylopyrus (retz.) willd. occurring in the flora of bangladesh has been given. a dichotomous key to the species has been furnished. an updated nomenclature including important synonyms, selected references, description of the taxa along with illustrations, ecological notes, specimens examined and geographical distribution have been provided. bangla and english names, flowering and fruiting periods, chromosome number and economic importance have also been presented where available. introduction the genus ziziphus mill., belonging to the family rhamnaceae, is characterized for its 3 or 5-nerved leaves and drupaceous fruits with a solitary pyrene. it consists of about 135 species, distributed in the temperate and tropical parts of the world, mostly concentrated in asia and america; although a few of them extend in the pacific islands and australia (bhandari and bhansali 2000). there are 17 species in india (bhandari and bhansali 2000) and six species in pakistan (qaiser and nazimuddin 1981). long and rae (1991) listed seven species in bhutan, while hara and williams (1979) recorded eight species in nepal. there has been no systematic study of the genus ziziphus in bangladesh. prain (1903) recorded five species and one variety for the greater bengal of which only four fall in the territory of bangladesh. hooker (1875) included 18 species from the whole of british india out of which five were mentioned from the area of present bangladesh. uddin et al. (2000) added one species to the account of ziziphus, viz. z. xylopyrus for bangladesh. a literature survey of relevant floristic works, viz. roxburgh (1832), hook. f. (1875), prain (1903), brandis (1906), heinig (1925), cowan (1928), cowan and cowan (1929), kanjilal et al. (1934), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), huq and khan (1984), khan et al. (1984), alam (1988), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), 1corresponding author. e-mail: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 48 ara et al. rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001), and rahman (2004a, b) and the study of the herbarium materials at different herbaria revealed that only six species have so far been reported from bangladesh. no type specimens for the genus or any species have been seen. the present paper deals with the detailed account of all the six ziziphus species of bangladesh. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions with bracketed key to the species, updated nomenclature along with important synonyms, notes on ecology, geographical distribution on global context and within bangladesh are presented under each taxon. flowering (fl.) and fruiting (fr.) time of the species have been cited while chromosome numbers, bangla and english names have been provided where available. all the specimens examined have been cited. the district names given under specimen citation are in an alphabetical order. the enumeration is presented in an alphabetical order of the accepted names of taxa. materials and methods the present work is mainly based on the herbarium specimens housed at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), central national herbarium (cal), and dhaka university herbarium indicated in the text as duh as well as on the survey of literature, namely farr et al. (1979), hara and williams (1979), qaiser and nazimuddin (1981), bhandari and bhansali (1990, 2000) and long and rae (1991). enumeration of taxa ziziphus p. miller, gard. dict. abr. ed. 4 (1754). zizyphus tourn. ex linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). lectotype: z. jujuba p. miller shrubs or trees, erect or straggling, often climbing, evergreen or deciduous, often spinose. leaves alternate, petiolate, entire or crenate, coriaceous, 3-5 nerved at the base, stipules usually 1 or rarely 2 or curved spines or absent. inflorescence axillary or terminal cymes or thyrses. flowers small, pentamerous, bisexual, pedicellate, yellow-green. calyx tube shallow. sepals ovate-triangular or triangular, keeled within. petals cucullate, deflexed or incurved, rarely absent. stamens 5, included or excluded, inserted below the disc. disc shallow or flat, 5-10-lobed. ovary globose, 2-4-loculed, sunk in the disk and adnate to its base; styles 2-4, usually free or partially united; stigma papillose. fruit a globose or oblong drupe, base with persistent calyx tube, apex mucronulate; putaman woody, 1-3-celled. seed 1-3, plano-convex, testa thin, smooth shining; cotyledons thick; radicle short. taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 49 key to the species 1 plant armed, young shoots rusty pubescent / rusty tomentose 2 plant unarmed, young shoots glabrous z. glabrata 2 flowers fascicled or in sessile axillary cymes 3 flowers in peduncled cymes arranged in large panicle 4 3 trees, leaf blade broadest at middle z. mauritiana scandent or erect shrubs, leaf blade broadest at lower part z. oenoplia 4 leaves rusty tomentose beneath, petals absent z. rugosa leaves pubescent beneath, petals present 5 5 spine single, fruit yellow when ripe z. funiculosa spines in pair, fruit white when ripe z. xylopyrus 1. ziziphus funiculosa buch.ham. ex lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 636 (1875reprint 1973). brandis, ind. trees: 172 (1906-reprint 1971); haines, bot. bih. or.: 196 (1922); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 407 (1981); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 282 (1934-reprint 1982); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 93 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 95 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 141 (1991); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 227 (2000). (plate 1) large scrambling shrub; young shoots rusty pubescent, glabrous with age; internodes 1-5 cm long; prickles short, stout, recurved, usually solitary, glabrous or slightly pubescent at the base. leaves 7-10 × 3-4 cm, alternate, obliquely ovate or elliptic-oblong, acuminate, crenate, coriaceous, oblique at the base, glabrous, slightly pubescent on nerves, basally 3-nerved; petioles short, 0.8-1.0 cm long, pubescent, slightly channeled. inflorescence panicled cymes. flowers 5 mm across, sweet scented, in axillary and terminal pedunculate. pedicels very short. calyx lobes deltoid, 2 mm long, acute, glabrous within, rusty velvety outside. petals 1.5 mm long, obovate, clawed, spreading. stamens 5, equal to petals; filaments flat. disc thin, glabrous, 5-lobed, sometimes faintly 10-lobed. ovary 2-celled, glabrous; styles 2, divided to nearly the base, curved near apex. drupes ovate, 1.3-1.8 cm long, 1-celled, fleshy, glabrous, yellow when ripe. seed 1, 1 × 1 cm, black. fl. & fr.: march-october. ecology: grows in evergreen forests. geographical distribution: india, myanmar, malesia and borneo. economic importance: the fruits are edible (deb 1981). specimen examined: chittagong hill tracts: january, 1887, dr. king’s collector 244 (cal). 50 ara et al. plate 1. ziziphus funiculosa buch.ham. ex lawson. habit sketch (× 0.4). 2. ziziphus glabrata heyne ex roth, nov. pl. sp.: 159 (1821). wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 1: 15-16, t. 282 (1840); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 633 (1875-reprint 1973); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 96 (1990); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 229 (2000). z. trinervia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 364 (1824) et 1: 614 (1832). z. trinervia var. glabratus heyne ex roth, nov. pl. sp.: 159 (1821). (plate 2) english name: jagged jujube. tree up to 8 m high, unarmed; branchlets glabrous. leaves 1.8-10.3 × 1.3-5.2 cm, alternate, lanceolate or ovate-oblong, apex acute, base rounded, crenulate, glabrous, coriaceous, glossy, dark green, basally 3-nerved; petioles 3-9 mm long; stipules filiform, deciduous. inflorescence axillary fascicles; peduncles 2-3 mm long. flowers 5-6 mm across, yellowish green, slightly puberulous; pedicles 4-5 mm long. calyx lobes 2-3 mm taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 51 long, glabrous inside. petals obtriangular with convolute margins, 1-2 mm long, acute or rounded at apex. stamens about 3 mm long; filaments flattened. disc faintly 10-lobed, glabrous, fleshy. ovary 2-celled, glabrous; styles 2, united to the middle, curved. fruits globose, 10-11 mm in diameter, 1-2-celled with a sweet gelatinous pulp. seeds soft, brownish. fl. & fr.: september-january. plate 2. ziziphus glabrata heyne ex roth. habit sketch (× 0.24). ecology: grows in foothills or slopes of hills. geographical distribution: india and bhutan. economic importance: fruits are well-known for possessing emollient and pectoral properties. matured fruits are sour but the dried ones are rather sweet. pulp of the fruits of the cultivated varieties are sweet, aromatic, mealy and white. people eat ripe fruits. the 52 ara et al. fruits are also dried in sun, preserved and consumped in off-season. ripe fruits are also eaten by boiling / stewing / baking with millet or rice. decoction of the leaves is applied to purify blood; it is also used in venereal diseases (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimen examined: cox's bazar: cox's bazar, kelatuli forest, 21 iii 1945, sinclair s. n. (mentioned in sinclair (1955)). 3. ziziphus mauritiana lam., encycl. meth. bot. 3: 318 (1789). sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); khan and afza, dacca university studies, b 16: 38 (1968); qaiser and nazimuddin, fl. pakistan 140: 10 (1981); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 407 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 99 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 138 (1991); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 233 (2000); khan and huq, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 59 (2001). ziziphus jujuba lam., encycl. 3: 318 (1789) (non miller, 1768); roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 1: 608 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 1: t. 99 (1839); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 632 (1875-reprint 1973); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 169 (1906-reprint 1971); heining, list chittagong: 13 (1925); cowan, rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 208-209 (1928); kanjilal et al., fl. assam, 1: 279 (1934-reprint 1982); datta and mitra, bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 36 (1953). (plate 3) bangla names: kul, boroi, gram-boroi, bagri, bogri. english names: chinese date, indian cherry, indian jujube, indian plum. large shrubs or trees, evergreen, up to 15 m tall. young branches densely yellowgray tomentose; spines solitary or in pairs, straight or one of them recurved. leaves 2-6 × 1.0-4.5 cm, alternate, variable, broadly elliptic or oblong, rarely subrounded, broadest at middle, base subrounded, slightly oblique, margin serrulate, apex rounded, rarely acute, pubescent or glabrous above, densely yellow or grey-white tomentose beneath, basally 3nerved; stipules spinescent. inflorescence short axillary cymes or few to 10-flowered fascicles; peduncles 1-8 mm long. flowers 4-6 mm across, green-white; pedicels 2-4 mm long in flowers, 5-8 mm in fruits, gray-yellow tomentose. calyx lobes ovate-triangular, glabrous inside, tomentose outside, tube campanulate. petals oblong-spatulate, clawed at the base, 1.0-1.5 mm long. stamens equal to petals. disk thick, fleshy, 10-lobbed, concave at middle. ovary globose, bilocular, glabrous; style short, 2-fid or branched to half; stigmatic lobes curved. drupes 1.0-1.2 × 1.0 cm, globose oblong or ovoid, orangeyellow, turning deep red, pulpy, with persistent tube at base; kernel irregularly furrowed with a hard, thick, boney shell. seeds 1 or 2, 6-7 × 5-6 mm, shiny, red-brown. fl. & fr.: august-february. taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 53 plate 3. ziziphus mauritiana lam. habit sketch (× 0.25). chromosome number: 2n = 48 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows well in dry places. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, sri lanka, afghanistan, china, australia and tropical africa. economic importance: the wood of the tree is reddish in colour and hard in quality. it is used in agricultural implements. it is also used as fuel and charcoal (bhandari and bhansali 1990). fruit acts as a medicine in astringency, stomatche, biliousness, digestion, blood purification, laxative, scabies, throat troubles, nausea and vomiting. it also possesses emollient and pectoral properties. bark is also used in astringency and in diarrhoea. powder of the bark is used in dressing to wounds. the powder is also an effective medicine in ulcers. root is helpful in curing fever, delirium, purgative, gout and rheumatism. tender leaves and twigs cures boils, abscesses and carbuncles (yusuf et al. 1994). 54 ara et al. specimens examined: bandarban: betchari area, 22 ix 2004, hosne ara ha 1190 (dacb). chittagong: rangapani to hazarikhil, 31 x 1978, huq, rahman & mia h. 4089 (dacb); mirsarai, 06 x 1970, khan & huq k. 2034 (dacb); chunati, 26 ix 2005, hosne ara ha 2264 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: october, 1887, dr. king’s collector 606 (cal); 1886, dr. king’s collector 105 (cal). cox’s bazar: teknaf upazilla, nayapara, 08 vi 1988, mia, huq & mahfuz m. 1973 (dacb). dhaka: tejgaon, 24 ix 1942, atul (duh); abul ghani road, 15 x 1963, a.f. muhammed 18 (duh); j. n. hall campus, 18 vi 1968, paritosh 188 (duh). dinajpur: ramsagor area, 11 x 1980, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 4715 (dacb). faridpur: gaohati on magurafaridpur road, 06 x 1976, huq, rahman & mia h. 1965 (dacb). habiganj: kalenga beat, kalenga, 16 v 2005, hosne ara ha 1556 (dacb); satchori, 17 v 2005, hosne ara ha 1604 (dacb). khulna: jamtala, kotka, sundarban, 17 ii 2002 (dacb), sarder nasir uddin and dr. floris deodatus n 1290 (dacb). mymensing: haluaghat thana, koroitali, 20 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 904 (dacb). netrokona: utrail bazar, vabanipur, 18 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 844 (dacb). patuakhali: kolapara thana, tangragiri, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 5842 (dacb). rangpur: testa near bridge, 04 xii 1985, khan, huq & mia k. 7511 (dacb). sherpur: samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara 702 (dacb); rangtia range, gazni beat, 21 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 948 (dacb). sunamganj: sunamganj, maizbari, 12 x 1985, khan, huq & mia k. 7130 (dacb). sylhet: sarighat-jainta, 03 x 1983, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 6336 (dacb). tangail: dokhola, 06 x 2003, hosne ara ha 532 (dacb). note: ziziphus mauritiana lam. is often confused with z. jujuba mill. (z. vulgaris lam.). ziziphus mauritiana differs from z. jujuba by the leaves velvety tomentose beneath (not glabrescent pubescent) with flowering in august-september (not in mayjune). in bangladesh, z. jujuba does not occur. 4. ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill., gard. dict. ed. 8: 3 (1768). roxb., fl. ind. 2: 360 (1824) et 1: 611 (1832); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 634 (1875-reprint 1973); kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 298 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 170 (1906-reprint 1971); heining, list chittagong: 13 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 280 (1934-reprint 1982); datta and mitra, bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 36 (1953); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 408 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 103 (1990); khan et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 32 (1994); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); rahman and uddin, bangladesh j. plant taxon 4(1): 27 (1997); uddin et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 29 (1998); uddin and rahman, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 49 (1999); rashid et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 51 (2000); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 236 taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 55 (2000); khan and huq, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 59 (2001); rahman et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 36 (2001). rhamnus oenoplia l., sp. pl.: 194 (1753). (plate 4) bangla names: anor, banboroi, bankul, but boroi, got-boroi, jonglikol, makoh, makhora, shealkul, shiakol, shyakul. english name: jackal jujube. plate 4. ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill. habit sketch (× 0.25). erect, straggling or climbing shrub; branches fasciculate or not, often densely rusty tomentose; nodes slightly enlarged around the leaf scars. leaves 1-8 × 2-3 cm, alternate, obliquely ovate or elliptic, crenate or sub-entire, oblique at the base, subrounded, apex acute or acuminate, 3-4 nerved, softly pubescent above, softly pilose beneath; petioles 25 mm long, pubescent; stipular spines solitary, recurved. inflorescence axillary shortly pedunculate cymes. pedicels about 2 mm long, pilose. calyx lobes 1.5-2 mm long, ovatetriangular, apex acute, glabrous inside, brownish, apparently hairy outside. petals 0.8-1.0 mm long, spatulate, clawed, shorter than calyx. stamens 0.7-0.9 mm long. disc glabrous, 56 ara et al. 10-lobed; lobes opposite each calyx lobe, emarginate. ovary globose, glabrous, 2-celled, immersed in disk; styles 2, united to above the middle; stigma obtuse. drupe 5-7 × 5-6 mm, globose or ovoid-globose, small, base with persistent calyx tube, apex mucronulate, black and shining when ripe; fruiting pedicel 3-4 mm long, pilose. seeds 1-2, 1 cm long, shiny, globose. fl. & fr.: august-january. chromosome number: 2n = 20, 24, 48 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows along the roadside forests and thickets. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, sri lanka, malesia and australia. economic importance: the fruit is edible. the bark is used for tanning. the root possesses medicinal properties (deb 1981). specimens examined: chittagong: 03 x 1940, s.k. sen, n.l. pal & r. khan (duh); baraiyadhala to hazarikhil, 14 x 1978, khan & huq k. 5185 (dacb); chunati, 26 ix 2005, hosne ara ha 2265 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: chittagong hill tracts, 1876, j.l. lister 63 (cal); september 1885, dr. king’s collector 122 (cal); 1886, dr. king’s collector 48 (cal); october, 1887, dr. king’s collector 598 (cal); february 1940, dr. s.k. mukerjee 5 (cal); kaptai, sitapahar east, 26 ii 1965, m. s. khan 1188 (duh). chuadanga: darshana, 13 xii 1988, huq, rahman & mia h. 8915 (dacb). comilla: lalmai hills, mainamati, 12 xi 1970, khan & huq k. 2161 (dacb). cox’s bazar: kelatuli, 30 xii 1944, james sinclair 3877 (cal); chakoria, 02 xii 1999, khan, mia, rashid & islam k. 10186 (dacb). dhaka: tejgaon, 24 ix 1942, atul (duh); 13 x 1943, s. k. sen (duh); kurmitolla, 13 xi 1963, din mohammad 102 (duh); gulshan area, 29 viii 1970, a.m. huq 120 (dacb); mirpur botanical garden, 15 xii 1979, huq, mia & momtaz m. 216 (dacb). dinajpur: ramsagor, 11 x 1980, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 4717 (dacb); singra forest, 18 vii 2005, hosne ara ha 2094. gazipur: joydebpur-sripur, 22 x 1977, khan, huq & rahman k. 4734 (dacb); joydebpur railway sides, 20 i 1987, m.k. mia m 1358 (dacb). habiganj: kalenga beat, kalenga, 06 v 2003, hosne ara 295 (dacb); satchori, 17 v 2005, hosne ara 1602 (dacb). khagrachhari: ramgarh, 31 xii 1985, huq & mia h. 7330 (dacb). kushtia: rajnagar to amjhupi, 26 ix 1978, khan & huq k. 5075 (dacb). moulvi bazar: lowachera forest, 19 i 1963, m.s. khan 478 (duh). mymensingh: mirzapur, 27 vi 1965, s. shaha 65 (duh); majra kura, karaitala, sal forest, 24 v 1989, mia, huq & rahman m. 2076 (dacb). nowabganj: nowabganj, 04 ix 2002, rezia, momtaz, bushra & harun r.k. 3875 (dacb). patuakhali: kolapara thana, kuakata, 05 i 1980, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 5965 (dacb). rajshahi: near nawhati, 13 xii 1972, a.m. huq 654 (dacb); mohanpur, 18 xi 1988, huq, rezia, mahfuz & bushra h. 8763 (dacb). sherpur: samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara ha 689 (dacb). sylhet: july 1905, s. abu hussain 66 (cal); roadside, asian highway through satgaon forest, 31 xii 1966, p. bhattacharjee 110 (duh); sylhet m.c. college compound, 12 x 1973, khan, huq & taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 57 hassan k. 3239 (dacb). tangail: dokhola, madhupur forest, 06 x 2003, hosne ara ha. 533 (dacb). 5. ziziphus rugosa lam., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 636 (1875-reprint 1973); kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 265 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 171 (1906-reprint 1971); heinig, list chittagong: 13 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam, 1: 281 (1934-reprint 1982); qaiser and nazimuddin, fl. pakistan 140: 11 (1981); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 408 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 108 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 140 (1991); khan et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 32 (1994); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al., fl. ind. 5: 240 (2000). z. latifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 355 (1824); ed 2, 1: 607 (1832). z. glabra roxb., fl. ind., ed. 2, 1: 614 (1832); heinig, list chittagong: 13 (1925). (plate 5) bangla names: anai, jangli boroi, banboroi. plate 5. ziziphus rugosa lam. habit sketch (× 0.27). 58 ara et al. evergreen straggling shrub or small tree, 3-6 m tall, young branches rusty tomentose; bark dark grey or nearly black; spine 1, recurved, purple-red, 3-6 mm long. leaves 5-14 × 3-8 cm, alternate, dark-green, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, serrate, oblique or subcordate or rounded at the base, acute or bluntly apiculate, glabrous above, rusty tomentose beneath, basally 3-5 nerved; petioles 5-7 mm long, tomentose. cymes on very long axillary or terminal rusty tomentose panicles. flowers minute, pale green; pedicels 3-4 mm long, densely tomentose. calyx lobes triangular, 1.5-2.5 mm long, tomentose outside. petals absent. stamens 1-2 mm long; anther lobes broadly ovate. disc 5-lobed, glabrous. ovary globose, immersed in the disc, 2-celled, villous or glabrous; style 2lobed, divided to middle, curved. drupes 6-12 × 8-10 mm, fleshy, obovoid-globose; fruiting pedicels 7-10 mm long, tomentose. seeds 2, black. fl. & fr.: january-june. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows in hill slope and top of the hill. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, laos, myanmar, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. economic importance: the wood of the tree is reddish in colour and moderately hard in quality. the wood is susceptible to insect attack. main use of the wood is fuel. the fruits are consumed by people. the leaves are used as fodder. the bark is used as medicine in swelling in cheek and ulcer in mouth in powder form mixing with ghee (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimens examined: chittagong hill tracts: 1876, j.l. lister (cal); february, 1887, dr. king’s collector 287, 369, 521 (cal); kaptai, sita pahar east, 26 ii 1965, m.s. khan 1188 (duh). dhaka: kurmitolla, 27 ii 1938, n.k. chatterji & s.k. sen (duh); ramna, 20 iii 1964, din mohammad 258 (duh); mirpur, 24 iii 1968, paritosh 52 (duh); savar, 13 iv 1969, panna 118 (duh). dinajpur: singhra forest, 15 i 1974, khan & huq k. 3604 (dacb); 18 viii 2005, hosne ara ha 2092 (dacb). gazipur: salna forest, 24 i 1968, n. begum 89 (duh). habiganj: chunarughat, chanbari beat, chanbari, 02 iv 1997, a.m. huq & a.i. h 10412 (dacb). mymensingh: rasulpur, 12 v 1983, huq, hassan & islam h. 5718 (dacb); madhupur forest; 28 ii 1987, huq, mia & habib h. 8189 (dacb). sherpur: gazni forest area, 05 v 1982, mia et al. m. 700b (dacb); 10 ii 1985, khan huq & mia k. 7112 (dacb); samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara ha 652 (dacb). sylhet: satgaon forest road side, 14 iv 1967, p. bhattacharjee 240 (duh). 6. ziziphus xylopyrus (retz.) willd., sp. pl. 1: 1104 (1789). lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 634 (1875-reprint 1973); prain, beng. pl. 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 171 (1906-reprint 1971); deb, fl. tripura state, 1: 409 (1981); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 112 (1990); bhandari taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 59 and bhansali in n.p. singh et al., (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 243 (2000); uddin et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 77-79 (2000). rhamnus xylopyrus retz., obs. b. 2: 11 (1781). zizyphus caracutta roxb., fl. ind., ed. 2, 1: 612 (1832). (plate 6) plate 6. ziziphus xylopyrus (retz.) willd. habit sketch (× 0.39). large, straggling shrub or small tree, 6-10 m tall; young shoots rusty tomentose, spines in pairs on younger branches, one straight, the other curved; nodes swollen at the leaf scars. leaves 2.5-9.0 × 1.5-8.0 cm, alternate, broadly elliptic or orbicular, rarely ovate, crenate-serrate, rounded at apex, slightly oblique, subcordate at the base, 3-4 nerved; petioles 2-7 mm long, tomentose. inflorescence axillary, dense, dichotomous cymes; peduncles up to 15 cm long, branched, reddish to yellowish tomentose. flowers 4-6 mm across, yellowish green, buds ovoids, densely pubescent; pedicels 3-4 mm long, tomentose. calyx lobes 2.0-2.5 mm long, keeled up to the middle, glabrous inside, pubescent outside. petals 1.5-2 mm long, obovate. stamens 5, equal to petals. disc 1060 ara et al. lobed, rarely 5-lobed, glabrous. ovary globose, glabrous, 3-celled, 1 × 1 mm; styles 2-3, 2 mm long, hairy; stigma papillate. drupes globose, about 2 × 1 cm, white when ripe. seeds 3, 1-2 × 1.0-1.5 mm, black. fl. & fr.: march-january. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows in deciduous forests. geographical distribution: india, nepal and sri lanka. economic importance: the wood of the tree is yellowish-brown in colour, hard and durable in quality. it is mainly used as fuel. the fruits and bark are used in tanning. the leaves are used as fodder. the kernel, not the pulp, of the fruit is consumed by people (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimens examined: habiganj: chunarughat thana, kalenga forest range, kalenga beat area, 07 iv 2000, zashim 756 (duh); 06 v 2003, hosne ara ha 293 (dacb). acknowledgements thanks to the authorities and staff of the central national herbarium (cal) for allowing to use the herbarium and library facilities. thanks are also due to ruhul amin fakir and mahmuda akhter for line drawings, and ohid ullah and parvin akter for computer compose. references alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. plant taxonomy series, bull. 5. forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1-153. bhandari, m.m. and bhansali, a.k. 2000. rhamnaceae. in: singh et al. 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(received on 28 january 2008; revised on 30 april 2008) microsoft word 01. ramadhani.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 1-12, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists structure and composition of understory plant assemblages of six land use types in the lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia ramadhanil1, sri soetarmi tjitrosoedirdjo2 and dede setiadi2 department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, herbarium celebense (ceb), tadulako university, kampus bumi tadulako palu, central sulawesi 94118, palu, indonesia keywords: cacao plantation, primary forest, structure and composition, understory plant assemblages abstract in the present study the diversity and species composition of understory plants are examined in the submontane forest of lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia by comparing three rain forest types and three types of plantations of cacao differing in use intensity. the results showed that 376 understory plant species consisting of 140 species of tree seedlings, 162 herbs and shrubs, 29 terrestrial ferns and 45 climbers were collected in all land use types. the mean species numbers of herbs did not differ among three forest types but was significantly higher in cacao plantation with high use intensity, being about three times higher than in undisturbed rain forest and lightly disturbed rain forest. urticaceae, araceae, hypoxidaceae and acanthaceae were predominant in the forests, whereas asteraceae and poaceae in the cacao plantations. the number of species of ferns and climbers did not differ between forests and plantations. the study also recorded several invasive plant species at the cacao plantations such as piper aduncum l., bidens pilosa l., ageratum conyzoides l., sclerea purpuriens steud and paspalum conjugatum berg. introduction tropical rain forests are among the most species rich places on earth (jacobs 1988). many studies demonstrated high tree diversity of tropical rain forests (proctor et al.1983, kochummen et al. 1990, phillips et al. 1994, wright et al. 1997, hamann et al. 1999, kessler et al. 2005), especially economically important trees (whitmore 1990). however, the studies on understory assemblages (gentry and dodson 1987), herbs, shrubs, lianas, and epiphytes (laska 1997, svenning 2000, gradstein et al. 2005) are limited. ecologically, understory plant species assemblages play a fundamental role in diversity, structure, and functional aspects of tropical forests (svenning 2000). they may show different patterns of diversity than tree species due to different responses to light level, nutrient availability, and temperature (laska 1997, svenning 2000, siebert 2002). 1corresponding author. e-mail: pitopang_64@yahoo.com 2department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, bogor agricultural university, kampus dermaga raya bogor, indonesia. 2 ramadhanil et al. similar to other plant groups, data on understorey plant assemblages of sulawesi, indonesia are still limited and published data on the effects of habitat modification on such plant assemblages in the island are missing. this study, therefore, makes an attempt to address the question how the floristic composition, diversity, richness and density of understorey plant communities differ between three rain forest types and three cacao plantations types with different use intensity in submontane forest of lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia. materials and methods the study area was located in the surroundings of toro, a village at the western margin of lore lindu national park (longitude 01º22’52’’ 01º31’4’’ s; latitude 120º1’37’’ 120º3’5’’ e) about 100 km south of palu, the capital of central sulawesi, indonesia. research was carried out from april 2004 to december 2005. detailed information on climate and soil conditions of this part of central sulawesi is not yet available (see whitten et al. 1987). falk et al. (2005), however, reported that mean annual rainfall in the study area varied between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm, mean relative humidity 85.17%, and monthly mean temperature 23.40°c. the margin of the national park is characterized in many parts by a mosaic of primary forest, primary less disturbed forest, primary more disturbed forest, secondary forests, and several land-use systems with cacao, coffee, maize and rice as the dominating crops (gerold et al. 2004). the elevation of the selected sites is between 800 m and 1100 m, therefore belongs to the submontane forest zone (whitten et al. 1987). understory plants were sampled in six different land use types differing in use intensity, including three types of rain forest and three types of agroforestry system, as follows: 1. land use types a-c: rain forest land use type a (“wana”): low use intensity / undisturbed rain forest. natural forest with traditional use only; human activities restricted to collecting of medicinal plants and extensive hunting; rattan palms abundantly present. land use type b (“pangale 1”): medium use intensity / lightly disturbed rain forest. natural forest with rattan extraction, rattan palm removed. land use type c (“pangale 2”): medium use intensity / moderately disturbed rain forest. selectively logged forest, containing small to medium sized gaps, disturbance of ground vegetation, and increased abundance of lianas following the selective removal of canopy trees and rattan. structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 3 2. land use types d-f: agroforestry system land use type d (“pahawa pongko 1”): moderate use intensity. cacao forest garden with natural shade trees (= remaining forest cover) in the forest margin. land use type e (“pahawa pongko 2”): light use intensity. cacao cultivated under mixed canopy planted shade trees in the forest margin. land use type f (“huma”): high use intensity. cacao cultivated under canopy of monospecific planted shade trees more distant from the forest margin. for each land use type, four replicates were selected. at all sites understory vascular plants (including herbs, tree seedlings, ferns and climbers) less than 1.50 m high were sampled in ten 2 × 2 m subplots. plots were selected similar to plots for tree diversity study. plots of land use types a-c were located at slightly higher elevation (hill-tops) than land use types d-f (lower slopes). all recognizable morphospecies of understory plants were collected. plant collection was according to the “schweinfurth method” (bridson and forman 1999). additionally, fertile voucher specimens were collected for identification. processing of the specimens was conducted at the herbarium celebense (ceb), universitas of tadulako, palu, indonesia. identification was done in the field, in the ceb, in herbarium bogoriense (bo), indonesia, and in national herbarium of netherland (l), leiden. vouchers were deposited in ceb, with duplicates in bo, l, herbarium gottingen, germany, and herbarium biotrop bogor, indonesia. statistical analyses relative density, relative biomass, relative frequency and importance value indices (ivi) were calculated according to the formulae of dumbois-muller and ellenberg (soerianegara and indrawan 1998, setiadi et al. 2001). i) relative density (%) = (no. of individuals of a family or species / total no. of individuals in sample) × 100 ii) relative biomass (%) = (biomass of a species or family / total biomass in sample) × 100 iii) relative frequency (%) = (sampling units containing a species/ sum of all frequencies) × 100 iv) ivi for a species is the sum of its relative density, relative biomass, and relative frequency. additionally, we compared the taxonomic and structural composition between the land use types. taxonomic composition was quantified on a family basis by calculating 4 ramadhanil et al. the family relative density, relative diversity, relative dominance, and family importance value (fiv) indices according to the formulae of mori et al. (1983): i) family relative density (%) = (no. of trees in a family / total no. of trees) × 100 ii) family relative diversity (%) = (no. of species in a family / total number of species) × 100 iii) family relative dominance (%) = (total basal area for all trees in a family / total basal area of all families) × 100 iv) fiv is the sum of family relative diversity, relative density, and relative dominance. the presence and absence data were used to calculate species similarity among all plots by application of sörensen’s similarity coefficient: s = 2 c (a +b) -1 where a is the number of iv (important value) in stage 1, b is the number of iv in stage 2, and c is the number of iv common to both stages. furthermore, dissimilarity index (1 sörensen similarity coefficient) among those plots where then clustered by using biodiv 97 (meßner 1996) and the program statistica 5.5. dissimilarity values were used to calculate a two-dimensional ordination of all samples using multidimensional scaling. the program systat version 7.0 was used to perform statistical analyses. arithmetic means are given ± 1 standard deviation (sd). anova was of a one-way type. tukey’s honest significant different test was used for multiple comparisons of means. results and discussion species richness in total, 376 understory plant species consist of 140 species of tree seedlings, 162 herbs and shrubs, 29 terrestrial ferns and 45 climbers were collected in all land use types. statistically, the mean species number of herbs did not differ among three forest types but was significantly higher in cacao plantation type f (high use intensity of cacao plantation) compared to all other five land use types (fig. 1). the mean species number of herbs in cacao plantation type f (35.3 ± 5.8) was about three times higher than in undisturbed and lightly disturbed rain forests. in contrast, the mean number of species of tree seedlings was highest in moderately disturbed rain forest (type c: 36.5 ± 3.0), followed by rain forest of light use intensity and undisturbed rain forest, with the mean numbers of species being 25.5 ± 3.4 and 25.3 ± 5.3, respectively. the lowest number of tree seedling species (4.5 ± 3.7) was in the land use type f (high use intensity of cacao plantation). structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 5 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 a b c d e f land use types n um be r of s pe ci es herb seedling ferns liana fig. 1. species richness (+ standard deviation) of understory plants (herbs & shrubs, seedlings, ferns and liana) in six land use types at the lore lindu national park, indonesia. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. taxonomic composition the species composition of understory plants was different among land use types. in the undisturbed forest (type a), dominating tree seedling species were acer laurinum hassk. (aceraceae), areca vestiaria giseke (arecaceae), calophylum soulattri burm.f. (clusiaceae), aglaia argentea bl. (meliaceae), ardisia celebica scheff. (myrsinaceae). syzigium accuminatisimum miq. (myrtaceae), lasianthus sp. (rubiaceae) meliosma sumatrana (jack.) walp (sabiaceae), palaquium quercifollium (de vriese) burck (sapotaceae). herb and shrub species were presented by alpinia galanga (l.) swartz., costus speciosus (koen.) j.e. smith, elletaria sp. (zingiberaceae), four unidentified species of elatostema spp. and pauzolzia zeylanica benn. (urticaceae). ferns were mostly represented by christella dentata forst (thelypteridaceae), cyathea amboinensis (aldew.) merr. (cyatheaceae), davalia trichomanoides bl. (davaliaceae), diplazium crenatoserratum (bl.) moore (athryriaceae), nephrolepis bisserata (sw.) schott and selaginella sp. (selaginellaceae), whereas liana and vine species were four juvenile endemic rattans, namely calamus inops becc. ex heyne, calamus minahassae becc., calamus ornatus blume ex schult. var. celebicus becc., and calamus zollingerii becc. (arecaceae), an endemic scrambler bamboo dinochloa barbata s. dransfield (poaceae), land use types n um be r o f s pe ci es herbs & shrubs seedlings ferns lianas 6 ramadhanil et al. freycenetia angustifolia bl. (pandanaceae), stephania japonica (thunb. ex murr.) miers (menispermaceae), and ziziphus angustifolius (miq.) hatus. (rhamnaceae). in the lightly disturbed rain forest (type b), dominant tree seedling recorded were areca vestiaria, arenga pinnata (wurmb) merr., pinanga aurantiaca mogea (arecaceae), callophyllum soulattri (clusiaceae), leea indica (burm.f.) merr. (leeaceae), pandanus sarasinorum lauterb (pandanaceae), meliosma sumatrana (jack) walp (sabiaceae), palaquium quercofollium (giff.) engler and chionanthus laxiflorus blume (oleaceae). whereas herb species recorded were staurogyne elongata (blume) kuntze (acanthaceae), curculigo orchioides gaertn. (amaryllidaceae), homalomena humilis (jack) hook.f. (araceae), begonia aptera bl. (begoniaceae), elatostema cf. macrophylla, elatostema sp. 1, elatostema sp. 2 (urticaceae), spathyphyllum canaefollium schott (araceae) and tacca palmata bl. (taccaceae). there were only two juvenile rattans species, namely calamus zollingerii and calamus minahassae, but the other common lianas species were ziziphus angustifolius (rhamnaceae), alyxia celebica d.j. middleton (apocynaceae), medinilla sp. (melastomataceae), gnetum cuspidatum bl. (gnetaceae) and centrosema sp. (fabaceae). christella dentata, diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw., cyathea amboinensis, nephrolevis biserrata and helminthostachys zeylanica (l.) hook. (ophioglosaceae) were the co-dominant fern species in this land use type. the herb species in moderate use intensity forest (type c) were mostly presented by elatostema sp. 2 (urticaceae), homalomena humilis (araceae), curculigo orchioides (amarylidaceae), elatostema sp. 1, elatostema sp. 3 and tacca palmata. there were only six species of ferns in this habitat and again we recorded lindsaea lucida, christella dentata, cyathea sp. and helmintostachys zeylanica as seedlings. the dominant liana seedlings were stephania japonica (menispermaceae), dinochloa barbata l. (poaceae), arcangalesia flava (l.) merr. (menispermaceae), piper miniatum l. (piperaceae), calamus inops and an endemic rattan korthalsia celebica becc. (both arecaceae). the understory plants species composition was significantly different between cacao plantations and forests. the number of native species of forest climbers and herbs decreased in land use types d, e and f, where they were replaced by the weedy herb species. although there were elatostema sp. 1 (urticaceae), tacca palmata (taccaceae), elatostema sp. 2, curculigo orchioides and impatiens platypetala lindl. (balsaminaceae), all typical for the herb layer of the forest, we collected a large number weedy species in land use type d such as ageratum conyzoides (asteraceae), elephantopus mollis l. (asteraceae), crassocephalum crepidiodes (benth.) s. moore (asteraceae), paspalum conyugatum, setaria palmifolia (j. koenig) stapf, panicum repens l., eragrostis tennella (l.) beauv. ex r. & s. (poaceae), cyathula prostata (l.) bl. (amaranthaceae), coleus sp. (lamiaceae), hyptis capitata jacq. (lamiaceae), commelina diffusa burm.f., pollia secundiflora (bl.) bakh.f. (commelinaceae), blumea structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 7 lacera (burm.f.) dc. (asteraceae), and scleria purpurascens steud. in land use types e and f, the herb species layer was entirely composed of the weedy species. at the family level, the understory plant composition was different among six land use types (table 1). urticaceae was dominant in land use types a, c and d, but taccaceae in b. whereas poaceae was dominant family in land use type e and asteraceae in f. similarity of understory plant assemblages the result of similarity analyses of understory plant assemblages among the six land use types showed that there was a high degree of similarity percentage among land use types a, b and c. the value of similarity between a vs b was 67%, a vs c was 63% and between b and c was 67%. on the other hand, the taxonomic composition between land use types e and f also showed a high degree of similarity, with a sörensen index 0.82. similarity percentages of understory plant between forests and cacao plantations showed low values of sörensen index. the value of similarity between a vs d was 28%, a vs e was 9%, and between a and f was 7%, whereas between b vs d, e and f were 34%, 14% and 10%, respectively. the cluster analysis and two dimensional scaling based on sörensen indices for all possible pair wise combinations of understory plant species assemblages showed a clear separation between the three types of forests and the cacao plantation types (figs 2 and 3). there is a high degree of overlapping between land use types a (natural forest) and b (lightly undisturbed forest). the cacao forest garden (type d) represented a relatively distinct group. both land use types e (cacao cultivated under mixed canopy of shade tree) and f (cacao cultivated under monospecific canopy of shade tree) showed a high degree of overlapping. the richness and composition of understory plant species are presumably due to their different responses to abiotic factors such as differential light levels, nutrient availability, water availability, wind and temperature (marquis et al. 1986, denslow 1987, laska 1997, svenning 2000, siebert 2002). the abundance and diversity of understory plants are also influenced by biotic factors. for example, birds, mammals and bats are known to be important dispersers of pioneer and forest climax tree species, shrub, herb and epiphytic species (galindo-gonzales et al. 2000, siebert 2002). in the present study, herbs showed highest species richness in cacao cultivated forest gardens (type f), which is in accordance with the findings of siebert (2002). the higher light levels and more open canopy in this land use type may explain the observations. table 1. the ten main understory plant families under each of six land use types based upon family important value (fiv). a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. land use types a b c d e f no. families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv 1 urticaceae 92.80 taccaceae 24.35 urticaceae 106.60 urticaceae 72.84 poaceae 89.84 asteraceae 86.95 2 araceae 55.50 acanthaceae 20.96 araceae 62.92 poaceae 54.29 asteraceae 56.13 poaceae 80.74 3 hypoxidaceae 40.10 urticaceae 17.42 hypoxidaceae 35.49 asteraceae 39.10 acanthaceae 29.31 caryophyllaceae 29.26 4 acanthaceae 14.60 araceae 16.16 taccaceae 16.98 araceae 21.60 lamiaceae 22.00 amaranthaceae 13.33 5 zingiberaceae 7.48 hypoxidaceae 14.38 gesneriaceae 15.26 taccaceae 18.60 caryophyllaceae 16.73 lamiaceae 12.53 6 gesneriaceae 7.22 gesneriaceae 4.83 acanthaceae 13.41 lamiaceae 17.42 rubiaceae 11.74 cyperaceae 11.18 7 orchidaceae 5.52 zingiberaceae 2.91 zingiberaceae 13.17 hypoxidaceae 13.31 cyperaceae 10.24 urticaceae 8.07 8 commelinaceae 2.68 orchidaceae 2.75 balsaminaceae 9.54 balsaminaceae 10.88 urticaceae 9.03 commelinaceae 7.69 9 araliaceae 2.30 begoniaceae 2.35 maranthaceae 8.39 acanthaceae 8.05 malvaceae 8.97 euphorbiaceae 6.62 10 taccaceae 2.05 balsaminaceae 1.16 commelinaceae 6.84 comelinaceae 7.73 verbenaceae 8.10 rubiaceae 5.25 remaining families 69.80 remaining families 192.75 remaining families 11.41 remaining families 36.18 remaining families 37.91 remaining families 38.38 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 9 tree diagram for variables unweighted pair-group average euclidean distances 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 linkage distance f e d c b a fig. 2. dendrogram of cluster analysis of understory assemblages based on dissimilarity index (1 sörensen similarity indices) among six land use types differing in use intensity. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. scatterplot 2d a1 a2 a3 a4 b1 b2 b3 b4 c1 c2 c3 c4 d1 d2 d3 d4 e1 e2 e3 e4 f1 f2f3 f4 -1.4 -1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 dimension 1 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 d im en si on 2 fig. 3. two dimensional scaling of understory species assemblages similarity based on sörensen indices in the six land use types. sites belonging to the same habitat type are connected by lines. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. 10 ramadhanil et al. the cacao forest garden, known as a traditional forest farming system (siebert 2002), is an important land use type in the margins of lore lindu national park. the high species diversity and complex structure of traditional forest farming systems maintain many of the ecosystem functions and processes found in primary forests. these include low ground-level light intensities, low transpiration rates of understory plants, reduced wind speed, diurnal temperature and humidity fluctuations, large and continuous organic matter inputs, efficient nutrient cycling, and a diverse habitat for forest flora and fauna (perfecto et al. 1996, beer et al. 1998, siebert 2002). traditional forest farming system may also provide connectivity between isolated primary forest fragments (galindogonzales et al. 2000). in this study, a mix of native and exotic weed species was recorded in the cacao forest garden (type d). the composition of herbs in this forest type agrees with the results of siebert (2002) who found both native and exotic weed species occurring in traditional forest farming systems. at the family level, asteraceae and poaceae were the dominant families of exotic weeds in cacao plantation areas. probably, the invasion by species of these two families is due to the excellent dispersal capacities of their species. interestingly, the dominant tree seedling species in three cacao plantation types was piper aduncum (piperaceae), with important value indices more than 75%. weber (2003) stated that piper aduncum is one of invasive alien species widely distributed in the tropics including malesia, polynesia and melanesia. tjitrosoedirdjo (2005) who inventoried the invasive alien species in indonesia pointed out that this species is originally from south america but it has recently invaded some islands in indonesia including sulawesi. despite the differing levels of disturbance, the three forest types (a, b and c) showed significant similarities among themselves suggesting resilience of the occupying species towards disturbance. on the other hand, although the overall species assemblages of types e (light use intensity) and f (high use intensity) were similar, type d (moderate use intensity) remained different from them probably due to the presence of high tree seedlings and weedy species. acknowledgements this study was carried out in the framework of interdisciplinary research programme “stability of rain forest margins in indonesia” (storma) funded by the german research foundation (dfg-sfb 552) and the directorate general of higher education department of national education republic of indonesia. we gratefully acknowledge logistic support from storma’s indonesia partner universities in bogor and palu, institut pertanian bogor, universitas tadulako (untad), the ministry of education in jakarta (dikti), the authorities of lore lindu national park “balai taman nasional lore lindu” and the nature conservancy indonesia. great appreciation and gratitude to structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 11 dr. h. sahabuddin mustafa, ms (rector of tadulako university), dr. h. arifuddin bidin (head of research center of tadulako university), prof. s.r. gradstein and m. kessler (both georg august university of gottingen germany) for their constructive comments. i would like to thank the pita group of national herbarium of netherlands leiden, herbarium bogoriense staff, herbarium celebense staff, the people of ngata toro and to the lore lindu national perk authority for their many kind of support. the manuscript profited from the comments by an anonymous reviewer. references beer, j., muschler, r., kass, d. and somarriba, e. 1998. shade management in coffee and cacao plantations. agroforestry systems 38: 139-164. bridson, d. and forman, l. 1999. the herbarium handbook. 3rd ed., royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 1334. denslow, j.s. 1987. tropical rain forest gaps and tree species diversity. annu. rev. ecol. syst. 18: 431-451. falk, u., ibrom, a., oltchev, a., kreilein, h., june, t., rauf, a., merklein, j. and gravenhorst, g. 2005. energy and water fluxes above a cacao agroforestry system in central sulawesi indonesia, indicate effects of land use change on local climate. met zeitsch. 14: 219-225 galindo-gonzales, j., guevara, s. and sosa, v. 2000. 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(manuscript received on 11 september 2007; revised on 18 november 2007) 01. ramadhanil table 1.pdf land use types microsoft word 01. iranian alfalfa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 93-104, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic variation among iranian alfalfa (medicago sativa l.) populations based on rapd markers fatemeh mohammadzadeh*, hassan monirifar1, jalal saba, mostafa valizadeh2, ahmad razban haghighi1, bahram maleki zanjani, maryam barghi1 and vahideh tarhriz3 faculty of agriculture, zanjan university, zanjan, iran keywords: alfalfa; rapd; genetic diversity; analysis of molecular variance; cluster analysis. abstract genetic diversity among and within 10 populations of iranian alfalfa, from different areas of azarbaijan, iran was analyzed by screening dna from seeds of individual plants and bulk samples. in individual study, 10 randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) primers produced 156 polymorphic bands and a high level of genetic diversity was observed within populations. the averages of total and within population genetic diversity were 0.2349 and 0.1892, respectively. results of analysis of molecular variance (amova) showed the great genetic variation existed within populations (81.37%). these results were in agreement with allogamous and polyploid nature of alfalfa. cluster analysis was performed based on nei’s genetic distances resulting in grouping into 3 clusters which could separate breeding population from other populations. results of cluster analysis were in consistent with morphological and geographical patterns of populations. the results of bulk method were different from individual analysis. our results showed that rapd analysis is a suitable method to study genetic diversity and relationships among alfalfa populations. introduction alfalfa (medicago sativa l.) is the most important forage legume (veronesi et al., 2010), originated in caucasus, northeastern turkey, northwestern iran and turkmenistan (dehghanshoar et al., 1997), though iran is known as central origin (hanson, 1988). it is an autotetraploid and allogamous plant (flajoulot et al., 2005). these features lead to its high genetic complexity (gherardi et al., 1998; flajoulot et al., 2005). therefore, a high degree of genetic diversity can be found within and between populations (mengoni et al., 2000). these factors cause the complication of breeding improvement in alfalfa (gherardi et al., 1998). however, since alfalfa is an agronomically important crop, its improvement is necessary, especially to increase pest or disease resistance, forage quality and forage yield (volence et al., 2002). alfalfa cultivars are synthetic varieties developed by intercrossing the selected parents and advancing their offspring through three or four generations of seed increase (rowe and hill, 1999). so, genetic studies such as differentiation between cultivars and estimating the genetic diversity within and between populations are important in alfalfa breeding programs to use some of these populations as selected parents and producing higher yielding cultivars (veronesi et al., 2010). *corresponding author: e-mail: fidafeh_m@yahoo.com 1agricultural biotechnology research, institute of iran (abrii) for northwest and west of iran, tabriz, iran. 2faculty of agriculture, tabriz university, tabriz, iran. 3sari agricultural sciences and natural resources university, sari, iran. 94 mohammadzadeh et al. fig. 1. locations of alfalfa populations (azarbaijan, iran). source: http://www.ncc.org.ir dna-based molecular markers such as rflps, ssrs and rapds are extensively used to estimate genetic diversity and establish the relationships between plant cultivars (kidwell et al., 1994; mengoni et al., 2000). these markers have more polymorphism loci than other methods such as isozyme analysis (jenczewski et al., 1999) and since they are not affected by environment conditions and plant development level, they can estimate genetic diversity in populations more precisely (tucak et al., 2008). in rapd-pcr technique, genomic dna is amplified with arbitrary 10-mer oligonucleotide primers to produce dna fragment polymorphisms (gherardi et al., 1998). rapd markers are independent of dna quantity (jenczewski et al., 1999) and they do not require previous knowledge of genome (rahman, 2006; tucak et al., 2008). therefore, rapd analysis is considered as rapid, simple and inexpensive method (williams et al., 1990; rahman, 2006) to study genetic structures such as genome mapping, estimating of genetic diversity within and among populations and discriminating among plant populations and cultivars such as alfalfa (arzani and samei, 2004; vandemark et al., 2006; rahman, 2010). although rapd procedure is a useful method, its application might be limited when a large number of individuals are studied (yu and pauls, 1993). this problem could be solved using bulked dna samples as dna templates in rapd amplifications (michelmore et al., 1991). in genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 95 this study we aimed to estimate genetic diversity within and among alfalfa populations of azarbaijan (iran) by rapd markers. we also grouped these populations with analysis of individual samples and bulked dna samples. materials and methods plant materials: nine tetraploid iranian alfalfa native ecotypes collected from different areas of azarbaijan, iran (fig. 1) and one breeding population (ghareh yonjeh) were employed in this study (table 1). in each population, 30 seeds were randomly selected for individual plant analysis. a mixture of 30 randomly selected seeds per population was also used to prepare bulked dna sample. table 1. list of alfalfa populations used in the present study. population number population name collection site elevation (km) planting type 1 gran chay kaleibar 750 irrigated farming, native ecotype 2 zonorag marand 1850 dry farming, native ecotype 3 sivan marand 2000 irrigated farming, native ecotype 4 almalou ajabshir 2000 dry farming, native ecotype 5 seviar hashtrud 1700 irrigated farming, native ecotype 6 balsin mianeh 1730 semi-dry farming, native ecotype 7 ein-aldin bostanabad 1900 irrigated farming, native ecotype 8 ilan-jough ardabil 1800 irrigated farming, native ecotype 9 kordlou ahar 1350 irrigated farming, native ecotype 10 ghareyonje khosroshahr 1345 dry farming, improved cultivar dna isolation: genomic dna from 30 individual seeds of each population was extracted following madden (2002) with mirror modification. the quantity and purity of extracted dnas were estimated by spectrophotometry and 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. each dna sample was diluted to 30 ng and kept at -20ºc to use for pcr amplification. dna from bulked seeds per population was also extracted and referred to as bulked dna sample. rapd amplification: thirty eight random primers were tested and finally 10 primers were selected in this study for rapd analysis (table 2). pcr reactions were performed in a 25 µl total volume containing 1 µl of template dna (30 ng), 4 pmol of random primers (cinnagen), 13 µl of 1 x pcr master kit (cinnagen pcr master kit, cat. no. pr8250c) and 10 µl of double distilled h2o. amplifications were carried out in a thermal cycler (primus 96), programmed for an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 min followed by 40 cycles of 1 min at 93ºc, 1 min at 40ºc, 90 s at 72ºc and a final extension cycle of 5 min at 72ºc. rapd products were separated by electrophoresis on 1.5% agarose gels, stained with ethidium bromide, visualized with uv light and then photographed. a 1kb dna ladder (fermentas) was also loaded to estimate the size of rapd fragments. 96 mohammadzadeh et al. data analysis: the presence or absence of bands visualized on the gel were scored as 1 (presence) or 0 (absence) for each locus separately. the percentage of polymorphic bands per primer was defined and then within population polymorphism, genetic diversity based on nei’s gene diversity (nei, 1973) and shannon’s information index (lewontin, 1972) and the genetic distances among populations (nei, 1972) were measured by popgen ver 1.32 (yeh et al., 1999) software. a matrix of pairwise genetic distances was employed to cluster the populations and upgma dendrogram was drawn using the sequential agglomerative hierarchical nested (sahn; sneath and sokal, 1973) clustering method as available in ntsys-pc 2.02 (rohlf, 1998). cophenetic correlation was measured with ntysys to test the association between input and output of the distance matrix (mantel, 1967). table 2. properties of arbitrary oligonucleotide primers used for rapd analysis. individual analysis bulk analysis primers sequence (5'-3') number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands opj4 ccgaacacgg 19 100.00 10 83.33 b1 ggttcgctcc 18 100.00 3 25.00 b6 tgctctgccc 12 100.00 7 63.63 b7 ggtgacgcag 12 92.31 2 16.67 b8 gtccacacgg 11 91.67 3 42.86 opj13 ccacactacc 20 86.96 5 41.67 b10 ctgctgggac 16 88.89 4 28.57 opa1 caggcccttc 20 83.33 12 80.00 opj19 ggacaccact 15 93.75 3 30.00 opj20 aagcggcctc 13 86.67 0 00.00 mean 15.6 92.36 46 41.17 fig. 2. rapd fragments for bostanabad population using the primer b6 in individual analysis. m. molecular size marker (1 kb). 1-30. individuals number. genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 97 analysis of molecular variance (amova) was performed to estimate hierarchical variance components (among individuals within populations, among populations and among groups). amova was carried out via arlequin 3 (excoffier et al., 2005). to show a graphical representation of the relationships among populations, principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) was performed using ntsys-pc, version 2.02. genetic distances among populations for bulk analysis were estimated and cluster analysis and principal coordinates analyses were performed. results among 38 random primers tested in this study, 10 primers generated reproducible bands (table 2). fig. 2 and fig. 3 show rapd fragments in individual plant study and bulk analysis, respectively. fig. 3. rapd fragments for 10 populations using the primer b6 in bulk analysis. m. molecular size marker (1 kb). 1-10. populations number. table 3. within-population polymorphism and gene diversity (1nei’gene diversity, 2shannons information index). population number number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands h1 i2 1 112 65.88 0.1977 0.3058 2 98 57.65 0.1715 0.2671 3 107 62.94 0.1891 0.2925 4 119 70.00 0.1975 0.3091 5 116 68.24 0.1991 0.3090 6 110 64.71 0.1801 0.2819 7 107 62.94 0.1753 0.2748 8 113 66.47 0.1843 0.2874 9 118 69.41 0.2114 0.3238 10 105 61.76 0.1864 0.2876 mean 110.5 65 0.1892 0.2939 98 mohammadzadeh et al. individual analysis: a total of 156 polymorphic bands ranging from 250 to 2500 bp were identified. three primers (b1, b6 and opj4) produced 100% polymorphic bands. minimum percentage of polymorphic bands was observed by primer opa1 (table 2). the percentage of polymorphic bands within populations differed from 57.65% for population 2 to 70% for population 4 (table 3). additionally, the populations 9 and 2 showed the maximum and minimum genetic diversity (table 3), respectively. total genetic diversity (ht) and within population genetic diversity (hs) were calculated as 0.2349 and 0.1892, respectively and the degree of genetic differentiation among populations (gst) was estimated as 0.1944. these results indicated that diversity within populations was greater than that among populations. genetic distances among pairs of populations ranged from 0.025 between populations 7 and 8 to 0.1103 between populations 2 and 10. the average distance among populations was 0.0631. in total, genetic distances among populations were low (table 4). table 4. nei’s genetic distances between populations for individual analysis (lower diagonal) and bulk analysis (upper diagonal). mean for upper diagonal: 0.1169; mean for lower diagonal: 0.0631 population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 0.0919 0.0543 0.0857 0.1149 0.0703 0.0870 0.1243 0.1363 0.0869 2 0.0341 0.1150 0.0667 0.1220 0.1542 0.1149 0.1428 0.1566 0.1264 3 0.0391 0.0417 0.0857 0.0919 0.0595 0.0869 0.1135 0.1136 0.0543 4 0.0616 0.0859 0.0595 0.0667 0.1250 0.1200 0.1477 0.1617 0.1200 5 0.0490 0.0779 0.0652 0.0413 0.1314 0.1149 0.1314 0.1253 0.1149 6 0.0487 0.0528 0.0447 0.0575 0.0428 0.1027 0.1290 0.1751 0.0919 7 0.0358 0.0438 0.0392 0.0774 0.0620 0.0538 0.0702 0.1023 0.0543 8 0.0434 0.0701 0.0506 0.0553 0.0491 0.0530 0.0250 0.1073 0.1027 9 0.0760 0.0886 0.0830 0.0978 0.0934 0.0848 0.0792 0.0645 0.0795 10 0.0674 0.1103 0.0978 0.1050 0.0831 0.0950 0.0872 0.0663 0.0791 genetic distance values were used to construct a upgma dendrogram and populations were divided into three groups (fig. 4). first groups included population 10 (a breeding population) and second group included population 9. other populations belonged to third group. matrix correlation was estimated as 0.849. to study relationships among populations, amova was performed based on population clustering (significance tests were provided by computing 1023 permutations). significant differences were observed among groups, among populations within groups and among individuals within populations. however, the high genetic variation (76.08 %) was attributed to differences within populations (table 5). amova was also performed in population level to estimate diversity within and between populations (fst = 0.186; p = 0.05). although variation among populations was significant, the great genetic diversity (81.37%) was observed within populations (table 5). fig. 5 shows the results of pcoa. on the basis of the first and second coordinates, which accounted for 29.29% and 19.29% of the total variation, respectively, populations were distributed in three groups. populations 10 and 9 belonged to first and second groups, respectively and the other populations belonged to third group. genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 99 table 5. results of analysis of molecular variance (amova) in individual analysis. source of variation df ss variance component percentage of variation p based on clustering among groups 2 453.744 2.34129 10.46 0.023 among populations within groups 7 752.262 3.01445 13.46 <10-5 within populations 290 4939.467 17.03264 76.08 <10-5 total 299 6145.473 22.38839 in population level within populations 290 4939.467 17.03264 81.37 <10-5 among populations 9 1206.007 3.89894 18.63 <10-5 total 299 6145.473 20.93158 fst 0.18627 fig. 4. upgma dendrogram for alfalfa populations based on nei’s genetic distances in individual analysis. fig. 5. principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) for alfalfa populations based on the first and second coordinates (in individual analysis). 100 mohammadzadeh et al. bulk analysis: a total 46 polymorphic bands were identified in bulk analysis. maximum and minimum percentages of polymorphic bands were observed by primers opj4 and opj20, respectively. the average percentage of polymorphic bands was 41.17 % (table 2). cluster analysis based on nei’s genetic distances (table 4) divided populations into three groups (fig. 6). first group included populations 8 and 9, the second groups included populations 5, 4, and 2 and third groups included the others. matrix correlation was estimated as 0.712. pcoa was performed for bulk samples and populations were located into 3 groups (fig. 7). fig. 6. upgma dendrogram for alfalfa populations based on nei’s genetic distances in bulk analysis. the first and second coordinates accounted for 29.29% and 19.29% of the total variation, respectively. in total, results of bulk analysis were different from results of individual analysis. discussion in the present study we analyzed 10 alfalfa populations from diverse regions of azarbaijan, iran using rapd profiles. since reproducibility is an important factor in rapd studies (ulloa et al., 2003), only reproducible bands were used in present investigation. in individual analysis, ten primers produced 156 polymorphic bands with an average 15 polymorphic bands per primer. this can be favorably compared with the number of bands used by tucak et al. (2008) to estimate genetic diversity in alfalfa populations and is higher than the number of bands used by dehghan-shoar (1997) and mengoni et al. (2000) to study alfalfa populations. in terms of population genetic parameters, total gene diversity (ht) observed in this study was high. it was in consistent with previous studies. mengoni et al. (2000) suggested that high level of genetic diversity is observed in alfalfa populations. moreover, falahati-anbaran et al. (2007) studied population genetic structure in alfalfa from various regions contiguous to the centers of origin of the species. they proposed that since northwestern of iran is the primary centre of diversity for alfalfa, so high level of genetic diversity exists within and among iranian genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 101 alfalfa populations such as populations employed in this work. however, the within population diversity (based on nei’s gene diversity) was high for each population, as found in previous studies (flajoulot et al., 2005; falahati-anbaran et al., 2007; tucak et al., 2008). gherardi et al. (1998) also suggested that the within population diversity is higher than diversity among populations. it can be explained by the outcrossing and tetraploid nature of alfalfa that results in highly heterogeneous and heterozygous populations (kidwell et al., 1994). fig. 7. principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) for alfalfa populations based on the first and second coordinates in bulk analysis. results of analysis of molecular variance suggested that the largest proportion of genetic variation was attributed to variation among individuals within populations (81.37%). these results were in agreement with previous studies (falahati-anbaran et al., 2007; tucak et al., 2008). low genetic distances were detected between populations possibly due to small geographical distances existed between them. in spite of it, cluster analysis could group populations and amova based on population grouping showed a significant distance between groups. the largest genetic distance was observed between populations number 10 (ghareh yonjeh) and number 2 (zonorag). separation of ghareh yonjeh which is a breeding population from the other populations indicates the sufficiency of this method to study relationship in alfalfa populations. falahati-anbaran et al. (2007) could also separate ghareh yonjeh from other iranian alfalfa populations. population number 9 was clustered into a distinct group. morphological studies indicated differences among this population and other populations. thereupon, separation of it from other populations of azarbaijan can be related to morphological differences. other populations grouped together in one cluster and formed a different branch in the dendrogram. distribution of these populations on distinct branch was in agreement with geographical patterns of them. 102 mohammadzadeh et al. cluster analysis in bulk method could not separate ghareh yonjeh from other populations and genetic differentiation of populations was not in agreement with geographical or morphological patterns. such differences among results obtained from bulk analysis and individual analysis were observed in previous studies (mengoni et al., 2000; pupilli et al., 2000). negri et al. (1995) and pupilli et al. (2000) reported that bulk procedure reduces within population diversity when frequency of polymorphic fragments is low. some dna sequences are found in a few individuals and produce rare fragments in individual analysis. since these sequences compose a low concentration of template dna in bulked sample, they can not efficiently be amplified. so rare fragments observed in individual analysis are absent in bulk analysis (yu and pauls, 1993) as observed in our study. kidwell et al. (1994) also proposed that bulk method underestimates the level of genetic diversity in both within and between populations and results of differentiation among populations in bulk analysis are not in agreement with individual analysis. this was true especially in our study with 30 individuals per bulk sample. since using of greater number of individuals in bulk samples reduces the probability of detecting rare fragments that may be diagnostic of a population, so differentiation between populations was not carried out precisely (kidwell et al., 1994). the high level of genetic diversity observed within populations in our study, particularly population 4, 5 and 9, indicates each population as a genetic source for selection of suitable genotypes to employ them in breeding programs and improve alfalfa cultivars with high level of heterosis. furthermore results of cluster analysis indicated that ghareyonje and population number 9, are different from other populations. thus each of them can be used as parents in breeding programs. bulk method offers a rapid analysis of rapd patterns in genetic study of alfalfa population. however, comparison of bulk analysis with individual analysis showed that it is better to use individual analysis in detection of relationships among alfalfa populations and estimation of genetic diversity especially within populations. finally, rapd analysis was demonstrated as a suitable method to study genetic diversity and relationships among alfalfa populations. however it is advised to accompany results of rapd procedure with other molecular methods and morphological studies. acknowledgments this research was performed in the agricultural biotechnology research institute of iran (abrii), for northwest and west of iran, tabriz-ian. we thank ms nahid hosseinzadeh for her editorial assistance. references arzani, a. and samei, k. 2004. assessment of genetic diversity among persian clover cultivars as revealed by rapd markers. in: vollmann, j., grausgruber, h. and ruckenbauer, p. 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(manuscript received on 21 august 2010; revised on 2 december 2011) . microsoft word 02. s. africa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 105-115, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   anatomy of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species (nyctaginaceae) madeleen struwig*, anine jordaan1 and stefan j. siebert a.p. goossens herbarium, school of environmental sciences and development, north-west university, private bag x6001, potchefstroom 2520, south africa keywords: stem; leaf; anthocarp; trichomes; kranz anatomy; light microscopy. abstract the nyctaginaceae in southern africa is represented by five genera of which boerhavia l. and commicarpus standl. are the most species-rich. stem, leaf and anthocarp material was collected in situ and examined with a scanning electron microscope and a light microscope. the anatomy of the leaf and anthocarp proved diagnostic at the generic level, but was uniform amongst the species of each genus. kranz anatomy occurs around the minor veins in the leaves of boerhavia, but in commicarpus the minor veins are surrounded by large parenchyma cells. the anthocarp of boerhavia has five ribs or three wings, with sclerenchyma within the ribs and the area between the ribs, whereas commicarpus has ten ribs with sclerenchyma only present within the ribs. the number of chlorenchyma rows in the stems could be diagnostic and the outline of the sclerenchyma bundles in the anthocarp could divide the commicarpus species into two groups, but more research needs to be done on these characters. introduction the nyctaginaceae consists of about 30 genera and 400 species (douglas and manos, 2007) mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of the new world (bittrich and kühn, 1993; jordaan, 2000), with some genera extending into the temperate regions such as southern africa (thulin, 1994). anatomy of this family is summarized by metcalfe and chalk (1950, 1979) and bittrich and kühn (1993) with numerous studies which focus on specific anatomical features in a few species (mikesell and popham, 1976; vanvinckenroye et al., 1993). the stem anatomy of the family is characterized by anomalous secondary growth and numerous studies have focused on this phenomenon (rajput and rao, 1998; carlquist, 2004). stomata are present in both the adaxial and abaxial epidermis (amphistomatic) or only in the abaxial epidermis (hypostomatic) (bittrich and kühn, 1993). the mesophyll is centric, dorsiventral or isobilateral and kranz anatomy occurs in a few genera (carolin et al., 1978; muhaidat et al., 2007). calcium oxalate crystals are present and tannin idioblasts occur in some genera (edeoga and ikem, 2002). the structure of the anthocarp differs between genera. the wall of the anthocarp can either have wings or ridges that are either smooth or bear warts. the anthocarp wall is constructed of epidermis, sclerenchyma, parenchyma, vascular strands and columnar parenchyma cells, and raphide bundles are common (willson and spellenberg, 1977; douglas and manos, 2007). *corresponding author. e-mail: madeleen.struwig@nwu.ac.za 1department of botany, school of environmental sciences and development, north-west university, private bag x6001, potchefstroom 2520, south africa. 106 struwig et al.   in southern africa, south of the zambezi river, that is, botswana, lesotho, southern mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland and zimbabwe, five genera (viz., boerhavia l., commicarpus standl., mirabilis l., phaeoptilum radlk. and pisonia l.) occur (germishuizen and meyer, 2003). boerhavia and commicarpus are the most species-rich genera, totaling 16 species of which six are endemic to the region (table 1). boerhavia and commicarpus can be distinguished from each other morphologically as their habit, the shape of the flower and the anthocarp structure differ (meikle, 1978). boerhavia has a diffuse habit, the flowers have a bell-shaped perianth and the anthocarp has either 3-4 wings or 5 ribs and the surface may be smooth or covered with multicellular trichomes. commicarpus has a scrambling or climbing habit, the flowers have a funnel-shaped perianth and the anthocarp has ten ribs covered with large, viscid and mucilaginous glands (stannard, 1988). the anatomy of the genus boerhavia has been studied extensively in the literature with boerhavia diffusa l. var. diffusa, a south american species introduced to southern africa (codd, 1966; bromilow, 2010), mostly used as the representative (rajput and rao, 1998; edeoga and ikem, 2002). the anatomy of commicarpus however, was inadvertently included during studies of boerhavia repanda willd. or boerhavia chinensis (l.) aschers. & schweinf., as both names are currently regarded as synonyms for commicarpus chinensis (l.) heimerl. subsp. chinensis (das and santakumari, 1978; rajput and rao, 1998). although the two genera and their species in southern africa are sharply differentiated by their morphology, there is still a lack of knowledge about their anatomy. an anatomical study was required to determine whether additional taxonomic evidence could be obtained to aid in the delimitation of the genera and their species. the aim of this paper is to describe the stem, leaf and anthocarp anatomy of southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species for the first time and to report on the taxonomic significance of these characters. materials and methods sampling: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was collected in situ during 2009 and 2010 in namibia and south africa, as these two countries make up the southern african centre of diversity and together play host to all 16 taxa. voucher specimens were deposited in the national herbarium windhoek (wind), namibia and the a.p. goossens herbarium (puc), potchefstroom, south africa (table 2). scanning electron microscopy: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was stored in 70% ethanol and dehydrated once in 90% and twice in 100% ethanol successively for ten minutes before critical point drying. the plant material was then mounted on specimen stubs and sputter-coated with gold/palladium and examined with a fei quanta 200 environmental scanning electron microscope (esem). anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 107   table 1. list of southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species and their distribution in southern africa (*introduced aliens; eendemic). species distribution in southern africa boerhavia coccinea mill. var. coccinea botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe *boerhavia cordobensis kuntze namibia, south africa eboerhavia deserticola codd namibia *boerhavia diffusa l. var. diffusa botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe *boerhavia erecta l. botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe eboerhavia hereroensis heimerl namibia, south africa boerhavia repens l. var. repens botswana, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe commicarpus chinensis (l.) heimerl subsp. natalensis meikle south africa, mozambique ecommicarpus decipiens meikle namibia ecommicarpus fallacissimus (heimerl) heimerl ex. oberm. schweick. & i. verd. namibia, botswana ecommicarpus fruticosus pohn. namibia commicarpus helenae (roem. & schult.) meikle var. helenae botswana, namibia, south africa commicarpus pentandrus (burch.) heimerl botswana, lesotho, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe commicarpus pilosus (heimerl) meikle botswana, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe commicarpus plumbagineus standl.var. plumbagineus botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe ecommicarpus squarrosus standl. namibia light microscopy: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was fixed in 4% aqueous paraformaldehyde. fixed material was then rinsed three times in 0.05 m cacodylate buffer for 15 minutes each and followed by three rinses with distilled water for 15 minutes each. the material was dehydrated in an ethanol series of 50%, 70%, 90% and twice in 100% ethanol for 15 minutes each followed by 15 minutes in 100% resin (l.r. white™ wirsam/london resin company). this was followed by two changes in resin for one hour each and was left overnight at 20°c before being embedded and then polymerised overnight at 65°c. embedded material was cut with a reichert-jung microtome and stained with 0.5% toluidine blue in 1% borax and 0.1% neufuchsin for 15 seconds. micrographs were taken at 40x, 60x and 100x magnification with a nikon digital camera dxm 1200 f, fitted on a nikon eclipse e 800 and a nikon digital sight camera fitted on a nikon eclipse 80i light microscope. 108 struwig et al.   table 2. voucher specimens deposited in the national herbarium windhoek (wind), namibia and the a.p. goossens herbarium, potchefstroom, south africa (puc) (np national park; nr nature reserve). taxon voucher specimens locality boerhavia coccinea var. coccinea struwig 55 struwig 108 struwig 120 namibia. farm okatjiho south africa. wyllie’s poort south africa. mapungubwe np b. cordobensis struwig 112 struwig 122 struwig 132 south africa. mapungubwe np south africa. tsipise south africa. klerksdorp b. deserticola struwig 38 struwig 42 struwig 43 namibia. brandberg namibia. twyfelfontein namibia. sesfontein b. diffusa var. diffusa struwig 88 struwig 117 struwig 125 south africa. mtuzini nr south africa. mapungubwe np south africa. tzaneen b. erecta struwig 23 struwig 135 struwig 143 south africa. potchefstroom south africa. kruger np south africa. kruger np b. hereroensis struwig 34 struwig 35 struwig 40 namibia. karibib namibia. klein spitzkuppe namibia. twyfelfontein lodge b. repens var. repens struwig 168 struwig 170 namibia. maltahöhe namibia. maltahöhe commicarpus chinensis subsp. natalensis struwig 61 struwig 62 struwig 63 south africa. uhmlanga rocks south africa. richards bay south africa. richards bay c. decipiens struwig 47 struwig 51 struwig 176 namibia. tsumeb namibia. klein waterberg namibia. omaruru c. fallacissimus struwig 33 struwig 46 namibia. windhoek namibia. joubert pass c. fruticosus. struwig 59 struwig 163 struwig 164 namibia. naukluft mountains namibia. naukluft mountains namibia. naukluft mountains c. helenae var. helenae struwig 44 struwig 141 struwig 183 namibia. khowarib rest camp south africa. kruger np namibia. otjimbingwe c. pentandrus struwig 48 struwig 57 struwig 131 namibia. tsumeb namibia. aris farm south africa. manyaka c. pilosus struwig 109 struwig 111 struwig 114 south africa. waterpoort road south africa. waterpoort road south africa. mapungubwe np c. plumbagineus var. plumbagineus siebert 3969 struwig 106 struwig 126 south africa. kruger np south africa. louis trichardt south africa. duiwelskloof c. squarrosus struwig 36 struwig 39 struwig 41 namibia. klein spitskuppe namibia. brandberg namibia. twyfelfontein anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 109   results trichomes: trichomes are present in all the organs of both boerhavia and commicarpus, and vary in their size, length, distribution and abundance. the trichomes are uniserial and multicellular. the trichomes terminate in a head which is either globose (fig. 1a) or clavate (fig. 1b). the walls of the trichomes are impregnated with numerous crystalline granules (fig. 1c). the head of the trichomes stain dark purple/blue with toluidine blue, which is an indication of dense cytoplasm (fig. 1d). the trichomes secrete a substance which makes the organs extremely sticky. fig. 1. a. scanning electron micrograph of a trichome with a globose head of boerhavia hereroensis. b. scanning electron micrograph of a trichome with a clavate head of commicarpus fallacissimus. c. crystals in the cell wall of the trichome (indicated by the arrow) of b. hereroensis. d. dense cytoplasm in the globose head of the trichome of b. hereroensis. scale bars a: 50 µm; b: 100 µm; c-d: 10 µm. stem anatomy: boerhavia: the cell walls of the epidermis are thickened, especially the outer periclinal wall, which is impregnated with crystalline granules of varying thickness. the cuticle is thin. the epidermal cells are rounded and not of the same size, with some cells larger than others (fig. 2a). the stomata are not sunken and the outer and inner periclinal walls of the guard cells are thickened but not cutinized. the collenchymatous hypodermis consists of 1-3 layers of cells. the 110 struwig et al.   hypodermis does not form a continuous cylinder around the axis of the stem but is interrupted at the substomatal chambers. the chlorenchyma cells are spherical to brick-shaped and arranged in 2-4 rows with large and small intercellular spaces. the cells vary in size. the innermost cell layer of the cortex (starch sheath) consists of large cells with thickened walls. the primary xylem consists of vessel elements with a large diameter. all the stem sections show anomalous secondary growth. the secondary xylem and secondary phloem form clusters of thick walled fibres with conjunctive parenchyma in between (fig. 2b). consecutive cambial layers differentiate from phloem parenchyma cells which were formed by the preceding cambium. no rays are present. medullary bundles form in the pith. bundles of raphide crystals are present throughout the stem in no specific pattern. fig. 2. a. light micrograph of a cross section through a portion of a stem of boerhavia deserticola. (c= crystals, chl= chlorenchyma, col= collenchymas, e= epidermis, g= guard cell of stoma, l= outer ledge of guard cell, ss= starch sheath). b. light micrograph of a cross section through a portion of a stem of boerhavia diffusa var. diffusa showing secondary growth. (co= cortex, e= epidermis, f= fibre, sp= secondary phloem, ss= starch sheath, sx= secondary xylem). bars = 50 µm. commicarpus: the structure of the stem corresponds with that which was described for boerhavia, except that the chlorenchyma cells are arranged in 3-6 rows. leaf anatomy: boerhavia: the epidermal cells are large, irregular in shape and the walls are thickened, especially the dome-shaped outer periclinal wall, which is not cutinized. the outer periclinal wall is impregnated with crystalline granules which are more numerous on the abaxial surface than the adaxial surface (fig. 3a). the cuticle is thin. tannin idioblasts are sometimes present in the epidermis of either or both surfaces (fig. 3a). the stomata are present on both leaf surfaces (amphistomatic) and the structure is the same as described for the stem. the mesophyll consists of palisade and spongy parenchyma cells which are irregular in shape. the minor veins are surrounded by atriplicoid kranz anatomy (that is, the veins are surrounded by a layer of kranz cells which in turn are surrounded by palisade cells) (fig. 3b). the main veins are not surrounded by kranz anatomy and the vessels have a large diameter. throughout the mesophyll, bundles of anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 111   raphide crystals are present in no specific pattern (fig. 3c) and small druse crystals are present inside the palisade cells. fig. 3. a. micrograph of the abaxial leaf surface of boerhavia erecta (c= crystals, e= abaxial epidermis, m= mesophyll, t= tannin). b. kranz anatomy (k) around the minor veins of boerhavia coccinea var. coccinea. (m= mesophyll, p= phloem, x= xylem). c. raphide crystals (r) in the mesophyll of boerhavia hereroensis. d. parenchyma cells (pa) around the minor veins of commicarpus pilosus (m= mesophyll, p= phloem, x= xylem). bars a, b, d = 50 µm; c= 10 µm. commicarpus: the structure of the leaf is the same as described for boerhavia, except that the minor veins are not surrounded by kranz anatomy but with large parenchyma cells (fig. 3d), and tannin idioblasts are absent from the epidermal cells. anthocarp anatomy: boerhavia: the anthocarps of the different species have five ribs, except for b. cordobensis, which has three wings and b. erecta which has five wings. the outer epidermal cells are irregularly brick-shaped to round (fig. 4a). the outer periclinal wall of the epidermal cells is thickened and impregnated with a thick layer of crystalline granules. the cuticle is thin. the epidermis overlays 3-5 rows of parenchyma cells which are followed by 3-8 rows of sclerenchyma. the sclerenchyma occurs within the ribs and the area between the ribs. below the epidermis of the ribs, columnar cells sometimes occur which become mucilaginous. five or six 112 struwig et al.   vascular bundles occur near the sclerenchyma in the ribs. the inner epidermal cells are brick shaped and the outer periclinal wall is thickened, although not as much as that of the outer epidermis. bundles of raphide crystals are present throughout the anthocarp in no specific pattern. fig. 4. light micrograph of a cross section through the anthocarp of boerhavia and commicarpus species. a. anthocarp of boerhavia diffusa var. diffusa. b. anthocarp of commicarpus pilosus. (a= anthocarp wall, c= columnar cells, f=fruit, r= rib, s=sclerenchyma). c. schlerenchyma bundle (sclerenchyma indicated by the arrow) with a round outline d. schlerenchyma bundle with an elongated outline. bars a: 0.3 mm; b: 0.3 mm; c-d; 100 µm. commicarpus: the anthocarp has 10 ribs (fig. 4b) and the epidermis is followed by 2-5 rows of parenchyma cells. the sclerenchyma occurs in a bundle within the ribs and, unlike boerhavia, is not present in the area between the ribs. the sclerenchyma bundle is either round (fig. 4c) or elongated sideways in outline (fig. 4d). five vascular bundles occur in the ribs near the sclerenchyma bundle, although it may appear as if two bundles have fused. towards the inside of the rib the sclerenchyma bundle is followed by 3 rows of parenchyma cells and the inner epidermis. the area between the ribs consists of 3-6 rows of parenchyma cells. anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 113   discussion careful observations of the anatomy of the different species suggested that the anatomy within a genus is uniform and can therefore not be used to distinguish among the different species. several studies had previously shown the importance of certain anatomical characters to distinguish among the genera of the nyctaginaceae (fadeyi et al., 1989; edeoga and ikem, 2002), and this is also the case for boerhavia and commicarpus in southern africa. the trichomes of the nyctaginaceae are described as glandular and uniserial with ellipsoidal, clavate or spherical terminal cells, or stellate, as in the tribe leucastereae or branched as in pisonia (metcalfe and chalk, 1965). fadeyi et al., (1989) decribed the trichome morphology of four boerhavia species which occur in nigeria as variable in their morphology, distribution and abundance and they are generally uniserial and multicellular with an acute apex or the trichomes terminate in a large apical cell. the trichomes of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus are uniserial and multicellular with globose or clubshaped heads and their size, length, distribution and abundance vary considerably between and within genera and species, so much so that trichomes could not be used to distinguish between the two genera nor species. the structure of the stem and leaves of boerhavia correspond to the descriptions given by metcalfe and chalk (1950, 1983). current results show that commicarpus has more rows of chlorenchyma than boerhavia, but this character needs further investigation to determine whether it is diagnostic. the anatomy of the leaves of boerhavia and commicarpus differ as boerhavia has kranz anatomy around the minor veins, which is absent in commicarpus. this corresponds to the finding of muhaidat et al. (2007) who investigated commicarpus plumbagineus standl., boerhavia coccinea mill. and boerhavia dominii meikle & hewson for the presence of kranz anatomy in a study investigating the kranz anatomy and biochemisty of c4 eudicots. the presence or absence of kranz anatomy is therefore a diagnostic character to distinguish between boerhavia and commicarpus. tannin idioblasts and raphides are recorded for the family by various authors (bittrich and kühn, 1993; edeoga and ikem, 2002). the tannin idioblasts are absent in commicarpus leaves, but due to the fact that they are not always present in the epidermal cells of boerhavia leaves either, this character cannot reliably be used to distinguish between the two genera. the distribution of the raphides is not in a specific pattern and of no taxonomic value. anthocarp morphology is the character by which most genera can be distinguished within the family (douglas and manos, 2007) and, likewise, the anthocarp anatomy of the southern african species of boerhavia and commicarpus differ significantly. boerhavia has five-ribbed or threeto five-winged anthocarps with sclerenchyma present within the rib and the area between the ribs. commicarpus has ten ribs with sclerenchyma only present within the rib, and the sclerenchyma bundles can either be round (as in c. decipiens, c. pentandrus, c. plumbagineus var. plumbagineus and c. squarrosus) or elongated (as in c. chinensis subsp. natalensis, c. fallacissimus, c. fruticosus, c. pilosus and c helenae var. helenae) in outline. however, the reliability of the outline of the sclerenchyma bundles still needs to be investigated further at 114 struwig et al.   different developmental stages of the anthocarp before it can be considered as a diagnostic character with which to divide the commicarpus species into two groups. this distinction could be used in later studies to understand the phylogeny of the genus in southern africa. the following key is therefore proposed: 1a. anthocarp five ribbed or threeto five-winged; sclerenchyma present within the rib and the area between the ribs; minor veins of the leaves surrounded by kranz anatomy boerhavia 1b. anthocarp ten ribbed; sclerenchyma only present in the rib area; minor veins of the leaves surrounded by parenchyma cells commicarpus conclusion the anatomy of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species has been described for the first time. the leaf and especially the anthocarp anatomy can be used to distinguish between the two genera, but the anatomy at the species level is uniform and uninformative. however, this study provides evidence that the number of chlorenchyma rows in the stems may be a diagnostic character and that the shape of the sclerenchyma bundles in the anthocarp can possibly be used to divide commicarpus in two groups which can later be used to understand the phylogeny of the genus in southern africa. acknowledgements the south african biosystematics initiative (national research foundation) of south africa provided financial support. we thank dr l.r. tiedt and ms. w. pretorius at the laboratory for electron microscopy, north-west university, for technical support. references bromilow, c. 2010. problem plants and alien weeds of south africa. third edition. briza publications, pretoria. bittrich, v. and kühn, u. 1993. nyctaginaceae. in: kubitzki, k., rohwer, j.g. and bittrich, v. (eds.), the families and genera of vascular plants dicotyledons 2. bittrich springer-verlag, berlin, pp. 473-486. carlquist, s. 2004. lateral meristems, successive cambia and their products: a reinterpretation based on roots and stems of nyctaginaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 146: 129-143. carolin, r.c., jacobs, s.w.l. and vesk, m. 1978. kranz cells and mesophyll in the chenopodiales. australian j. bot. 26: 683-698. codd, l.e. 1966. notes on boerhavia in southern africa. bothalia 9: 113-121. das, v.s.r. and santakumari, m. 1978. the incomplete evolution of c4photosynthesis within the pantropical taxon, boerhaavia (nyctaginaceae). photosynthetica 12: 418-422. douglas, n.a. and manos, p.s. 2007. molecular phylogeny of nyctaginaceae: taxonomy, biogeography and characters associated with a radiation of xerophytic genera in north america. american j. bot. 96: 856872. edeoga, h.o. and ikem, c.i. 2002. tannins, saponins and calcium oxalate crystals from nigerian species of boerhavia l. (nyctaginaceae). south afr. j. bot. 68: 382-385. anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 115   fadeyi, a., adeoye, a.o. and olowokundejo, j.d. 1989. epidermal and phytochemical studies in the genus boerhavia (nyctaginceae) in nigeria. international j. crude drug res. 27: 178-184. germishuizen, g. and meyer, n.l. 2003. plants of southern africa: an annotated checklist. strelitzia 14: 749750. jordaan, m. 2000. nyctaginaceae. in: leistner, o.a. (ed.), seed plants of southern africa: families and genera. strelitzia 10: 424-426. meikle, r.d. 1978. a key to commicarpus. notes royal bot. gard., edinb. 36: 235-249. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1950. anatomy of the dicotyledons: leaves, stems, and wood in relation to taxonomy with notes on economic uses. clarendon press, oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1965. anatomy of the dicotyledons. clarendon press, oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of the dicotyledons. systematic anatomy of leaf and stem, with a brief history of the subject, vol. 1, second edition, clarendon press. oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1983. anatomy of the dicotyledons. wood structure and conclusion of the general introduction. vol. ii. clarendon press, oxford. mikesell, j.e. and popham, r.a. 1976. ontogeny and correlative relationship of the primary thickening meristems in four-o’clock plants (nyctaginaceae) maintained under long and short photoperiods. american j. bot. 63: 427-437. muhaidat, r., sag, r.f. and dengler, n.g. 2007. diversity of kranz anatomy and biochemistry in c4 eudicots. american j. bot. 94: 362-381. rajput, k. and rao, k.s. 1998. cambial anatomy and absence of rays in the stem of boerhaavia species (nyctaginaceae). annales botanici fennici 35: 131-135. stannard, b.l. 1988. nyctaginaceae. in: launert, e. (ed.), flora zambesiaca. vol. 9. fascicle 1. halesworth press ltd., london, pp. 12-28. thulin, m. 1994. aspects of disjunct distributions and endemism in the arid parts of the horn of africa, particularly somalia. in: seyani, j.h. and chikuni, a.c. (eds.), proceedings of the 13th plenary meeting of aetfat held in zomba, malawi on 2–11 april 1991. national herbarium and botanic gardens of malawi, zomba, pp. 1105-1119. vanvinckenroye, p., cresens, e., ronse decraene, l-p. and smets, e. 1993. a comparative floral developmental study in pisonia, bougainvillea and mirabilis (nyctaginaceae) with special emphasis on the gynoecium and floral nectaries. bulletin van de national plantentuin van belgië 62: 69-96. willson, j. and spellenberg, r. 1977. observations on anthocarp anatomy in the subtribe mirabilinae (nyctaginaceae). madrono 24: 104-111. (manuscript received on 13 may 2011; revised on 24 november 2011) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 107-110, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67049 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of euglenoid algae from surma river in bangladesh mousumi, anika-ann-noor rahman, md. almujaddade alfasane* and chang-gee jang1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: euglenoid algae; euglena; phacus; trachelomonas; new records; bangladesh. abstract eight species of euglenophyceae from surma river in bangladesh are reported in this paper. the species are: euglena hyalina klebs, e. robertilamii lefèvre , phacus gigas da cunha , p. pseudoplatalea pochm., p. triqueter (ehr.)duj. var. oblonga shi, trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p., t. spiculifera palmer, and t. umbilicopora conradare. after a careful review on the list of euglenoid algae of bangladesh, all these eight species are found to be new addition, and hitherto described here for the first time in bangladesh. introduction the occurrence of euglenoid algae are very common in different aquatic habitats of bangladesh (alfasane et al., 2010, 2021a,b; gani et al., 2012; alfasane and khondker, 2007; khondker and alfasane, 2005; islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, 2004; islam and muniruzzaman, 1981). in a recent study on the algae of surma river in sylhet, a good number of samples showed the presence of euglenoid algae in this river. after a detailed microscopic observation, these samples were identified as belonging to eight species of the euglenoid algae of bangladesh. following a critical verification, these eight species were found to be new addition to the total species number so far reported for bangladesh (khondkder 2022). the recorded species belonged to the genera namely, euglena, phacus, and trachelomonas. materials and methods the study materials were collected from the surma river of sylhet district between october 2021 and september 2022. plankton concentrates were collected by sieving 100 l of sub-surface water samples of the surma river through a plankton net having a mesh size 20 μm and preserved with lugol’s solution. photomicrographic images of the organisms were taken with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan. the relevant literature consulted to identify the species have been given in the taxonomic enumeration section as furnished below. taxonomic enumeration class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehrenberg 1. euglena hyalina klebs. (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.16, fig. 76a, gojdics 1952, 178) syn. euglena ruttneri stein. *corresponding author, email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1kongju national university, college of education, republic of korea. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67049 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 108 mousumi et al. cell length 128-159 μm, breadth 7-14 μm, cell elongated, rounded anterior tip, slightly curvy in the posterior side and sharply being a long tail, ornamented and arranged striations both side of the cell. chloroplasts with pyrinoids arranged in definite patterns, caudus 18-25 μm. collection no. s-4(2), 16.09.2022 2. euglena robertilamii lefèvre (fig. 2) (gojdics 1953, pl. 37, fig. 6) (syn. e. acusformis schiller) cell length 65-70 μm, breadth 7-14 μm, cells elongate, fusiform, rounded to truncate anteriorly, ending in a blunt point posteriorly. pellicle thin, very finely striated, colourless. chromatophores numerous, discoid, moderately large, peripheral. paramylon numerous rings of varying size. notes: the first report of this species obtained from marine habitat of saint servan, france in 1933 with brachionomonas submarina and platymonas tatrathele. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-5(2), 07.08.2022 genus: phacus dujardin 3. phacus gigas da cunha (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.45, fig. 275) cell length 100-123 μm, breadth 70-75 μm, broadly oval flattened body, the anterior end rounded, the posterior end terminating in a long and thin bend sideways from the longitudinal axis with 26-30 μm long tail.longitudinal stripes present in the membrane and disc like chromatophores. numerous and densely packed chromatophores in the central part rather rarer and more distant towards the outside. paramylons present scattered in the protoplasm in the form of numerous ring-shaped bodies. eye-spots found in front part of the cell. collection no. s-3(1), 16.09.2022 4. phacus pseudoplatalea pochm. (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 40, fig. 247) syn. phacus platalea drez. fa. minor defl. cell length 58-68 μm, breadth 26-30 μm, broadly rounded anterior end ellipsoid body and posterior end sharply bend sideways with a short narrower pointed tip like cauda. chromatophores and paramylons also found in the central part of the body. collection no. s-4(2), 16.09.2022 5. phacus triqueter (ehr.) duj. var. oblonga shi (fig. 5) (yamagishi and akiyama, 1995, 15:67, 10.01.02) cells oblong to ovoid, dorsal surface with a longitudinal high flange and ventral one slightly concaved or nearly straight, low triangular with concaved lateral sides in apical view; anterior ends narrowly rounded; posterior ends broadly rounded with a cauda; cauda thin,long, slightly inwardly curved; periplast longitudinally striated, paramyon bodies one or two, large circular or ring like plate; cells 40-50 μm in diameter at midregion, 55-60 μm long without cauda; cauda 1218 μm long. collection no. s-2(3), 16.09.2022 new records of euglenoid algae from surma river 109 figs 1-8. 1. euglena hyalina klebs, 2. e. robertilamii lefèvre, 3. phacus gigas da cunha, 4. p. pseudoplatalea pochm., 5. p. triqueter (ehr.) duj. var. oblonga shi, 6. trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p., 7. t. spiculifera palmer, 8. t. umbilicopora conrad (magnifications ×400). genus: trachelomonas ehrenberg 6. trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.70, fig. 655a) syn. trachelomonas labiata teiling cell length 23-30 μm, breadth 16-18 μm, oval shaped, thicken cell wall, anterior side more or less rounded and posterior side slightly narrower and pointed. condensed central part of the body. collection no. s-2(4), 01.08.2022 7. trachelomonas spiculifera palmer (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 59, fig. 424a) cell dia 25 μm, more or less circular or ovoid shaped body. rounded anterior side with pore surrounded by an annular thickening. light brown in color. collection no. s-2(3), 01.08.2022 110 mousumi et al. 8. trachelomonas umbilicopora conrad (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 59, fig. 417) syn. t. perforata awerinz var. umbilicophora (conrad) skv. round shaped cell with color. breadth 24-26 μm, collar 2-3 μm in height. membrane hyaline in color. pore surrounded by an annular thickening and a distinct cylindrical collar which may be anterior end. collection no. s-4(3), 01.08.2022 in a recent review, khondker (2022) has mentioned that the total species of euglenophyta of bangladesh is 254. by adding these eight newly added species, the total number of euglenoid species thus gives a figure of 262. references alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167‒169. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87‒92. alfasane, m.a., mehnaz, m., akhtar, a., ayesha, m., shafi, s.a., islam, s., begum, z.n.t. and moustafa, m. 2021a. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j.plant taxon. 28(1): 11‒15. alfasane, m.a., akhtar, a., mehnaz, m., ayesha, m., begum, z.n.t. and moustafa, m. 2021b. new records of some euglenoid algae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 311–315. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2012. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 85‒88. gojdics, m. 1953. the genus euglena. the univ. wisconsin press, madison. 268 pp + 39 pls. huber-pestalozzi, g. h. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. euglenophyceen. stuttgart (reprinted 1979) 16(4): 1‒1135 islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: i. genus phacus. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3‒18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon.10(1): 15‒26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh:iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon.11(2): 33‒37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and muniruzzaman, k. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109‒125. khondker, m. and alfasane, m.a. 2005. euglenamorpha hegneri wenrich (euglenaceae): a rare euglenoid from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 41‒43. khondker, m. 2022. phycological research in bangladesh: a review of earlier works and present trend. in: maity, d. and acharya, k. (eds) biosynthetics and bioresources: the proceedings of the international conference on "algae, fungi and plants: systematics to applications, pp. 29-52. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. 249 pp. yamagishi, t. and akiyama, m. 1995 (eds). photomicrographs of the freshwater algae, vol. 15: uchida rokakuho pub., tokyo, japan. 100 pp. (manuscript received on 10 december 2022; revised on 5 april 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 37-41, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67040 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg from wetlands of cox’s bazar, bangladesh jesmin akhter jolly, md. almujaddade alfasane*, moniruzzaman khondker and md. sabbir mustafa khan1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: wetlands; diversity; phytoplankton; ecological niche; chaetoceros. abstract eleven species of brackish water chaetoceros ehrenberg newly recorded from bangladesh have been illustrated and described in the present paper. the species are: chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve, c. constrictus gran, c. decipiens cleve, c. denicus cleve, c. didymus ehrenberg, c. diversus cleve, c. pelagicus cleve, c. pendulus karsten, c. pseudobrevis pavillard, c. seychellarus g.h.h. karsten and c. tetrastichon cleve. all of these species have been described here with citation of relevant references and collections examined. introduction chaetoceros ehrenberg is one of the largest genera among marine phytoplankton and is represented globally by nearly 400 species (tomas, 1997). in bangladesh, so far 20 taxa of this genus were described, illustrated and published mostly from the northern bay of bengal (islam and aziz, 1975; 1980). during a recent study on algal diversity in the coastal wetlands of cox’s bazar, 11 taxa of the genus chaetoceros were found to occur, which were not recorded earlier from bangladesh. in this paper, these newly recorded taxa are described and illustrated. materials and methods the present study was carried out in two wetlands of cox’s bazar, a tourism city of bangladesh situated in the northern coasts of the bay of bengal. the studied wetlands were: bakkhali river and reju canal. this two wetland maintains the flow of entire watershed area of the city of cox’s bazar. bakkhali river estuary is located in the southernmost part of cox’s bazar. this river originated from south-eastern hill of mizoram, india. this is the widest and longest river of cox’s bazar. length of bakkhali river within cox’s bazar district is about 67 km. cox’s bazar fish landing center is located in the bank of this river. city wastewater and all sorts of drainage discharges are dumped into it. reju canal is another important river of cox’s bazar originated from north arakan mountain of myanmar. this river produces huge fish and named famous for its marvelous scenario. many eco-resorts are made in the bank of this river. salinity of this river was lower than bakkhali river. a total of 144 phytoplankton samples were collected from september 2018 to august 2020. phytoplankton concentrates were collected with the help of sedimentation technique using lugol’s iodine (wetzel and likens, 2000). in a 1l capacity polystyrene bottle containing 1 ml lugul’s iodine was filled with the sample water and was transported to the national professor a.k.m. nurul islam phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka for analysis. a random *corresponding author: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of water resources engineering, bangladesh university of engineering and technology, dhaka 1000, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67040 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 38 jolly et al. checking of the sedimented planktonic material was carried out under light microscope (nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope fixed with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan) at a magnification of 100-400×. the species were imaged along with the measurement of taxonomic features particularly length and breadth of each cell, filament, etc. taxonomic enumeration a total of 11 brackish water species of chaetoceros have been identified as new reports from bangladesh. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below. class: bacillariophyceae, family: chaetocerotaceae genus: chaetoceros ehrenberg 1. chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve (fig. 1) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 171, figs 28-29, 37) straight chain of cells, cells cylindrical, narrow in shape, valve center convex dissimilar, setae of upper valve originating from centre of valve, then running backwardly but slightly convex to outside, lower setae originated from marginal valve and running backwardly and slowly make a sharp end, lower setae larger, apical axis 29.4 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 2. chaetoceros constrictus gran (fig. 2) (doan-nhu et al. 2014,188, figs 98-99) straight chain of cells, cells rectangular, wide in shape, uniform in diameter, setae long, straight, marginal, not very long, upper setae upward and lower setae downwardly directed and other setae spread horizontally, separation disc very prominent, chloroplast make a different pattern, inter cellular setae twisted with each other, chain 34 µm in wide. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 3. chaetoceros decipiens cleve (fig. 3) (cupp 1943, 115, fig. 70; doan-nhu et al., 2014, 176, figs 48-51) syn. chaetoceros grunowii schütt cells 70-75 µm long, 78-80 µm broad, straight chain of cells, unitedly connected cells form a long stiff chain, in girdle view cells rectangular but oval in valves, sizes of cells may slightly vary with season, setae broad, slightly curved, setae without a basal portion, arising at corners of valves perpendicular to chain axis, fusing together in pairs for some distance, terminal setae shorter and thicker than others, cells are relatively large, usually yellow brown in color, plate or disc like chloroplast, numerous in number. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 4. chaetoceros denicus cleve (fig. 4) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 167, figs 17-18) cells tubular in shape, narrow, straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, valves circular, elongated girdle, intercalary band form, setae long, segmented disc like chloroplast seen in setae, from starting point they slightly twisted each other, intercalary band present, greenish brown in color, cells 7-8 µm in diameter, cells size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg 39 figs 1-11. 1. chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve, 2. c. constrictus gran, 3. c. decipiens cleve, 4. c. denicus cleve, 5. c. didymus ehrenberg, 6. c. diversus cleve, 7. c. pelagicus cleve, 8. c. pendulus karsten, 9. c. pseudobrevis pavillard, 10. c. seychellarus g.h.h. karsten, 11. c. tetrastichon cleve. (figs 1,8,11 magnification ×100; figs 2-7, 9-10 magnification ×400). 40 jolly et al. 5. chaetoceros didymus ehrenberg (fig. 5) (cupp 1943, 121, fig. 75a; simonsen, 1974, pl. 6, fig. 15) straight chain, solitary cells, cells four–cornered in broad girdle view, with concave surfaces, valves with a semicircular protuberance in the centre, visible in broad girdle view. setae arising from corners of cells, crossing each other at their base, both setae arranged downwards, chain 1031 µm in wide. collection no. 6 (r3), 8 sep. 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 6. chaetoceros diversus cleve (fig. 6) (cupp 1943, 132, fig. 87) chain straight, not twisted, usually short, 3-5 cells found in chain, cells square in shape, setae arising from the corner of the cell, two types setae, one larger other shorter, setae twisted at the base or where they originated, small and thin setae more of less curved, often straight, and heavy or long setae almost cup shaped more curved and slightly thinner in ends, chloroplast more prominent and greenish brown in color. apical axis 9.0-11.8 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 7. chaetoceros pelagicus cleve (fig. 7) (subrahmanyan, 1946, 140, fig. 234; cupp 1943, 129, fig. 81) cells cylindrical, narrow, elongated cells straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, short, dumble shaped, uniform in diameter, two types setae, one upward and other downwards, greenish brown in color, cells 16.2 µm in broad, cells size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 8. chaetoceros pendulus karsten (fig. 8) (cupp 1943, 114, fig. 69) cells always solitary, cells up to 17 µm in width, chain of cells straight, cells rectangular, wide in shape, cells connectedly make a chain, valves unlike, valve center convex, apertures moderately wide, setae very long curved posteriorly, setae started thick but slowly it makes a thin and pointed end, chromatophores very small, distributed far out in the setae, very large in size. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 9. chaetoceros pseudobrevis pavillard (fig. 9) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 196, figs 123, 132-133.) cells cylindrical, tubular, narrow, elongated cells straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, valves circular, elongated girdle, intercalary band form, setae long, free not twisted, segmented disc like chloroplast seen in setae, from starting point they slightly make pointed tip in setae, intercalary band present, greenish brown in color. apical axis 31-33 µm in long, cell size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 10. chaetoceros seychellarus g.h.h. karsten (fig. 10) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 171, figs 38-39.) long straight chains, robust long setae arch towards end of chain, terminal setae curve a round before arising out of the chain, apical axis 15-32 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct. 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg 41 11. chaetoceros tetrastichon cleve (fig. 11) (cupp 1943, 108, fig. 63) straight chain of cells, cells rectangular, wide in shape, valve center convex, apertures moderately wide, two types of setae, one type long, wide, free other type of setae twisted to each other, curved posteriorly, setae started thick but slowly it makes a thin and pointed end, segmented disc like form found in setae, intercalary band present, cells 19-20 µm in width, robust in size. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. adding these 11 newly reported species of chaetoceros in bangladesh, the total number stands 31. there are still ample scopes of carrying out research on this most abundant marine phytoplankton in the vast pelagic region of the bay of bengal situated near the vicinity of bangladesh. acknowledgements the present research is a part of ph.d. thesis of the first author. we highly acknowledge the bangabandhu science & technology fellowship trust under the ministry of science and technology, the government of the people's republic of bangladesh for giving financial assistance of the ph.d. research. references islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1975. study of marine phytoplankton from the northeastern bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 4(1-2): 1-32. islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1980. studies on the marine phytoplankton of the coast of bangladesh, 1: bacillariophyceae. in 4th and 5th bangladesh science conference, rajshahi (bangladesh), 2-5 mar 1980. baas. cupp, e. 1943. marine planktonic diatoms of the west coast of north america. bull. scripps inst. of oceanography. univ. california press. berkley and los angeles. 5(1): 1-238. doan-nhu, h., nguyen-ngoc, l., anh, n.t.m., larsen, j., and thoi, n.c. 2014. diatom genus chaetoceros ehrenberg 1844 in vietnamese waters. nova hedwigia, beiheft 143: 159-222. subrahmanyan, r. 1946. asystemic account of the marine plankton diatoms of the madras coast. proc. ind. acad. sci. 24b: 85-197. simonsen, r. 1974. the diatom plankton of the indian ocean expedition of r/v meteor 1964-5, “meteor” forschungsergebnisse. reihe d: biologie 19: 1-107. subrahmanyan, r. 1946. a systematic account of the marine plankton diatoms of the madras coast. proc. ind. acad. sci. 24b: 85-197. tomas, c.r. 1997 (ed.). identifying marine phytoplankton. academic press, london. pp. 857. wetzel, r.g., and likens, g.e. 2000. limnological analysis. wb saunders co., philadelphia. 357 pp. (manuscript received on 15 july 2022; revised on 17 may 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 31-35, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67033 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of ipomoea triloba (convolvulaceae) from deccan plateau, india d.k. londhe* and a.s. bhuktar1 mvpsamaj’s art, commerce & science college, dindori, nashik (mh), india keywords: ipomoea; convolvulaceae; new variety; maharashtra; india. abstract ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d. k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar, var. nov. are described here as a new variety of ipomoea triloba l. (convolvulaceae) from the western ghat of the deccan plateau, north maharashtra, india. observations in the field as well as in cultivation for three years showed that the variety retains its diagnostic characteristics and no intermediate exists. detailed descriptions and photo plates are provided to facilitate the identification of this new variety. introduction ipomoea l. is one of the dominant genera in the family convolvulaceae, popularly known as “morning glory”. it represents ca. 650 species and is mainly distributed in tropical and warm temperate regions of the world (mabberley, 2008). the world flora online includes ca.3000 scientific names of species rank for this genus of which ca.714 are accepted names (wfo, 2020). out of 2537, records retrieved in the world checklist of selected plant families, ca. 670 accepted species names entered for ipomoea (wcsp, 2019). india represented 60 species previously (santapau and henry, 1973), but subsequent records of ipomoea mombassana vatke (biju et al., 1998), i. parasitica (kunth) g. don (biju, 2002) and i. ochracea (lindl.) g. don, i. tenuipes verdc. (shimpale et al., 2012 and 2014) have increased the number of species to about ca. 65. taxonomists from maharashtra state reported about 37 species of ipomoea (cooke, 1905; naik, 1998; almeida, 2001; shimple et al., 2012, 2014; undiwade and bhadane, 2017; kattee et al., 2019). authors accidentally came across with an interesting specimen of ipomoea during investigation, at western ghats of deccan plateau of north maharashtra, india. the collected specimens were compared with the herbarium (bamu, bsi). we searched through online photographs as well as ipomoea species occurred in regional online flora, and plant list, ipni, jstor portal, monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world (wood et al., 2020.) hence revealed that it resembles with i. triloba l. but differ in its morphological traits that turn out it as a new variety. material and methods materials were collected in the months of september to january from 2019-2021 at western edge of deccan plateau of western ghat north maharashtra, india. all specimens collected were processed using standard herbarium techniques (jain and rao, 1977). the authors have collected and recorded the necessary data regarding habitat, habit, morphological variations, phenology and geographic information such as coordinates of the type localities during the field visits. the comprehensive photography of the morphological characters was taken by using d6000 camera (nikon, japan) and cmz-6 stereomicroscope (labomed, japan). the scientific novelty of the *corresponding author. e-mail: dhananjaylondhe45@gmail.com 1mvpsamaj arts, commerce & science college, dindori, nashik (mh) india. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67033 mailto:dhananjaylondhe45@gmail.com 32 londhe and bhuktar specimens was confirmed by a critical survey of the literature (hooker, 1882; cooke, 1905; naik, 1998; almeida, 2001; singh et al., 2001) and comparing with specimens available at bsi, bamu and images of specimens available in the virtual database of jstor (2020), ipomoea species occurred in regional online flora, and plant list, ipni, monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world (wood et al., 2020.) edinburgh herbarium (https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/ herbarium/) and kew herbarium (http:// apps.kew.org/herbcat/ navigator.do). taxonomic treatment ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d. k. londhe & a. s. bhukatar var. nov. (fig. 1) the new variety is morphologically allied to ipomoea triloba l. but distinct by having tap root with adventitious roots, completely white petals, completely green sepals, stem, petiole and pedicle, dimorphic leaves, bract persistent, white stamens, hairy style, globose stigma, glabrous ovary, greenish and glabrous capsule, persistent bract, marginal pilous seeds, longer corolla, peduncles longer than petiole. type: india, maharashtra, nasik, dindori 73°48′25.92′′e, 20°12′12.02′′n elevation ca. 640m, november 2019, d.k. londhe. 3297 (holotype cal; isotype bsi, pune). annual climber, ca. 8 m long. tap root. stem cylindrical, wiry, green, pubescent, rooted at nodes and internodes in contact with soil, latex milky. leaves simple, ovate to obovate, 5-8 x 2-7 cm, glabrous above, pubescent beneath, 3-5 lobed, deeply notched, lateral lobes directed backwardly, margin entire, minutely hairy; stipule small, caduceus, pubescent; petiole 2-3 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. inflorescence axillary umbel cyme, 1-7 flowered in short lax; peduncle up to 18 cm, longer than petiole, swollen at apex. flowers bracteate, pedicellate; pedicel 0.3-0.5 cm, bracts ovate, persistent, pubescent, ca. 6 mm long; bracteole 0.3-0.4 cm linear, green. sepals 5, unequal, 0.7-1.2 cm long, 3-7 mm broad, greenish at apex elliptic ovate to lanceolate, throughout green, usually glabrous, faintly veined; outer two sparsely hairy at lobe. petals 5, gamopetalous, funnel shaped, completely white, ca. 2.5-3 x 1.8-2.5 cm, 5-lobed, mucronate, tube 1-1.8 cm. stamen 5, 0.8-1.5 cm, unequal filaments, hairy at base, included, dithecous, white. stigma globose, white; style 1-1.3 cm long, usually glabrous. style 0.8-1.3 occasionally hairy. ovary 1.3-1.5 cm, glabrous. capsule greenish, grey after dry, glabrous, ca. 1 x 1 cm, dehisces in four halves. seeds brownish black, triquetrous, marginally pilous with brown hairs. flowering & fruiting: flowering from september to january and fruiting from december to feburary habitat: common along wet shady rocky slopes in association with indigofera tinctoria l., alysicarpus heyneanus wight & arn, crotalaria pallida var. obovata (g. don) polhill, lantana camara l., achyranthes aspera l. etymology: the variety epithet ‘deccansis’ refer collected from western ghats of deccan plataue north maharashtra, india. distribution: india, (maharashtra; nasik district; dindori) rare. conservation status: ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis is only reported from single locality from deccan plateau. it grows in open wet shady rocky slopes. no detailed data is available on the distribution and population of this variety, hence assessed here as data deficient (dd) as per the guidelines of iucn (2019). additional specimens examined: bamu: western ghats, talegoan tank 22 nov. 1975 v. n. naik 2828 ; aurangabad, 19 march 1978, v. n. pardeshi 4201. https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/ http:// a new variety of ipomoea triloba 33 bsi pune: naygaonthane, 1968, billore 133774; ramteldhari tankchandrapur, 1972, kulkarni 133991. note: the new variety is closely allied to ipomoea triloba l. but differs by its tap root with adventitious roots, completely white corolla, white stamens, completely green sepals, stem, petiole, pedicle, bract persistent, capitate stigma and sparsely hairy style with a glabrous ovary, greenish and glabrous capsule, seed marginally pilous with brown hairs. fig. 1. ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d.k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar var. nov. a. habit, b. twing, c. tap root, d. adventatious root, e. flower with npedicle and calyx, f. corolla, g. open split corolla with white stamens, h. glabrous sepals, i pistil, j. glabrous capsule, k. seed. 34 londhe and bhuktar table 1. comparative characters of ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d.k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar var. nov. with allied species. characters i. triloba l. i. triloba var. deccansis var. nov. tap root present present stem color purple greenish adventitious root absent present leaf lobes 3-5, side lobes blunt or pointed and forwardly directed 3-7, side lobes pointed backwardly directed inflorescence dense cyme (5-7 flowered) lax cyme (2-7 flowered) bract caducous persistent sepals tip pink tip greenish corolla color and size red(1.5 x 1.2 cm) white (2.5-3 x 1.8-2.5 cm) anther pink white stigma 2-lobed 1-lobed style glabrous hairy ovary densely pubescent glabrous capsule pubescent purple glabrous greenish seed glabrous pilous with hairs acknowledgements authors are thankful to botanical survey of india; the principal, m. v. p. samaj a.c.s college, dindori, nasik, head of department of botany, dr babasaheb ambedkar marathwda university, aurangabad for providing facilities. we are also grateful to karodpati b.n and dr. v.b. shimple for valuable suggestions. references almeida, m.r. 2001. flora of maharashtra. vol. 3b. st. xavier’s college, mumbai. pp. 317-337 biju, s.d. 2002. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don (convolvulaceae): a new record for india. rheedea, 12(1): 77-79. biju, s.d., matthew, p. and kumar, v.m. 1998. ipomoea mombassana vatke (convolvulaceae)a new record for india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 22(2): 471-473. cooke theodore 1905. the flora of the presidency of bombay. vol. 2. taylor & francis, london. pp. 222– 261. hooker, j.d. 1882. the flora of british india. vol. 3. l. reeve & co. ltd., london. pp. 86 –92. iucn, 2019. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 14. iucn, species survival commission, gland and cambridge. (prepared by the standards and petitions committee.) available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org/ documents/red list guidelines. pdf. jain s.k. and r.r. rao 1977. a handbook of field and herbarium methods. today & tomorrow’s printers and publishers, new delhi. jstor 2020. global plants database. (accessed on 01.10.2020). kattee, a.v., dalavi, j.v., patil, c.r. and shimple v.b. 2019. ipomoea fulvicaulis (convolvulaceae), a new record for india. rheedea, 29(3): 227-231. http://www.iucnredlist.org/ a new variety of ipomoea triloba 35 mabberley, d.j. 2008. the plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. third edition. cambridge university press, cambridge. naik, v.n. 1998. flora of marathwada. vol. 1. amrut prakashan, aurangabad. pp. 583–596. santapau, h. and henry, a.n. 1973. a dictionary of the flowering plants in india. council of scientific & industrial research, new delhi, 83 pp. sarvalingam, a., rajendran a., sivlingam, r. and jayanti, p. 2014. ipomoea muelleri benth. (convolvulaceae)a new record for asian continent. jordan j.biol. sci. 7(4): 299-300. shimpale, v.b. 2019. notes on the occurrence of ipomoea acanthocarpa and ipomoea laxiflora (convolvulaceae) in india. rheedea, 29(3): 209-214. shimpale, v.b. 2012. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don. a new record for flora of maharashtra. j. econ. taxon. bot. 36(1): 52-53. singh, n.p, lakshminarasimahan, p., karthikeyan, s. and prasanna, p.v. 2001. flora of maharashtra state; dicotyledones vol. 2, botanical survey of india, calcutta. undiwade, d.n. and bhadane, v.v. 2017. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don. a new distribution record for khandesh region, maharashtra, india. int. j. curr. res. biosci. plant biol. 4(2): 72-74. shimpale, v.b., kshirsagar,p.r. and pawar n.v., 2012. ipomoea ochracea (convolvulaceae) – a new record for india. rheedea 22(2): 99-102. shimpale, v.b., kare, m.a., londhe, d.k. and bhuktar, a.s., 2014. on the occurrence of ipomoea tenuipes (convolvulaceae) in india. rheedea. 24(2): 117-119. wfo, 2020. https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list wood, j.r., muñoz-rodríguez, p., williams, b.r. and scotland, r.w. 2020. a foundation monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world. phytokeys, 143, p.1. world checklist of selected plant families 2019. royal botanic gardeb kew. (manuscript received on 7 january 2023; revised on 6 june 2023) https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list microsoft word s-2. zashim.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 67-72, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication medico-botanical report on the chakma community of bangladesh snigdha roy, mohammad zashim uddin1, md. abul hassan and m. matiur rahman2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: chakma tribe, ethnobotany, bangladesh bangladesh is the abode for 21 ethnic communities (khaleque 1995). among them, the chakma tribe is the largest and the most dominant one. total population of chakma is about 253,000 (tripura 1994) of which more than 90 percent live in rangamati and khagrachari districts. even in the recent past, the chakma people living in bangladesh used to meet their daily needs mostly from natural forest products. for the primary health care, still most of them depend upon surrounding plants and plant products. the knowledge of such health care system is passed from generation to generation in verbal form by traditional medicine men, local headmen and elderly persons in their community. however, currently the indigenous healthcare knowledge of chakma tribe is in great risk because of various threats. if the present trend of eroding situation prevails, the valuable knowledge possessed by the chakma people on indigenous medicinal plants is going to be lost forever without being properly recorded and documented. studies on medico-botanical information of ethnic communities in bangladesh are at initial stage. some of the articles published in this field include mia and huq (1988), alam (1992), alam et al. (1996), khisa, b. (1996), khisa, s.k. (1998), rahman and uddin (1998), rahman et al. (1998), uddin (2001), uddin et al. (2001), khan et al. (2002), yusuf et al. (2002), chakma et al. (2003), rahman (2003) and uddin et al. (2004, 2006). none of these articles cover the entire medico-botanical documentation of the chakma people of bangladesh. in order to address this issue, the present article attempts to present some new medico-botanical information of chakma people in the chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. rangamati and khagrachari districts (latitude 21º91′-23º75′ n and longitude 91º75′92º42′ e) were selected for the study as the majority of the chakma community live there. six field trips were conducted in the study area in the years 2004 and 2006. information on the medicinal plants was gathered by interviewing chakma traditional medicine men, local headmen and elderly persons in the community. local names of each medicinal plant with plant part(s) used and the names of diseases or symptoms treated were recorded. this information was confirmed by asking two or more persons of the same community. the collected botanical specimens were identified at the department of botany of the university of dhaka and bangladesh national herbarium. the voucher specimens are stored at bangladesh national herbarium for future reference. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 2present address: house 64, road 9a, dhanmondi r/a, dhaka 1205, bangladesh. 68 roy et al. a total of 90 plant species have been recorded which are used in the treatment of different ailments by the chakma people. for each species, scientific, local and family names, part(s) used and diseases treated are presented in the table 1. out of the total 90 species, three species, viz. brownea coccinea jacq., gomphostemma parvifloria wall. and pyrrosia piloselloides m.g. (pteridophyte) were recorded to have medicinal value for the first time from bangladesh (hassan and khan 1986, 1996, mia and huq 1988, alam 1992, alam et al. 1996, yusuf et al. 1994, 2006, chowdhury et al. 1996, ghani 1998, uddin et al. 2001, 2004, 2006, khan et al. 2002, chakma et al. 2003, rahman et al. 2003). the list of medicinal plants of chakma people presented in this article is not a complete list. to make a complete list further long term survey is necessary. table 1. a list of medicinal plants used by the chakma people of bangladesh. scientific names of medicinal plants are arranged in alphabetical order. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 1. abelmoschus moschatus medik. kona-gach malvaceae leaves, seeds stomach ache 2. abroma augusta l. gash-chola sterculiaceae calyx, seeds snake bite 3. achyranthes aspera l. ubo-langara amaranthaceae leaves stomach ache, abortion 4. adhatoda zeylanica medik. basok-pata acanthaceae leaves cold, cough 5. ageratum conyzoides l. monimozzakhar asteraceae leaves wounds, skin diseases 6. alocasia indica (rox.) scott. man-kuchu araceae leaves rheumatism, constipation 7. aloe indica l. ghrito-kumari liliaceae leaves wounds, burning 8. alpinia conchigera griff. khetranga zingiberaceae rhizomes wounds 9. amaranthus viridis l. bhul-maresh amaranthaceae leaves fever 10. ampelygonum chinensis (l.) lindly mono-eja-dar polygonaceae whole plant antiseptic 11. ananus sativus schult. anash bromeliaceae unripe fruits anthelmintic 12. angiopteris evecta (frost.) hoffm. hadibo-muro angiopteridaceae stems (caudex) blood cancer 13. anisomelis indica (l.) kuntze jharbo-horin sing lamiaceae leaves gout, rheumatism 14. aphania danura (roxb.) radlk. gach-challa sapindaceae roots bark dysentery 15. areca catechu l. subori arecaceae roots urination problem 16. azadirachta indica a. juss. nim meliaceae leaves skin diseases 17. baliospermum montanum (willd) muell. shapan-pan euphorbiaceae leaves antidote 18. bambusa tulda roxb. midinga-bash poaceae leaves diabetes 19. barleria lupulina lindl. sornomukhi acanthaceae whole plant skin diseases 20. bombax ceiba l. shimul-tuologach bombacaceae roots, flowers impotency, pox, aphrodisiac, food 21. brownea coccinea jacq. kurochit-sak fabaceae roots, leaves gynecological problem 22. cajanus cajan (l.) huth. dumisumi fabaceae leaves jaundice, diabetes (contd.) medico-botanical report on the chakma community 69 table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 23. calamus latifolius roxb. karat-bet arecaceae stems fracture 24. calotropis gigantea r. br. akonda asclepiadaceae leaves, latex asthma, wounds 25. cardiospermum helicacabum l. kataboksashak sapindaceae whole plant measles 26. cassia hirsuta l. sabo-daru fabaceae leaves snake bite 27. celosia argentea l. hiang-morish amaranthaceae leaves ear diseases 28. celosia cristata l. radakuro-phul amaranthaceae leaves wounds 29. centella asiatica urban. thankuni umbelliferae whole plant blood dysentery 30. centipeda minima (l.) a.br. hatchuni asteraceae whole plant nasal problem 31. clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze noli-gach verbenaceae roots stop bleeding 32. clerodendrum viscosum vent. veck-gach verbenaceae leaves sores, diabetes 33. cnesmone javanica bl. chotta euphorbiaceae leaves snake bite, blood cancer 34. coccinia cordifolia cogn. tela-kuchu cucurbitaceae whole plant diabetes, burning sensation 35. crotalaria pallida ait. kudugojhunjhuni (1) fabaceae roots, leaves stomach pain, urination problem 36. curcuma caesia roxb. kala-holod zingiberaceae rhizomes anti-poison, sore throat 37. curcuma longa l. holod zingiberaceae flowers, rhizomes blood purifier, tonic 38. cymbopogon citratus stapf. dhan-sabarang poaceae roots, leaves cold, stomach ache 39. cyperus diffusus vahl perazary cyperaceae leaves antiseptic 40. delima sarmentosa l. ulu-ludi dilleniaceae roots, leaves fever 41. desmodium triquitrum dc. komorsina fabaceae leaves paralysis 42. diploclisia glaucescens (bl.) diels sonattola menispermaceae leaves rheumatic pain 43. dysophylla crassicaulis benth. shel-pata-richa lamiaceae leaves menstrual problem (stop bleeding) 44. entada phaseoloides (l.) merr. gila fabaceae seeds poisoning, play game 45. eupatorium odoratum l. assam-pata asteraceae leaves wounds 46. ficus racemosa l. jagga-dumur moraceae fruits invigorative 47. gomphostemma parviflorum wall. kudugojhunjhuni (2) lamiaceae roots irregular menstruation 48. hibiscus radiatus cav. sorbo-amila malvaceae leaves jaundice 49. hibiscus sabdariffa l. amila malvaceae leaves catarrh 50. hoya acuminata (wight) benth. pasha-mash asclepiadaceae leaves ear diseases 51. kalanchoe pinnata (lamk.) pers. pathor -kuchi crassulaceae leaves ear lesion, urination problem 52. lagenaria siceraria (molina) standly kudugulo cucurbitaceae roots throat diseases 53. leea macrophylla roxb. baggach leeaceae roots, leaves fracture, rheumatism 54. lygodium flexuosum sw. kogti-jurgo lygodiaceae leaves sores 55. mangifera indica l. am anacardiaceae seeds diabetes, tonic (contd.) 70 roy et al. table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 56. melastoma malabathricum l. moha-puttinggulo melastomaceae roots stomach ache 57. moghania macrophylla kuntze kodorothanggach fabaceae leaves gastric 58. moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae stems bark back ache, rheumatism 59. musa sapientum l. kola-gach musaceae leaves tumor 60. mussaenda glabra vahl bissollokarani/ gachranirtak rubiaceae whole plant menstrual problem 61. ocimum americanum l. sabarang lamiaceae whole plant stimulant 62. ocimum gratissimum l. mithaphul/ram-tulsi lamiaceae leaves nasal diseases, skin diseases 63. oroxylum indicum (l.) vent. fona-gulogach bignoniaceae stem bark jaundice 64. oxalis corniculata l. amrul oxalidaceae whole plant constipation 65. paederia foetida l. pada-bash-ludi rubiaceae leaves joint pain, rheumatism 66. peliosanthes teta andrews dhub-melony liliaceae roots wounds 67. pentapetes phoenicea l. dibuzza-phulgach sterculiaceae leaves boils 68. phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus n.e. vargi-nola acanthaceae leaves gout, rheumatism 69. phylanthus emblica l. amoloki euphorbiaceae fruits constipation 70. piper nigrum l. gul-morish piperaceae roots, leaves fever, cough, catarrh, rheumatism 71. plumbago indica l. rangajat agunateda plumbaginaceae roots stomach ache 72. plumbago zeylanica l. chita-mul plumbaginaceae roots stomach ache 73. plumeria rubra l. bak-phul apocynaceae roots, stems blood cancer 74. polygonum flaccidum meissn. biskatali polygonaceae leaves sores and boils, antiseptic 75. pothos scandens l. komorsina araceae stems, leaves fracture 76. premna esculenta roxb. lalom-pata verbenaceae leaves appetizer 77. psidium guajava batt goium myrtaceae leaves dysentery, toothache 78. pyrrosia piloselloides m.g. tenga-chara polypodiaceae leaves ear ache 79. rauvolfia serpentina benth. ex kurz surchan apocynaceae roots blood pressure, stomach ache 80. ricinus communis l varon pata euphorbiaceae leaves boils, gynecological problem 81. rubus hexagynus roxb. kata-chola rosaceae roots fever 82. solanum myriacanthum dun. karnafully solanaceae fruits aphrodisiac 83. taebernaemontana divaricata bl. katto-dongor apocynaceae roots hiccup 84. terminalia bellerica roxb. boragulo combretaceae stems barks, roots blood dysentery, urination problem 85. terminalia chebula retz. hottail combretaceae fruits blood dysentery, stomach ache 86. thevetia peruviana (pers.) schum. goi-phul apocynaceae roots urination problem (contd.) medico-botanical report on the chakma community 71 table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 87. typhonium trilobatum (l.) scott. harbaz araceae leaves rheumatism, body pain 88. uraria crinita (l.) desv. bilai-langur fabaceae whole plant paralysis 89. vernonia patula (dryand.) merr. danta-utpal asteraceae roots stomach ache 90. zingiber zerumbet (l.) sm. bhul-changa zingiberaceae rhizomes paralysis acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the ministry of chittagong hill tracts affairs, government of bangladesh for financial support to conduct the fieldwork. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethno-botany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330330. alam, m.k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49-63. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news xlll(3): 3-7. chowdhury, j., alam, m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies against dysentery and diarrhea in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. additional series 12. scientific publishers, jodhpur, pp. 20-23. ghani, a. 1998. medicinal plants of bangladesh: chemical constituents and uses. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-460. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical record of bangladesh-1: plants used for healing fractured bones. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh. (sci.). 12(1&2): 33-39. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.a.1996. ethnobotanical record of bangladesh-2. plants used for healing cuts and wounds. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 49-52. khaleque, k. 1995. ethnic communities of bangladesh. in: gain, p. (ed.) bangladesh, land, forest and forest people, pp. 1-25. society for environment and human development (sehd), dhaka. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 51-60. khisa, b. 1996. chakma talik chikitsa. herbal medicine centre committee, rajban bihar, rajbari, rangamati, 1-136 pp. khisa, s.k. 1998. ethnobotanical and cultural background of ethnic communities in forest resource management in chittagong hill tracts. in: banic, r.l., alam, m.k., pei, s.j. and rastogi, a. (eds), applied ethno-botany, pp. 56-63. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. rahman, m.a. 2003. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge among tribals of bangladesh. in: ethnobotany and medicinal plants of indian subcontinent, pp. 89-93. scientific publisher, jodhpur. 72 roy et al. rahman, m.a., khisa, a., uddin, s.b. and wilcock, c.c. 2003. indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine in bangladesh treatment of jaundice by the tribal communities of hill tracts districts. in: sillitoe, p. (ed.), indigenous knowledge development in bangladesh present and future, pp. 75-78. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of hill tracts district. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisa, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts district. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. mia, m.m.k. and huq, a.m. 1988. a preliminary ethno-botanical survey in the jointiapur, tamabil and jafflong area, sylhet, bangladesh national herbarium bull. 3: 1-10. tripura, s.l. 1994. nature and culture of the chittagong hill tracts. tribal culture institute, rangamati hill district, pp. 1-192. uddin, s.b. 2001. a comparative ethno botanical study among the tribal communities of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. phd thesis, the university of aberdeen, uk. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and sultana, m. 2006. ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 63-68. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. ethno medical plants records of kalenga forest range (habiganj), bangladesh for malaria, jaundice, diarrhea and dysentery. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 101-104. uddin, s.n., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.m. 2004. preliminary ethno-medical plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. yusuf, m., choudhury, j.u., wahab, m.a. and begum, j. 1994. medicinal plants of bangladesh. bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-340. yusuf, m., rahman, m.a., choudhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., choudhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaulkhali proper and betunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61. (manuscript received on 27 august 2007; revised on 18 november 2007) microsoft word 06. or.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 153-157, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of sterculiaceae for bangladesh md. manzurul kadir mia1, md. oliur rahman*, md. abul hassan and a. mozaharul huq2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: sterculiaceae; new records; guazuma ulmifolia; helicteres viscida; sterculia urens; bangladesh. abstract three species belonging to sterculiaceae, namely guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb. are recorded here for the first time for bangladesh. of these, the genus guazuma is also a new generic record for the country. updated nomenclature, important synonyms, description, ecology and geographical distribution are provided for each species. introduction sterculiaceae is moderately a large family consisting of some 70 genera and 1500 species, mainly of tropical and subtropical regions (cronquist, 1981). referring to the sterculiaceae of bangladesh hooker (1874) reported 20 species under 10 genera from the present bangladesh, whereas, prain (1903) documented 9 species and 5 genera from the same area. heinig (1925) recorded 14 species from chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. sinclair (1956) listed 6 species of this family from cox’s bazar while datta and mitra (1953) registered 11 species from dhaka and its suburb. very recently ahmed et al. (2009) added to our knowledge documenting 25 species of sterculiaceae occurring in bangladesh. during the course of a revisionary work on sterculiaceae of bangladesh the first author visited the british museum, london (bm), royal botanic garden, edinburgh (e) and royal botanic gardens, kew (k). at these herbaia he came across some herbarium specimens (clarke 19931, cowan 1618, hooker & t. thomson 302) collected from the area now falls under bangladesh, namely, guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb., respectively. none of these species appeared in the relevant publications of the regional flora, viz. hooker (1874), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), rahman et al. (2001), rashid and mia (2001), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b), hossain et al. (2005), islam et al. (2009), tutul et al. (2009, 2010), rahman et al. (2010) and uddin and hassan (2010). since there has been no record of occurrence of guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb. in any *corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 1former principal scientific officer, bangladesh national herbarium, mirpur-1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh. 2former consultant-taxonomist, university of illinois at chicago, usa. 154 mia et al. floristic works of bangladesh, these species are reported here for the first time as new records for bangladesh. moreover, the genus guazuma mill. is also reported here as a new generic record for the country. a detailed description with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, ecology and geographical distribution for each species are given below. guazuma ulmifolia lam., encycl. math. bot. 3: 52 (1789); robyns in ann. miss. bot. gard. 51: 10 2, f. 7 (1964); abedin et al. in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 10 (1976); malick in sharma et al., fl. ind. 3: 424 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 421 (1995). guazuma tomentosa kunth, in h.b.k., nov. gen. sp. 5: 32 (1823). mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 278 (1903). diuroglossum rufescens turcz. in bull. soc. nat. mosc. 25 (2): 157 (1852). theobroma guazuma l., sp. p1. : 782 (1753). a moderate-sized tree, up to 25 m tall. young twigs covered with rusty-brown or light grey stellate hairs. leaves simple, tomentose, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 7-13 x 3-6 cm, acuminate at the apex, obliquely cordate at the base, 3-5 nerved from the base, margin serrate, scabrid or glabrescent on upper surface, pubescent on lower surface; petiole 0.7-1.2 cm long, slender, covered with stellate hairs. inflorescence axillary and terminal panicles, many-flowered. flowers yellow; flower buds globose. calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, lobes reflexed, connate below the middle, stellately hairy. corolla 5-lobed, concave at the base, exceeding the calyx. stamens 10, staminodes 5, lanceolate; anthers 2-lobed, lobes divergent, concealed in the hood of the petals. ovary 5-locular, ovules many in each locule; style more or less connate. fruit a capsule, woody, oblong, obtuse, tuberculate. seeds albuminous. flowering and fruiting period: january to september. ecology: secondary forests, growing in alluvial and clay soils. specimen examined: naokhali: 30.10.1873, c.b. clarke 19931 (bm). geographical distribution: tropical america from mexico to the northern part of argentina and the middle part of brazil. also distributed in india, sri lanka and indonesia. helicteres viscida bl., bijdr. 1: 79 (1825); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 143 (1877); gagnep. in fl. gen. i.-c. 1: 489 (1911); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 281 (1922); craib in fl. siam. enum. 1: 175 (1925); kou-mei, fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 49 (2): 161 (1984). helicteres pulchella wall. ex boj. in hort. maurit.: 35 (1837). a shrub, 1-3 m tall, with stellate hairs on all parts. leaves ovate, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, 6-15 x 4-10 cm, subcoriaceous, with soft hairs on lower surface, acute to cuspidate at the apex, cuneate or oblique at the base, margin irregularly dentate, secondary nerves 3-5 pairs; petiole 0.4-1.0 cm long, hairy. inflorescence axillary, up to 3.5 cm long. flowers white or yellow; new records of sterculiaceae 155 pedicels articulate. calyx funnel shaped, 1.4-1.8 cm long, velvety outside, 5-lobed, lobes unequal, acute. corolla 2.5-3.2 cm long, spathulate, 5-lobed, lobes obtuse or retuse. stamens 10; staminodes 5; filamens glabrous; anthers 2-celled. ovary 5-locular, glabrous, each locule with many ovules, ovoid to oblong, surrounded by the ring of stamens; styles slender; stigma divided into 5, pin-like teeth. fruit a capsule, oblong or cylindrical, 2.5-4.0 cm long, beaked, covered with shaggy hairs. seeds many, globose to rhomboid. flowering and fruiting period: july to march. ecology: evergreen forest, altitudes 30-340 m. geographical distribution: china, vietnam, laos, thailand, myanmar, malay peninsula and indonesia. specimen examined: chittagong: jaldi range, boilchori, 2.12.1920. j.m. cowan 1618 (e). sterculia urens roxb., p1. corom. 1: 25, t. 24 (1795); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 145 (1832); wight & arn, prodr. 1: 63 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903); malick in shanma et al., fl. ind. 3: 470 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 432 (1995). cavallium urens schott & endl., melet. : 33 (1832). a soft-wooded deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall, with white papery outer bark; twigs glabrescent, with distinct raised leaf scars and lenticels. leaves crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, coraceous, hairy on lower surface, 12-20 x 10-20 cm, acuminate to cuspidate at the apex, deeply cordate at the base, usually 5-nerved from the base; petiole very long, up to 20 cm long; stipules narrowly lanceolate, caducous. inflorescence terminal, many flowered, 10-18 cm long, glandular pubescent. flowers small, yellow; pedicels c 4mm long. cayx 5-lobed, campanulate, 5-lobed, lobes oblong or narrowly triangular, 4-8 x 3-5 mm, hairy on both surface, calyx-tube as long as lobes. male flowers: stamens 10; anthers sessile; staminodes 10. female flowers: ovary 5-6, ovoid, hairy; style hairy; stigma 5-6 lobed, recurved. fruit a follicle, 2-6, oblong, ellipsoid or kidney-shaped, 4-6 cm long and 1-2 cm broad when young, densely rusty pubescent. seeds 3-6, oblong to ellipsoid, black. flowering and fruiting period: october to february. ecology: mixed deciduous forest. geographical distribution: cambodia, india, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. specimen examined: chittagong : s. loc. 31.12.1850, j.d. hooker & t. thomson 302 (k). acknowledgement we would like to thank the authorities of the royal botanic gardens, kew, royal botanic garden, edinburgh and british museum, london for herbarium and library facilities. 156 mia et al. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperm: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. hooker, j.d. 1874. the flora of british india. vol. 1. l. reeve & co. ltd., england. pp. 353-379. hossain, m.m., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2005. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85-96. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35-37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts 2. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 63-68. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 76-78. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. 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(manuscript received on 10 july 2011; revised on 3 december 2011) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 165-169, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67053 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication rosa mironovae, a new replacement name for r. mutabilis n.v. mironova (rosaceae) muhammad idrees, zhiyong zhang and julian m.h. shaw1* college of life science, neijiang normal university, neijiang 641000, sichuan, china keywords: rosa mironovae; rosaceae; nomenclature. a new name, rosa mironovae m. idrees & j.m.h. shaw, is proposed as a replacement name for the illegitimate name r. mutabilis mironova (rosaceae), a later homonym of r. mutabilis correvon. the genus rosa l. (1753) (rosoideae: rosaceae, jussieu, 1789), comprises about 150–200 species, distributed mainly throughout the temperate and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere (gandoger, 1881; rehder, 1949; yü et al., 1985; matthews, 1995; ku and robertson, 2003; wissemann and ritz, 2005), except one species from tropical africa. approximately, half of the species of rosa grow in asia, while in north america and europe about a quarter of the total number of species occurs in each continent. species in this genus are economically important as ornamental shrubs and cut flowers, as well as cosmetics and pharmaceutical research (yi et al., 2007; jager et al., 2007; özçelik et al., 2013; verma et al., 2020). classical taxonomy (rehder, 1940; wissemann, 2003) divided the genus into four subgenera based on the diagnostic characters of fruits structure, i.e., r. subgen. hesperhodos cockerell (1913), r. subgen. hulthemia (dumortier 1824) focke (1888), r. subgen. platyrhodon (hurst 1928) rehder (1940) and subgen. rosa (rehder 1940). the first three subgenera are monotypic containing one or two species, while the fourth subgenus rosa harbours about 95% of all species, and is subdivided into ten sections. many attempts were made to reconstruct the phylogeny of this genus, most of which suggested that the divisions of most subgenera and sections based on morphology were artificial (matsumoto et al., 1998, 2000, 2001; iwata et al., 2000; wu et al., 2000, 2001; wissemann and ritz, 2005; bruneau et al., 2007; koopman et al., 2008; qiu, 2012; liu et al., 2015). species identification and boundaries in the genus have been notoriously difficult due to intraspecific variation, polyploidy, and interspecific hybridization (crépin, 1893; erlanson, 1929; erlanson-macfarlane, 1966; melville, 1967; wissemann, 2003; ritz et al., 2005, joly and bruneau, 2006; joly et al., 2006; schanzer and vagina, 2007; mercure and bruneau, 2008; ritz and wissemann, 2011; kellner et al., 2012; fougère-danezan et al., 2015; gao et al., 2015, 2019). taxonomic confusion in the genus rosa is attributed to its complicated evolutionary history of the wild species, and subsequent interbreeding with the cultivated species (ritz et al., 2005). the absence of clear morphological variation, their recent radiation, incomplete lineage sorting and polyploidy are some features that make the complexity in the genus (joly and bruneau, 2006; wissemann and ritz, 2005). morphological characteristics as the basis for the taxonomic classification also cause confusion due to similarity in the features. sometimes, the morphological features are under severe selection pressure, that is, rapid speciation brings changes in some characters (meyen, 1973). sometimes this has resulted in convergence, at other times closely related taxa appear morphologically divergent (ritz et al., 2005; schanzer and kutlunina, 2010), the genus rosa has examples of both (atienza et al., 2005; koopman et al., 2008). *corresponding author, email: julianshaw@rhs.org.uk 1horticultural taxonomy, royal horticultural society, wisley, woking, surrey, gu23 6qb, u.k. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67053 166 idrees et al. the name rosa mutabilis bradbury ex james was first described in 1823 but the name was invalid, because there was no validating description or diagnosis (art. 38.1(a) of icn; turland et al., 2018). jame (1823) mentioned the following information in the original protologue “the new species of rose, pointed out by mr. bradbury and by him called rosa mutabilis. this is a very beautiful species, rising sometimes to the height of eight or ten feet”. the plants of the world online database (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:733422-1, accessed 8 june 2023) listed the name as an unpublished synonym of rosa setigera michx. (1803). according to nelson and grills (1998), the cultivar rosa ‘tipo ideale’ was first described by lady ross-of-bladensburg in 1921, based on a plant growing in borromean islands in the lago maggiore in northern italy, not far from isola bella, the famous residence of prince gilberto borromeo (1859–1941). in 1895, gilberto borromeo, prince of angera had presented a plant of this rose as a gift to henri correvon, the swiss gardener, who, published it as rosa mutabilis correvon (1934). it was distributed in cultivation by daisy hill nursery, and as early as 19291930 it was listed in the rose catalogue (thomas, 1987; who noted that as ‘mutabilis’ and this rose reached britain in 1916). eventually, this lovely rose was identified as a cultivar of the chinese rose, rosa chinensis ‘tipo ideale’ (thomas, 1980; moore, 1921; nelson and grills, 1998), now listed in pf (rhs plant finder 1997; powo, 2023) as r. × odorata ‘mutabilis’. recently, mironova (2012) published a new dwarf wild species from the rostov region, russia rosa mutabilis mironova, sp. nov. (2012) that belongs to the rosa sect. gallicanae (dc. 1818) ser. (1825), subsect. pygmaeae muzunova (2001). according to icn art. 53. 1 (turland et al., 2018), it is an illegitimate later homonym of r. mutabilis correvon (1934). a new replacement name, rosa mironovae m. idrees & j.m.h. shaw, is therefore proposed here. the specific epithet honours prof. dr. natalia v. mironova (botanical garden, rostov-on-don, russia), author of the replaced name, who first described this new species. nomenclature rosa mironovae m. idrees & j. m. h. shaw, nom. nov. replaced name: rosa mutabilis n.v. mironova in bot. zhurn. (moscow & leningrad) 97(3): 376 (2012), nom. illeg. non r. mutabilis correvon in rev. hort. [paris]. n.s., 24: 60 (1934) nec. r. mutabilis bradbury ex james in account exped. pittsburgh [ed. philadelphia] 1: 69 (1823) nom. inval. type: russia. prov. rostoviensis, distr. kujbyscheviensis, in 15 rkm ad pag. lysogorka, in declibus lapidosis, 9 june 2006, n. mironova s.n. (le–holo). we are grateful to anonymous reviewer for providing helpful suggestions and comments to improve our manuscript. this study was financed by the key research and development project of sichuan provincial department of science and technology (2022yfn0032), the high-level talent introduction project of science and technology department of sichuan province of china (2023jdgd0031), and the scientific research project of neijiang normal university. references atienza, s.g., torres, a.m., millan, t. and cubero, j.i. 2005. genetic diversity in rosa as revealed by rapds. agricult. conspect. sci. 70: 75–85. bruneau, a., starr, j.r. and joly, s. 2007. phylogenetic relationships in the genus rosa: new evidence from chloroplast dna sequences and an appraisal of current knowledge. syst. bot. 32: 366–378. correvon, l.h. 1934. rosa mutabilis corr. rev. horti. année [paris] 24: 60–61. http://bibliothequenumerique.hortalia.org/items/viewer/356 crépin, f. 1893. rosae hybridae. études sur les roses hybrides. bull. soci. royl. bot. belg., 1iérepartie (mémoires) 32: 52–55. rosa mironovae, a new replacement name for r. mutabilis 167 erlanson, e.w. 1929. cytological conditions and evidences for hybridity in north america wild roses. bot. gazette 87: 443–506. erlanson-macfarlane, e.w. 1966. the old problem of species in rosa with special reference to north america. amer. rose ann. 51: 150–160. fougère-danezan, m., joly s., bruneau, a., gao, x.f. and zhang, l.b. 2015. phylogeny and biogeography of wild roses with specific attention to polyploids. ann. bot. 115(2): 275–291. 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(manuscript received on 02 january 2023; revised on 05 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 43-51, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67043 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species in genus abutilon (malvaceae) from pakistan fouzia naseer*, ali noor and afshan rahman department of botany, university of karachi, 75270, pakistan keywords: abutilon; malvaceae; taxonomy; morphology. abstract in this research paper, a newly identified plant species of the genus abutilon mill., namely abutilon jafrii f. naseer, a. noor & a. rahman, is described and illustrated for the first time in the province of sindh, detailed morphological descriptions of the species along with the micro-morphological examinations of scanning electron microscopy (sem) for the mericarps, seeds and pollens are presented. additionally, macro morphological characteristics including photographs of the plant habit with flowers, fruits, seeds and mericarps are provided. through gross macro-morphological and micromorphological investigations such as plant height, leaves texture and colour, pedicel of fruits and flowers, flowers diameter, sepal’s size in flowers and fruits, number of seeds per mericarp, pollen tectum exhibit significant differences in characters, which indicate that, it is a distinct species. introduction the genus abutilon mill. is classified under tribe abutilinae (bentham and hooker, 1862). in a taxonomic revision of the entire family by hutchinson (1967), the genus was kept under the tribe abutilieae and sub-tribe abutilinae. though, bates (1968) later removed subtribes and placed them under the tribe malvae. the genus abutilon is considered as one of the large and complex genera (fryxell, 1997 and takeuchi and esteves, 2012). it was established by philip miller in the year 1754 (fryxell, 1983) since been recorded in various parts of the world. while several authors have added and reported different species over time in the genus while christenhusz and byng (2016) stated that the genus includes approximately 4,225 species. it is supposed to be more or less cosmopolitan in distribution, although it is primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions as a genus of annual and perennial, herbs, under shrubs, or mostly shrubs (borssum, 1967; davis, 2002; mabberley, 1987; manjunath, 1948 and taia, 2009). in the pakistan, eighteen specific and infra-specific taxa have been recorded (abedin, 1979) which are belonging to the different southern parts of the country, while only a few species were reported from the northern parts. a total of eleven species have been reported from karachi & its adjoining areas (afaq-hussain et al.1988). different works have conducted for taxonomic examinations of several species in different regions. such as taia (2009) reported five species from saudi arabia based on morphological analysis, including leaves, flowers and fruits of the genus. alzahrani et al. (2021) analyzed six species of the genus using morphological characters with a morphometric approach. in pakistan, hussain and baquar (1974) provided a taxonomic study of twelve species, while abedin (1979) reported eighteen specific and infra-specific taxa. naseer et al. (2015) resolved long-standing confusion between widely spread taxa, namely a. indicum and a. badium based on critical *corresponding author, e-mail: fouzianaseer.ku@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67043 mailto:fouzianaseer.ku@gmail.com 44 naseer et al. analysis of morphological characters. they accepted a. badium as a distinct and separate species as described and mentioned by hussain and baqar (1974) and listed as an accepted name in “the plant list 2013”. however, abedin (1979) in the flora of pakistan considered both as the same taxa. naseer et al. (2020) added one more infra-specific taxa in the genus. for improving systematic position and delimitation of taxa several palynological studies were also carried out on various species from different regions in which christensen (1986), perveen et al. (1994), el-nagar (2004), el-husseini (2006) and shaheen et al. (2009) conveyed important notes about family and genus. in recent years naseer et al. (2015) revised the pollen analysis of two species. seeds are often influenced by environmental factors (zoric et al., 2010), which provides significant data for the delimitation of taxa. the literature provides little information regarding the micro-morphology of seeds, including two species by el-naggar (2001) and amallesh et al. (2012), khushk and vaughan (1986) reported seed data of nine species of the genus. nasser et. al. (2015) examined closely two species namely a. indicum (l.) sweet and a. badium s. a. hussain & baquar, while naseer et al. (2020) studied one infra-specific taxon abutilon pannosum var. balochistanicum in their work. during a revisionary survey of the genus abutilon from pakistan, this species was observed with its distinct morphological characteristics. the current paper introduces and recognizes a new species within the genus namely a. jafrii f. naseer et al. based on macro and micro-morphology particularly pollen and seed characters. in addition, a concise diagnostic key and comparison table is provided, comparing this new species with its closely related species a. sepalum s. a. hus. & s. r. baq. materials and methods plants were extensively studied in their natural habitat using recently collected fresh specimens. study site and collection of material the plant specimens of newly recognized species in the work were collected and discovered by the first author of the current work from the karachi university (ku) campus during revisionary work of the entire genus from 2007 to 2023. all necessary field observations were carefully noted i.e. plant height, soil type, habit, the colour of plant parts, flower opening and closing timings, seed dispersal behavior etc. the specimens were preserved in the herbarium of karachi university (kuh) with all necessary voucher details. macro morphological analysis for the detailed morphological examination of all important qualitative and quantitative features, simple observations were employed of stem, leaves, inflorescence, flower, fruit & mericarp and seeds. digital illustration the same method was adopted as mentioned in naseer et al. (2015, 2020). photographs of the plant’s habits and other parts have been captured with a photographic camera (olympus vr-310). the macro-morphological studies were performed with the help of a hand lens and stereomicroscope. a new species in genus abutilon 45 scanning electron microscopy scanning electron microscopic (sem) studies were made for the mericarp, seeds and pollen grains of both species. for mericarp and seed sem study for the scanning electron microscopy (sem) study preparation of material, mature and healthy seeds were washed successively in three grades of ethanol (30%, 50% and 70%) to remove dirt from the surface of the seeds. dried seeds and mericarp of the specimen were mounted on separate metallic stubs upon double adhesive tape and coated in a sputtering chamber for a few minutes with gold, then observed by sem jeol japan (jsm-6380a), in the central laboratory of the university of karachi for the sem study of seeds. the images were captured by scanning electron microscope. for the pollen sem study for the sem study of pollen grains, dried flower specimens were directly dusted upon metal stubs with double-adhesive tape. the gold coating was done in a sputtering chamber of jeol jec1500, observed and the photographs were captured by scanning electron microscope (jeol: jsm 6380 a). the voucher specimens were recorded and kept in the karachi university herbarium. key to species 1+ stem, petiole and pedicel greyish green, densely covered with hirsute hairs, pedicel joint below the middle, sepals not leathery, mericarps 2330 in each schizocarp abutilon jafrii 1 stem, petiole and pedicel greenish and velvety, pedicel joint at or above middle, sepals leathery, mericarps 20-48 in each schizocarp abutilon sepalum description of the species an erect up to 0.6m tall a large shrub. stem with greyish dense soft hirsute, pubescence and slightly velvety appearance. leaves 3.2 -5.3cm long and 2.5 4.7cm broad, ovate to sometimes old leaves broadly ovate, soft hairs, above velvety dark green to canescent beneath, acute at apex, irregular sharp denticulate to irregular minute dentate, cordate-deep cordate at base, 9-nerves; petiole 2.8-4.5 cm long, dense greyish soft hirsute hairs; stipules deciduous, linear, reflexed,0.40.6cm long. flower solitary axillary and visible in clusters on the terminal side or racemes to sometimes dichotomously branched, pseudo-raceme, ± 3.5cm across, dark yellow. flowering pedicel length is almost 0.3-0.6 cm above while about 0.1-0.2cm below the joint, articulation indistinct below the middle near stem and branches. calyx 5 lobed, densely hairy not leathery, light green to greyish green, acute at apex, sepals 1.2cm long 0.7cm broad, broad ovate; corolla 5 lobed, petals 1.7 cm long, 2.2 cm broad, retuse apex. fruiting pedicel 0.6-0.9 cm above the joint and 0.4-2 cm below the joint, remain indistinct below the middle near the base of the pedicel (while sometimes observed only in old fruit), covered with dense hirsute hairs; fruiting calyx almost enclosed the fruit, light green-yellowish, sepals 1.3cm long and 0.6-0.7cm broad. fruit truncate, 1.5-1.8 cm across, ridges and furrows not clear due to dense hair; mericarps 23-30 in each fruit, obtuse at apex, long spreading the almost equal length of cream to yellowish or golden hairs at edges, 0.6-0.9 cm long 0.4-0.6 cm broad, dark shiny brown, single awn, 0.8-0.9cm long. seeds usually 3 in each mericarp and rarely 2, 2 mm across, ovate, dark brown with dense hairs. 46 naseer et al. fig. 1. abutilon jafrii (a) habit of whole plant (b-c) arrangement of flowers and fruits on floral axis (d) yellow flower opening holotype: karachi district: f. naseer, 223 (kuh). specimens examined: karachi university campus, near the botany department, c. 6.5 feet tall, plant parts greyish green in sunny areas, flower dark yellow, pedicel length very short and covered with dense hairs, fruit greyish to yellowish brown at maturity, f. naseer, 223, 225 (kuh), left area adjacent to chemistry department, c. 6.5 to 7 feet tall, dark green leaves in semi shady area, pseudo-raceme inflorescence, 415, 423, 425, left area near to department of mathematical sciences (kuh). ecology: sandy soil etymology: name of species is dedicated to our one of the honorable taxonomist “s. m. h. jafri”, who was editor of flora of karachi. a new species in genus abutilon 47 phenology: flowers open after 4 o’clock evening in summer while at 3-4 o’clock in winter. distribution: pakistan: karachi (fig. 3) fig. 2. comparison between a.sepalum and a. jafrii in various parts: abutilon sepalum (a) flower in natural habitat (b) fruit with dense hairs (c) mature mericarp with showing apex (d) seeds; abutilon jafrii (e) flower in natural habitat (f) fruiting branch (g) mericarp (h) seeds fig. 3. map showing current distribution of new taxa. 48 naseer et al. results and discussion according to alzahrani (2021) floral morphological features especially fruits play key role for delimitation of taxa in the genus abutilon. in this work abutilon jafrii f. naseer & a. noor although has close resemblance with a. sepalum especially due to calyx condition in fruit but on the basis of various morphological traits it is recognized as distinct species. flower is much darker yellowish in a. jafrii than a. sepalum (fig. 2a & e). in both of the species fruits are enclosed in the calyx as shown in fig. 2 b & f. while in each fruit, numbers of mericarps are lesser in the a. jafrii than a. sepalum. mericarp surface and colour also vary in currently recognized species as dark brownish with dense golden hairs on apex (fig. c & g). leaves texture and size also vary in a. jafrii (fig. 1a) a. sepalum leaves are slightly covered with hispid hairs as described husssain and baquar (1974) while leaves in a. jafrii are densely covered with soft hairs giving velvety touch. leaves colour also differs in both of the species mentioned in table 1. the short pedicel is the key characteristic of species with indistinct to distinct articulation both in flower and fruit, sometimes in flower sub-sessile condition of the pedicel is recorded. calyx is densely pubescent but not leathery as in a. sepalum. seed colour, shape and surface provide strong evidence between both of these species (fig. 2d & h; fig. 3), in species a. jafrii trichomes at notch can be seen clearly while not seen in a. seplaum and the number of seeds is also lesser in the newly recognized species. pollen surface also shows remarkable differences, details of distinguishing characters were mentioned in table 1. illustrated images of the type species and newly recognized species are presented in figs. 1, 2 & 3. fig. 4. (a) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon jafrii (a) entire seeds (b) edges view of seed (c-d) trichomes covered surface of seed (b) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon sepalum (a) entire seed (b) edges view of seed (c-d) trichomes covered surface of seed (c) scanning electron micrographs of pollen grains of abutilon jafrii (a) entire pollen grain (b) edges view of pollen grain (d) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon sepalum pollen grains (a) entire pollen grain (b) edges view of pollen grain a new species in genus abutilon 49 table 1. distinguishing characters of abutilon jafrii from its closely allied species a. sepalum. plant parts a. sepalum s. a. hus. & baq. (abedin, 1979) (characters) a. jafrii f. naseer et al. (characters) stem stem apparently velvety with dense tomentose hairs. stem covered with grayish dense and soft appressed hairs. leaves size leaves range from 4-16cm long and 3-13cm broad. leaves usually range from 5-6 or 7cm long and broad. leaves shape leaves are broad ovate or orbicular to ovate in shape. young leaves are ovate while old leaves are somewhat broad. leaves surface leaves from the upper side are somewhat scabrous. leaves not scabrous. petiole size and surface petioles usually range between 2 to 6cm long. petiole 2.5-4cm long. calyx surface calyx leathery, their size is equal to fruit length and enclosing the fruit. calyx not leathery, the size is more than fruit length and completely enclosing the fruit. pedicel length pedicel is 0.5 to 2cm long in fruit fruiting pedicel up to 0.6 long pollen tectum rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, ± unperforated only with any occasional minute perforation. rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, minutely and sparsely perforated. articulation mericarps number with distinct joint, usually at middle mericarps 27-33 in each fruit with usually indistinct to distinct joint, usually below the middle to sometime in middle mericarps are quite less in number per fruit 23-24 seeds number seeds are usually three (sometimes 2) in each mericarp seeds range from 1-2 per mericarp pollen tectum rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, ± unperforated only with any occasional minute perforation. rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, minutely and sparsely perforated. as a large genus comprising several hundred species, they produce attractive yellow to orange-yellow blooms (naseer et al., 2000), generally throughout the year. due to their showy nature of flower and large number of flowers per plant, it is suggested to grow them as an ornamental large shrub in the gardens, particularly in eco-friendly regions. additionally, many species in this genus are considered as fiber-yielding and medicinal plants, used to treat various diseases. therefore, for the conservation and further exploration of newly discovered species demand a comprehensive examination of their pharmacological and phytochemical characteristics. in their natural habitats, these plants frequently encounter a multitude of pests that inflict considerable damage upon their fruits and foliage. within the delicate ecosystem that nurtures these remarkable species, lies an imperative to unveil the untapped potential and ensure their enduring conservation. by exploring pest management technique, we protect precious plant life, pioneer innovative pest control methods, and foster a symbiotic relationship between nature and humans. 50 naseer et al. acknowledgements we are deeply grateful to our respected and honorable supervisor, prof. dr. surayya khatoon (late) for her invaluable guidance and dedication throughout our studies and research, her immense knowledge and extensive experience have been a constant source of motivation for us during this research endeavor. may almighty allah reward her best for her tireless efforts. additionally, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to “fahad ahmed khan yousufi” from the department of geography, uok, for his prompt cooperation in preparing the map. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abedin, s. 1979. malvaceae in: nasir, e. and ali, s.i. 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(manuscript received on 3 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 99-106, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67048 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis a morphologically complex porcini mushroom from pakistan hira bashir, samina sarwar1,2*, irmgard krisai-greilhuber2, ayesha hanif3 and abdul n. khalid4 department of botany, women university of mardan, pakistan keywords: biodiversity; bolete; hindu kush; taxonomy; trichoderm. abstract porcini mushrooms (boletus sect. boletus) have both economic and ecological importance. during this study, a specimen of the phenotypically complex species boletus himalayensis was analyzed morphologically and molecular genetically. this bolete species is characterized by a combination of porcini features: whitish pileus margin and context, pore surface and overall basidiomata having a whitish look before maturity and it has a considerably longer stipe compared to the pileus diameter when immature, with whitish reticulation extending longitudinally towards base. the whitish context and the white to white yellowish pore surface both do not change color upon bruising. although the specimen exhibited a long stipe and a small non−cracked pileus as compared to other collections of boletus himalayensis, molecular genetic analysis revealed that it belongs to this species. introduction moist temperate forests of pakistan are considered as one of the biodiversity hotspots. despite their importance, these forests are under of the least studied ones in terms of the diversity of macrofungi (mirjam, 2010). the boletes are no exception, their diversity from the entire himalayan region of pakistan is only represented by some sporadic publications (ahmad et al., 1997; das et al., 2012; das, 2013a, 2013b; das and chakraborty, 2014; sarwar et al., 2011, 2012, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c, 2015, 2016, 2018 a, b, 2021 a, b, hernández−restrepo et al., 2016; naseer et al., 2019). the present work presents a fungistic (=mycofloristic) record of a porcini mushroom from pakistan. porcini (boletus section boletus: boletaceae: boletineae: boletales) are a conspicuous group of wild, edible mushrooms characterized by fleshy fruiting bodies with a poroid hymenophore that is "stuffed" with white hyphae when young (dentinger et al., 2010). together with its ectomycorrhizal plant symbionts they are distributed throughout the northern hemisphere (dentinger et al., 2010; sarwar et al., 2018a). little progress has been made on the systematics of this group using modern molecular phylogenetic tools. molecular genetic analysis supports the monophyly of the porcini group. porcini mushrooms have a high diversity and worldwide distribution and are a group of commercially valuable mushrooms that may provide an economic incentive for conservation and support the hypothesis of a tropical origin of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis (dentinger et al., 2010; pérez-moreno, 2021). a distinguishing feature of porcini boletes is their young mostly ventricose and later cylindrical stipe sometimes with an enlarged base, and with a raised netted pattern at least over the *corresponding author, e-mail: samina_boletus@yahoo.com 1department of botany, lahore college for women university, lahore, pakistan. 2deptartment of botany and biodiversity research, university of vienna, austria. 3department of botany, university of okara, pakistan. 4institute of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67048 mailto:samina_boletus@yahoo.com 100 bashi̇r et al. uppermost portion, and a layer of tangled white hyphae that covers the immature tubes (dentinger et al., 2010). the taxonomy and classification of these taxa within this group is still confusing (wang and yao, 2005). species in this group have a wide ecological range and a wide distribution pattern including asia (importantly pakistan, india, and china) (thiers, 1975; bessette et al., 2000; oria de rueda and diez, 2002; leonardi et al., 2005; wang and yao, 2005; águeda et al., 2006, 2008; arora, 2008; beugelsdijk et al., 2008; oria de rueda et al., 2008). research with molecular genetic data has been very useful in understanding morphological complexity, phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic issues within this group (leonardi et al., 2005; dentinger and mclaughlin, 2006; beugelsdijk et al., 2008; dentinger et al., 2010; wu et al., 2014; cui et al., 2015). materials and methods site description and collection of samples during fungal field surveys to the khyber pakhtunkhwa (kpk) area, we collected an interesting bolete sample from the forests of the hindu kush foothills and himalayan. sampling areas included malam jabba valley in swat district and ayubia and nathia galli in abbottabad, khyber pakhtunkhwa province. specimens were collected in early summer (july) and the monsoon season, until the end of september. field notes were done from fresh basidiomata and photographs were taken in their natural habitat. colors were designated following munsell (1975). basidiomata were dried by keeping them near a fan heater and then kept in paper bags for processing in the laboratory. specimens are deposited in the lah herbarium, institute of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan. macromorphological and microscopic studies samples were studied macroscopically and microscopically in the laboratory following the methods described by bessette et al. (2000), ladurner and simonini (2003), muñoz (2005) and dentinger et al. (2010). the following morphological characters were recorded from fresh fruiting bodies. pileus: diameter, shape, surface color, ornamentation, texture, color and bruising reaction of the context, margin color and shape. stipe: length and width, shape, color, ornamentation and texture, color and bruising reaction of the context, attachment of the stipe to the pileus, presence/absence of annulus on stipe. hymenium: color and size of pores and tubes, and bruising reactions of the pore surface. for plectological analysis a cxrii, labomed, labo america inc., fremont, ca, usa microscope was used. small tissues of each specimen were mounted in lactic acid, koh, trypan blue, and melzer’s reagent and the length, width, shape, and contents of cytoplasm of basidiospores, basidia, hymenial cystidia, pileipellis and its terminal cells, and their color reactions were recorded. for the spore dimensions, the first values present the range of lengths and widths and qm is the mean of q (=length/width ratio of an individual spore). a total of 20 spores from two collections were measured. molecular genetic analyses dna was extracted from dried basidiomata by a modified ctab method (bruns, 1995). the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) region was amplified using the primers pairs its1f/its4 (white et al., 1990; gardes and bruns, 1993). pcr conditions were 5 min denaturation at 95 °c followed by 35 cycles of annealing at 94 °c (1 min), 1.5 min at 55 °c, 1.5 min at 72 °c and a final extension at 72 °c for 5 min. after purifying pcr products and sequencing reactions, the sequencing reaction products were sent to tsingke, china services. the sequencing chromatograms obtained were edited by comparing overlapping reads using bioedit a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis 101 (hall, 1999) and compared to genbank records using blast at ncbi (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/). sequences were aligned using the muscle alignment tool. phylogenetic analyses were done with the maximum likelihood algorithm (nei and kumar, 2000) of sequences evolution using the model testing feature of mega6 software (tamura et al., 2011). bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 1000 replicates, and corresponding bootstrap values >50% are shown in the tree (fig. 3). boletus edulis was used as outgroup. results and discussion morphological analysis boletus himalayensis s. jabeen, s. sarwar & a. n. khalid (figs 1-2) genbank numbers: op817154, op817155 macroscopic character description: pileus 2–9 cm in diameter, pulvinate, convex to plano−convex, brownish red to orangish red, surface dry to slightly viscid, smooth, tomentose, sometimes cracked, whitish towards margin. pileus margin entire, whitish, smooth, rimose, incurved to straight. context whitish, no color change upon exposure or when bruised. stipe considerably longer than pileus diameter, about 15 cm long, 2–3 cm thick, central, cylindrical or gradually becoming thicker towards base, straight or slightly curved near base, base itself tapering, whitish towards base, brownish to brownish red towards apex, whitish reticulated allover and mostly very prominent and composed of isodiametric meshes towards apex becoming longitudinally elongated towards base, solid, context whitish, no color change upon exposure or when bruised. pore surface white, pores 2–3 per mm, circular, adnate and ascending, tubes 9–13 mm long, white to off–white, no color change upon bruising. microscopic character description: basidiospores subfusiform to ellipsoid−elongate, smooth, thick−walled, light brown in koh, inamyloid, with less prominent apiculus, (13.7–) 14.1–16.0 (– 16.7) × (–4.2) 4.8–5.5 (–5.9) µm, [avx= 14.7 ± 0.8 × 5.1 ± 0.4 µm, qm = 6.8, n = 2×20]. basidia clavate, 2–4 sterigmate, sterigma long, thick walled, brown contents visible, 17.9–43.2 × 11.0– 16.3 µm. cheilocystidia 21.8–42.7 × 5.3–10.9 µm, clavate, a few spheropendeculate. pleurocystidia absent. pileipellis 3.4–6.1 µm in diam., consisting of cylindrical generative hyphae, cylindrical elongated cells observed, and, frequently septate and branched, very few subglobose cells also observed, constricted at the septa. stipitipellis hyphae 1.4–8 µm in diam., cylindrical elongated cells observed, parallel and branched hyphae, septate and constricted at septa. material examined: pakistan, khyber pakhtunkhwa province, malakand division, swat district, malam jabba, on soil near broadleaf trees, notably oaks, july 2021, hira bashir, mj–02. genbank op817154. pakistan: khyber pakhtunkhwa, ayubia, 2350 m a.s.l., near abies pindrow royle, solitary, on soil, 19 june 2010, sarwar s.b. # 76(lcwu0710) genbank op817155. molecular phylogenetic analysis (fig. 3) the consensus sequences of the its region obtained during this study and used in phylogenetic analysis were about 700 base pairs long, after trimming. we used mostly published species sequences in the final dataset of 29 samples including our consensus sequences. sequences were blast searched at ncbi and showed maximum similarity (100% or almost 100%) with boletus himalayensis (mf288902) meaning that our samples belong to this species. phylogenetic evaluation the nrits gene shows that the newly generated sequences op817154 and op817155 are nested within a clade containing both b. reticuloceps and b. himalayensis with strong bootstrap values. https://www.ncbi. 102 bashi̇r et al. fig. 1. boletus himalayensis (macroscopic features). a−c, basidiomata (swat and ayubia collection) showing pileus, stipe and hymenium features. scale bars: for a−c = 1 cm. fig. 2. boletus himalayensis (microscopic features). (swat collection) a. basidia; b. cystidia; c. pileipellis; d. stipitipellis; e. basidiospores. scale bar: a−e = 10 µm. a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis 103 fig. 3. phylogenetic position of boletus himalayensis with related species. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on nrdna its sequences. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession number are given at the end of species names. ■ indicate newly generated sequences. in the present study, boletus himalayensis, which was described in 2018 from the himalayas, could be found again and the analysis shows that it is morphologically quite variable by sometimes having a long stipe and a smooth pileus as compared to the cracked pileus and short stipe in previously reported b. himalayensis specimens, but genetically these collections all belong to this species (sarwar et al., 2018a). other closely related species, both morphologically and phylogenetically, are b. pinophilus and b. reticulatus (sarwar et al., 2018a; thiers 1975, wang and yao, 2005). a special note has to be made about b. reticuloceps. among these taxa, the closest one is b. reticuloceps, but the characters that differentiate b. himalayensis from the former are a rugulose pileus and a gradually broader stipe base in the former as compared to long stipe with narrow base in the latter (wang and yao, 2005). boletus reticuloceps, which appears to be seeminlgy intermixed with b. himalayensis in our phylogenetic analysis, was originally described in the genus aureoboletus, as having a reddish yellow pore surface changing to brownish upon bruising, which is in contradiction to b. himalayensis. one explanation for the observed mix could be that samples of b. himalayensis have been misidentified. the second possibility would be that b. reticuloceps is actually correctly placed in the genus boletus s. str. and thus b. himalayensis boletus persoonii ay680986 boletus edulis ab821457 boletus edulis ab821458 boletus edulis jf899550 boletus edulis ab821455 boletus chippewaensis km248943 boletus cf edulis kc152072 boletus rubriceps nr 137806 boletus rubriceps kc900411 boletus cf edulis mw879315 boletus pinophilus eu554662 boletus reticulatus jn020989 boletus aestivalis dq131611 boletus queletii jf907785 boletus fragrans aj419186 boletus appendiculatus fm958176 boletus speciosus jn903704 boletus subappendiculatus jn9037 boletus appendiculatus jf907786 boletus him alayensis mf288902 boletus himalayensis op817154 boletus himalayensis op817155 boletus reticuloceps jn563882 boletus reticuloceps fj548566 boletus him alayensis on725020 boletus reticuloceps kj131226 boletus reticuloceps kj131225 boletus him alayensis on725039 100 100 99 87 76 100 74 66 100 66 62 60 57 79 99 99 104 bashi̇r et al. would become a later synonym. however, the morphological discrepancy of the different pore color and discoloration would then remain. this taxonomic question can only be resolved by studying the type of b. reticuloceps in the future. anatomically, like other boletus s. str. species, the samples analyzed during this study had sterile tube edges having long, dense clusters of cheilocystidioid elements and a trichoderm, a pileipellis composed of a layer of long, erect cylindrical or few-branched hyphae. molecular phylogenetic analyses based on its provide strong support that our two samples investigated belong to b. himalayensis with some morphological variations. this variability very likely is due to the weather conditions at site with a cracking pileus and short stipe in dry weather conditions and a longer stipe and smooth pileus when moist, mainly due to monsuun season. acknowledgements we are sincerely thankful to higher education commission (hec) pakistsn for providing funds in an srgp project to dr. hira bashir as well as to austrian academy of sciences for providing funds in jesh fellowship to dr. samina sarwar for 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(manuscript received on 7 january 2023 ; revised on 5 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 89–97, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67046 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of lauraceae for bangladesh mohammad sayedur rahman*, saleh ahammad khan1, gazi mosharof hossain1, khandakar kamrul islam and mohammad amdadul hoque bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; lauraceae; litsea; new record; bangladesh. abstract during the floristic explorations conducted in 2022–2023 in different forest areas of the northeast region of bangladesh, some specimens of the family lauraceae were collected. the critical examinations of these specimens have revealed that they belong to the species litsea kurzii, litsea stocksii, and litsea variabilis of the family lauraceae. these species are new to the flora of bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description, including data on ecology, distribution, and use, a list of representative specimens examined, and photographs of each of these species have been provided. introduction taxonomists are relentlessly describing new extant species every year. in bangladesh, the endeavour of exploring new plant species is continuing, and as a consequence, the taxonomists of this country have published a notable number of new records in the last few decades, though sporadically. likewise, after the publication of the encyclopedia of the flora and fauna of bangladesh (effb) (ahmed et al. 2008–2009, 2009; siddiqui et al. 2007), around 281 new records of angiosperms have been published, mostly with information on the specific distribution of the recorded taxa (rahman and hassan, 2017; islam and rahman, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara and hassan, 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin, 2018; alfasane et al., 2019, 2020; hossain et al., 2020; sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022). it means that in the last 13 years, around 7.78% of the effb’s record of 3611 species and 5.6% of khan (1977)’s estimate of 5000 species of angiosperms to exist within the territory of bangladesh have been newly added to the flora of this country. as a result, the total number of angiosperm species in bangladesh has increased to 3892 through the addition of these additional records to the 3611 species listed in the effb. now, if khan's (1977) estimation of 5000 species to occur in bangladesh is considered, the existence of around 1108 (22.16%) species and their status in this country is yet to be confirmed through intensive and extensive field explorations, and the plant taxonomists of this country are working towards this goal. recently, in 2022–2023, floristic surveys were conducted in the northeast region of bangladesh. during these surveys, some specimens of angiosperms collected by the authors from the lithitila forest area of juri, moulvibazar district, and nijpat of the jaintiapur hill areas of sylhet district appeared to be different. these specimens were preliminarily identified as belonging to lauraceae, but they did not match with any specimens of this family collected previously from this country or with the taxonomic description or key characters of any species of this family known or reported previously from bangladesh. following the rigorous examinations of these specimens, matching their characters with the relevant published descriptions, key * corresponding author, email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 1department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67046 mailto:sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 90 rahman et al. characters, and specimens available at the local herbaria and the herbarium of the botanical survey of india (cal), and images of lauraceae voucher specimens available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., kew herbarium, k and missouri botanical garden's herbarium, mo), these unknown specimens were found to belong to three species of the genus litsea lam. of the lauraceae. these species have never been mentioned or reported previously in any publication on the flora covering the present territory of bangladesh. hence, these three species have been confirmed as new to the flora of bangladesh. the specimens are presently deposited at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). materials and methods field surveys were conducted from december 2022 to may 2023 in the evergreen, semievergreen, and deciduous forests in the northeast region of bangladesh that belong to the administrative boundaries of the habiganj, moulvibazar, and sylhet districts of sylhet division. these field surveys were carried out in all three major seasons of the year, mostly in the forests and scrub jungles of the hilly regions and foothills of habiganj, moulvibazar, and sylhet districts. the freshly collected plant specimens were processed, dried, and preserved following standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977). the taxonomic identification of these specimens was confirmed by matching their characters with the relevant taxonomic literature (e.g., devis and cullen, 1965; geesink et al., 1981; hooker, 1890; prain, 1903; mia, 2009; li et al., 2008; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011), voucher specimens housed at dacb and juh, and clear images available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., k, muséum national d'histoire naturelle p, and mo). a taxonomic description of each species was prepared through careful observation and examination of the morphological characters of the representative specimens. nomenclatural information was verified following recent taxonomic publications (li et al., 2008) and the nomenclatural databases of powo (2023), wfo (2023), gbif secretariat (2023), and tropicos (2023). the voucher specimens have been deposited at dacb and juh. results and discussion the taxonomic identification of the specimens of litsea collected from different forest areas of the sylhet division of bangladesh has been confirmed as l. kurzii king ex hook.f., l. stocksii (meisn.) hook.f., and l. variabilis hemsl. the following taxonomic descriptions of these species, including the key for their identification, have been produced based on the collected specimens and field notes recorded during field visits. litsea lam. encycl. 3: 574 (1792) litsea lam., with over 300 species, is one of the largest genera in the lauraceae family, which makes up a significant portion of tropical forests. this genus is native to tropical asia, australia, mesoamerica, florida, georgia, north carolina, and virginia in north america, and a few in the pacific islands. it is introduced into comoros, kwazulu-natal, mauritius, rodrigues, réunion, seychelles, and trinidad and tobago (powo, 2023; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011). in bangladesh, the genus litsea is known to be represented by 19 species (heinig, 1925; khan and banu, 1969; mia and huq, 1986; alam, 1988; das and alam, 2001; ara et al., 2007; mia, 2009; arefin et al., 2011; ara and khan, 2015; basak and alam, 2015; rahman and hassan, 2017; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; uddin, 2018; rahim, 2019). three new records of lauraceae 91 key to the species 1. leaves glabrous beneath; peduncles 1–2 cm long; perianth tube cylindrical, glabrous, inserted to the half portion of fruit at maturity……………………. l. stocksii leaves pubescent beneath, peduncles 0.3–0.8 cm long, perianth tube shallow cup-shaped, pubescent, attached only at the base of the fruit………. 2 2. leaf blade obovate, sometimes elliptic-oblong, margins ciliate, secondary veins ≥ 12 pairs……………………………………………………………… l. kurzii leave blade oblong or oblong-lanceolate, margins aciliate, secondary veins ≤10 pairs……………………………………………………………………... l. variabilis litsea kurzii king ex hook.f., fl. brit. india 5: 164 (1886), type: india: south andaman, 23.9.64. s. kurz s.n. (it: k, image!); brandis, ind. trees: 537 (1906); parkinson, forest fl. andaman islands: 226 (1923); kosterm., bibliogr. laur. 836 (1964); ngernsaengsaruay et al., thai for. bull. (bot.) 39: 40–119 (2011). malapoenna kurzii kuntze in revis. gen. pl. 2: 572 (1891). (fig. 1) small tree, up to 7 m tall; bark smooth, lenticellate, brown; young branchlets densely hairy. leaves spiral, blade obovate, sometimes elliptic-oblong, 15–25 by 5.0–9.5 cm, apex acuminate, sometimes cuspidate or obtuse, base cuneate or slightly oblique, margins ciliate or partly ciliate, glabrous above, glaucous, pubescent beneath; petioles 1.5–3.5 cm long, densely reddish-brown pubescent; midrib shallowly sunken above, raised beneath, secondary veins 12–15 pairs, shallowly sunken adaxially, raised abaxially. inflorescence umbel, towards the branchlets or in leaf axils, the cluster of umbels 0.5–1.0 cm in diam.; peduncles 0.3–0.8 cm long, pubescent; bracts 4–5, decussate or imbricate, suborbicular or broadly ovate, concave, 3–5 by 3–4 mm, outer ones coriaceous, pale green to yellowish and pubescent outside, inner ones membranaceous, hairy, marginally fimbriate. male flowers 6–7 in each umbel; pedicels up to 3 mm long, densely fig. 1. litsea kurzii king ex hook.f. a) a fruiting branchlet. 92 rahman et al. pubescent; tepals 6, ovate, subequal, 2.5–4.0 by 1.5–2.0 mm, membranaceous, pubescent; stamens 9, unequal; anthers 0.5–1.0 mm long; filaments slender, 2–4 mm long, villose. female flowers 4–6 in each umbel; pedicels 1.5–2.5 mm long, densely pubescent; tepals 6, ovate, pubescent; ovaries ovoid, 1–1.5 by 0.8–1.0 mm, glabrous; styles 2–3 mm long; stigma peltate; staminodes 9, villose. fruits ovoid, 1.0–1.1 by 0.8–0.9 cm, green with white dots, slightly pointed towards the apex, turning dark purple and black when ripe, glabrous, glaucous; perianth tubes shallow cup-shaped, spreading up to 0.4 cm in diam., pubescent; fruiting pedicels thickened, 0.3–0.5 cm long, pubescent; infructescence stalks 0.5–0.6 cm long, pubescent; fruit clusters 4.0 by 2.5 cm with 10– 16 fruit in each cluster. flowering and fruiting period: april-september. ecology: often by streams in the rain forest, dry evergreen forests. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 17.8.2015. k.k. islam 302 (dacb); 23.5.2023, m.s. rahman 4915 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh, india (andaman is. and nicobar is.), myanmar, and thailand. use: the trunks of the plant are used for making house pillars by the local people. l. kurzii king ex hook.f. seems similar to l. grandis (nees) hook.f., from which it can be easily distinguished by its tomentose chartaceous leaves, densely reddish-brown pubescent petioles, pale-green to yellowish and pubescence bracts, perianth tubes of ca. 0.4 cm in diam, 0.3– 0.5 cm long fruiting pedicel, and 0.5–0.6 cm long infructescence stalks, in contrast to the sparsely pubescent coriaceous leaf, puberulous petioles, reddish-brown and puberulous bracts, perianth tubes of ca. 1.1 cm in diam., 0.5–1 cm long fruiting pedicel, and 0.8–1.4 cm long infructescence stalk of l. grandis. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook.f., flora of british india 5:176 (1886). flora of bombay 2:539 (1906); srinivas and krishnamurthy, j. indian bot. soc. 95 (3 & 4): 169–182 (2016). tetranthera oblonga var. stocksii meisn., prodr.15(1): 205 (1864). cryptocarya neilgherrensis meisn. (1864), l. josephi s.m.almeida (1990), l. vartakii m.r.almeida (1989). (fig. 2) tree, up to 18 m tall, petioles 2.0–2.5 cm long, leaves alternate, leaf blades oblong to lanceolate, apically acute, 8–20 by 3–6 cm, white glaucous beneath, glabrous, lateral nerves 8–13 pairs. inflorescence umbel, monoecious, 2.5 cm long, greyish tomentose, male inflorescence 4–8 flowered and female inflorescence 4–5 flowered, arranged in 1 whorl; pedicels 1 cm long in male flower, 0.5 cm long female flower; in male flower stamens 8–10, introrse, unequal, 6 larger, different in length, 4 smaller, largest one c. 0.34 cm long, filament c. 0.24 cm long, sparsely hairy, anther c. 0.12 cm long. ovary in female flower straight, 1.0–1.3 mm by 0.6–0.8 mm half inferior, covered with the hairy perianth; styles 0.2–0.3 mm long; stigma dilated, 0.2–0.3 mm by 0.2 mm. fruiting peduncles 1–2 cm long at the young stage; pedicels up to 0.5 cm long; perianth tube 0.5– 0.7 cm long, up to 0.2 cm in diam. at the distal part of the fruit. berry oblong, 1.0–1.5 cm long, seated on cup-like perianth tube; young fruit almost completely inserted into perianth tube; half portion of fruit inserted into perianth tube at maturity. flowering and fruiting period: may to january. ecology: in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 14.11.2022, k.k. islam and m.a. hoque 5132 (dacb). sylhet: nijpat, jaintiapur, 29.12.2022, s.a. khan, g.m. hossain and m.s. rahman 15 (juh); 24.05.2023, m.s. rahman 4931 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh and india. three new records of lauraceae 93 uses: the leaf is used to cure irritation of the urinary bladder and urethra; the root is used for the treatment of bruises; and the fruit and seed are used to cure sprains and itches (bhuinya et al., 2010). fig. 2. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook. a) a branchlet showing habit, b) male inflorescence c) female inflorescence, d) young infructescence and e) mature infructescence. l. stocksii (meisn.) hook.f. appears to be close to l. laeta (wall. ex nees) hook.f., from which it differs by having 2.1–2.4 cm long petioles, an oblong berry inserted almost fully into the perianth tube or at least half porting of fruit, a fruiting pedicel c. 0.5 cm long with 1.8–2.0 cm long infructescence stalks, in contrast to the 0.6–1.6 cm long petioles, ovoid or ellipsoid berries inserted 94 rahman et al. into less than half of the perianth tube, 0.5–1.2 cm long fruiting pedicels, and less than 1.6 cm long infructescence stalks of l. laeta. litsea variabilis hemsl., j. linn. soc. bot. 26: 386 (1891); liou ho, laurac. chine & indochine. 188 (1932); allen, ann. missouri bot. gard. 25: 393 (1938); kosterm., bibliogr. laur. 891 (1964); ngernsaengsaruay et al., thai for. bull. (bot.) 39: 40–119 (2011). (fig. 3) small tree, up to 6 m tall; bark smooth, lenticellate, dark brown; branchlets sparsely pubescent or glabrous. leaves spiral; leaf blades oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 8–14 cm by 2.5–4.5 cm, apically acute or acuminate, basally cuneate, marginally entire, chartaceous, dark green, glabrous adaxially, glaucous, sparsely pubescent, or glabrous abaxially; petioles 0.8–1.0 cm long, sparsely pubescent; midrib sunken above, raised beneath; secondary veins 6–10 pairs, shallowly sunken or flattened above, raised beneath, curving near margins; tertiary veins reticulate, distinct beneath. inflorescences umbel, on reduced branchlets, umbels in the short cluster, in axils of leaves or along branchlets, clusters of umbels 0.7–1.0 cm long, 0.3–0.6 cm in diam.; peduncles 0.4–0.5 cm long, pubescent; bracts 4, decussate, suborbicular, or broadly ovate, concave, 2–5 by 2–3 mm, pubescent outside. male flowers 3–4 in each umbel; pedicels 1–2 mm long, pubescent; tepals 6, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, subequal, 2.5–3.0 mm by 1.0–1.5 mm, membranaceous, hairy; stamens 8–12, unequal; anthers 0.5–1.2 mm long; filaments 1–2 mm long, villose, 2 glands at base or without glands; pistillode 1.5 mm long. fruits globose, 0.7–1.1 cm in diam., green with white dots, turning black when ripe, glabrous, glossy; enlarged perianth tube, a shallow cup, 0.4–0.5 cm in diam., sparsely pubescent; fruiting pedicels 0.2–0.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent; shallow perianth tubes up to 0.2 cm in diam.; infructescence stalks 0.4–0.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent. flowering and fruiting period: march-november. ecology: in the moist evergreen forest beside the canal. fig. 3. litsea variabilis hemsl. a) a branchlet with mature infructescence. three new records of lauraceae 95 specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 15.11.2022 k.k. islam 5297 (dacb); 23.05.2023, m.s. rahman 4897 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh, china, laos, thailand, and vietnam. uses: the wood is heavy, slightly hard, and resistant to water and borer insects. it is used for furniture-making and house construction. l. variabilis hemsl. seems closer to l. khasyana meisn, from which it can be clearly distinguished by its pubescent petioles and globose fruits, in contrast to l. khasyana’s glabrous petiole and ellipsoid or cylindrical fruit. the images of all three species presented have been collected from mature plants naturally growing in the study area. the finding of these three species will make little contribution to the efforts to confirm the existence of more species in bangladesh in addition to the current record of 3892 angiosperm species for this country. acknowledgement the first author gratefully acknowledges the bangladesh national herbarium and forest department for providing financial and accommodation support, respectively. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 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(asteraceae)a new angiosperm record for bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 8: 103–106. rahman, n. and uddin, s.n. 2018. seventy one new additions to the angiosperm flora of bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 6: 49–70. sourav, m.s.h., halder, r., kumar, p. and schuiteman, a. 2017. eulophia obtusa (orchidaceae: epidendroideae: cymbideae) an addition to the flora of bangladesh, with notes on its ecology and conservation status. kew bull. 72: 19. https://doi.org/10.15468 https://www.gbif.org/species http://www.plantsoftheworld three new records of lauraceae 97 siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 11. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. sultana, m. and rahman, m.s. 2021. justicia comata (l.) lam. 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(manuscript received on 1 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023) http://www.tropicos.org, http://www.world bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 111-122, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67050 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi isolated from andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.) urban fazilatun nessa, shamim shamsi* and md. abdullah al noman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: morphological identification; its sequencing; medicinal plant; fungi; bangladesh. abstract fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of two widely used medicinal plants viz., andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.) urban. a total of 28 endophytic fungi were identified based on morphological and molecular analyses. the identified fungi were: aspergillus flavus link, a. fumigatus fresen., a. niger tiegh., a. terreus thom, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia chonburiensis (ibpromma & k.d. hyde, c. hominis da cunha, madrid, gené & cano, c. lunata (wakker) boedijn, c. lycopersici tandon & kakkar, curvularia sp., fusarium falciforme (carrión) summerb. & schroers, f. phaseoli (burkh.) t. aoki & donnell, f. solani (mart.) appel & wollenw, f. udum (berk.) wollenw, fusarium sp., lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) gri. & maubl., monodictys paradoxa (corda) hug., m. putredinis (wallr.) hug., penicillium commune thom, p. chrysogenum thom, p. oxalicum currie & thom, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, scytalidium lignicola pesante and talaromyces trachyspermus (shear) stolk & samson. among them aspergillus flavus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp. and penicillium sp. 1 were isolated from both the plants. curvularia chonburiensis, c. hominis, c. lycopersici, fusarium falciforme, f. phaseoli, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium commune and scytalidium lignicola were found to be new records for bangladesh. findings of this study will be helpful for better understanding of endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plants. introduction the term endophytic fungi refers to the fungi that live within the plant tissues throughout their entire or partial life cycle by establishing a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with its host plant without causing any adverse effect or disease (hyde et al., 2019; patchett and newman, 2021). endophytic fungi have been isolated from many plants, including trees, vegetables, fruits and other crops (rosenblueth and martinez-romero, 2006). medicinal plants harbor endophytic microflora and they are valuable source of bioprospecting endophytes. andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.)urban are two widely used medicinal plants. the whole plant of andrographis paniculata has been used for several applications such as anti-dote for snake-bite and poisonous stings of some insects and to treat dyspepsia, influenza, dysentery, malaria and respiratory infections (chopra, 1980; jarukamjorn et al., 2010). aside from healing wounds, c. asiatica is used for the treatment of various skin conditions such as lupus, leprosy, varicose ulcers, eczema, and psoriasis. (brinkhaus et al., 2000) and also as a blood purifier (gohil et al., 2010). endophytic fungi from medicinal plants have significant role in pharmacology and in industries. they can also promote their *corresponding author, e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com; a part of ms thesis of the first author. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67050 mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com; 112 nessa et al. accumulation of secondary metabolites. in the present study these two important medicinal plants, andrographis paniculata and centella asiatica were used for the isolation of endophytic fungi. this study will lead to evaluate the potential bioactive metabolites of the endophytes, relation between endophytes and host plants and also to study the endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plants. materials and methods centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata were collected from the botanical garden, university of dhaka and used for the present investigation. isolation and morphological identification of fungi endophytes associated with selected samples were isolated by following “tissue planting method” on potato dextrose agar medium (cab, 1968). morphological identities of the fungal isolates were determined following the standard literature (thom and raper, 1945; booth, 1971; ellis, 1971,1976; barnett and hunter, 1972; sutton, 1980). molecular characterization of fungi molecular identification was done by following amer et al. (2009) with some modifications. dna extraction fungi were grown on pda medium at 28°c for 10 days. fungal mycelium was harvested by scraping the surface of 10 days old cultures with a sterile spatula from the petri plates. one gram of fungal mycelium of each isolate was taken in a 1.5 ml sterile eppendorf tube. the mycelium was immediately ground with a homogenizer with 400μl sterile extraction buffer (200mm tris hci, 250mm nacl, 25mm edta, 0.5% sds) in each eppendorf tube. then 6 μl of 20 mg/ml rnase was added in each eppendorf. tubes were stirred with a vortex mixer so that the mixture became homogenous. the tubes were transferred to 65°c preheated water bath for 10 minutes. the samples were taken from the water bath and cooled down to room temperature. 130 μl of 3m sodium acetate, ph 5.2 was added in each tube. tubes were vortexed for 30 seconds at maximum speed and incubated at -20° c for 10 minutes. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 15 minutes. the supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and equal volume of chloroform: isoamyl alcohol mixture (24:1) was added and mixed by gentle inversion and then tubes were centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes. the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed twice with 700 μl of 70% ethanol. the dna pellets were subsequently air-dried. the resultant dna pellet was then resuspended in 100 μl of 1 x te (10 mm trishci,1 mm edta) buffer (ph 8.0). the dna was allowed to dissolve overnight at 4°c. then it was stored at-20°c for further analyses. polymerase chain reaction amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis molecular identification of the isolates was performed using the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions. pcr amplification was conducted using the its1 (5'-tccgtaggtga acctgcgg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') primers for the its regions. the pcr was carried out in 0.2 ml pcr tube with 25 μl reaction volume containing 2.0 μl template dna, 12.5 μl master mix, 1.0 μl forward primer, 1.0μl reverse primer and 8.5 μl nucleus free h2o. reaction mixture was vortexed and centrifuged in a microcentrifuge. the pcr was initiated by an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 minutes following 30 cycles of 94, 54 and 72ºc each for 30 sec, with a final extension step of 5 min at 72ºc and ended with 4ºc. pcr amplified products were stored in – 20ºc freezer for analysis by resolving in 1% agarose gel. the gel was prepared using 1.0 g agarose powder containing ethidium bromide. agarose gel morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 113 electrophoresis was conducted in 1× tae buffer at 90 volts and 300 ma for 40 minutes. dna bands were photographed by a gel documentation system (model: di-hd, uk).the purified dna samples were sequenced through automated sequencer in the centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka, dhaka, 1000. sequences were aligned with clustal w alignment using the molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega) software version 7.0 (kumar et al., 2016). the phylogenetic tree was constructed with help of same software using the neighbor-joining method—with relative branch support of 1000 bootstrap replications. results and discussion morphological identification fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of andrographis paniculata and centella asiatica, aspergillus flavus, a. fumigatus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia sp. 1, curvularia sp. 2, curvularia sp. 3, fusarium sp. 1, fusarium sp. 2, fusarium sp. 3, fusarium sp. 4, fusarium sp. 5, lasiodiplodia sp., monodictys paradoxa, m. putredinis, p. chrysogenum, p. oxalicum, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, penicillium sp. 5, scytalidium lignicola, and talaromyces trachyspermus were identified morphologically. key morphological features of the isolated fungi aspergillus flavus link, magazin der gesellschaft naturforschenden freunde berlin 3 (1): 16 (1809) (fig. 1a) olive-green colony, flat at their borders while raised in the middle. conidiophore hyaline, coarsely roughened, up to 1.0 mm in length. vesicles globose to sub globose, 25-45 µm in diameter. conidia pale green, globose to sub globose, 3-4 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 1. aspergillus fumigatus fresen., beiträge zur mykologie3: 81 (1863) (fig. 1b) colonies attain a diameter of 3-5 cm within 7 days, consisting of a dense felt of dark green conidiophores intermixed with aerial hyphae bearing conidiophores. conidiophores short, smoothwalled. vesicles broadly clavate, 20-30 µm in diameter. phialides directly borne on the vesicle, often greenish pigmented, 6-8 x 2-3 µm. conidia globose to subglobose, 2.5-3.0 µ in diameter, green, rough-walled to echinulate. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 2. aspergillus niger tiegh., annales des sciences naturelles botanique 8: 240 (1867) (fig. 1c) colonies black powdery with conidial production. the reverse is pale yellowish white. conidiophores arise from long, broad, thick-walled, mostly brownish, sometimes branched footcells. conidia in large, radiating heads, mostly globose, irregularly roughened, 4.0-5.0 µm in diameter, uninucleate. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 3. aspergillus terreus thom, american journal of botany 5 (2): 85 (1918) (fig. 1d) colonies yellowish-brown to cinnamon-brown, consisting of a dense felt of conidiophores. conidiophore stipes smooth-walled, hyaline. vesicles subspherical, 10-20 µm diameter. metulae 114 nessa et al. as long as the phialides. conidia smooth-walled, striate with sem, spherical to broadly ellipsoidal, 1.5-2.5 µm, hyaline. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka.16 june, 2021. f. nessa 14. cladosporium sp. (fig. 1e) colonies raised at the center, umbonate, circular, ash to blackish ash color, thinly hairy. conidiophore solitary, slightly flexuous, mid brown, smooth 4 – 5.6 µm thick. conidia arising in simple or branched chains, cylindrical, ellipsoidal, sub-hyaline, smooth, 5 – 6.5 × 2 – 3.5 µm. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka.5 january, 2022. f. nessa32. colletotrichum sp. (fig. 1f) colony cottony white, fluffy, front side white with light orangish shade, reverse side orangishwhite. conidia hyaline, aseptate, straight to falcate, smooth, thin walled. conidia length 9.58 µm & width 2.41 µm. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 11 november, 2021. f. nessa24. curvularia hominis da cunha, madrid, gené& cano, persoonia 33: 55 (2014) (fig. 1g) colonies on pda reaching 70-80 mm diam in 1 week, white in color, with moderate aerial mycelium giving the colony a slightly cottony appearance, lobulate; reverse pale to darker luteous towards periphery. conidia 4–5-celled, slightly curved, ellipsoidal to obovoid, the third cell from the base often larger and unequal sided, end cells subhyaline to pale brown and smooth-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 19. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, bull. jard. bot. buitenzorg 13 (1): 127 (1933) (fig. 1h) colonies on pda covering the surface of the petri dish in 1 week, center white to colourless towards periphery; abundant aerial mycelium giving the colony a cottony appearance, lobulate with a fimbriate margin; reverse pale gray. conidia smooth-walled, pale brown, end cells paler; conidia obovoidal to broadly clavate, curved at the subterminal cell. specimen examined: isolated from healthy stem ofcentella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 18. curvularia sp. (fig. 1i) colonies on pda white or pale grey when young, orange to brown. colonies effuse orangish black, fluffy, cottony, raised. conidiophore solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightlyundulating. conidia mostly 4-5 septate, brown, slightly curved. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 11 november, 2021. f. nessa 26. fusarium falciforme (carrión) summerb. & schroers, journal of clinical microbiology 40 (8): 2872 (2002) (fig. 2a) colonies off-white to pale cream, velvety or slightly fluffy, with a slightly raised centre and adpressed margin, growing slowly. conidia colourless, ellipsoidal to reniform, aseptate or septate. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of centella asiaticafrom morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 115 botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 10. fusarium phaseoli (burkh.) t. aoki & o'donnell, mycologia 95 (4): 671 (2003) (fig. 2b) colony color on pda white with grayish tint; conidial pustules sometimes present, grayishgreen to dark green under fluorescent; macro-conidia septate, 2-4 celled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem of centella asiaticafrom botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 19. fusarium solani (mart.) appel & wollenw., arbeiten aus der kaiserlichen biologischen anstalt für landund forstwirtschaft 8: 64-78 (1910) (fig. 2c) colonies growing rapidly, covering the surface of the petri dish in 1 week, aerial mycelium generally abundant, white cottony; conidiophores arising laterally from aerial hyphae. monophialides mostly with a rather distinct collarette. macroconidia produced on shorter, branched conidiophores which soon form sporodochia, usually moderately curved, with short, blunt apical and indistinctly pedicellate basal cells, mostly 3-septate. microconidia usually abundant, chlamydospores frequent. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 21. fusarium udum (berk.) wollenw., phytopathology 1: 206 (1913) (fig. 2d) colony brownish-black to colorless towards periphery, growth rate medium, raised at center; reverse orange center to white towards periphery with colorless border. conidia initially produced on simple or verticillately branched conidiophores; variable in size, with a curved apex; there is no clear distinction between microconidia and macroconidia. specimen examined: isolated from fresh stem and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 11. fusarium sp. (fig. 2e) colonies growing rapidly, with white to cream-coloured aerial mycelium, reverse usually colourless. conidiophores arising laterally from aerial hyphae. macroconidia produced on shorter, branched conidiophores. microconidia usually abundant, produced on elongate. chlamydospores frequent, singly or in pairs, terminal, rough-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 november, 2021. f. nessa 27. lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl., bulletin de la société mycologique de france 25: 57 (1909) (fig. 2f) colonies on agar greyish sepia to mouse grey to black, fluffy with abundant aerial mycelium; reverse fuscous black to black. conidiogenous cells hyaline, simple, cylindrical to subobpyriform, holoblastic, annelidic. conidia initially unicellular, hyaline. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves of andographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 june, 2021. f. nessa16. monodictys paradoxa (corda) s. hughes, canadian journal of botany 36(6): 786 (1958) (fig. 2g) colonies white, effuse, dotted with bundles of black conidia, reverse side black and brownish. conidiophora micronematica. conidiophore cells inflated. conidia ellipsoidal, oval, wall-shaped, 116 nessa et al. blackish, smooth, often with one or more basal cells, paler than the others, 20-43 x 17-30 µm, black-soot, basal cell subhyaline. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf of andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 june, 2021. f. nessa 17. monodictys putredinis (wallr.) s. hughes, canadian journal of botany 36 (6): 785 (1958) (fig. 2h) colonies effuse, beige in color. reverse side reddish brown. mycelium mostly superficial. stroma none. setae and hyphopodia absent. vegetative hyphae hyaline or sooty, 1-2.5 µm wide. conidiophora micronematic, aggregated. conidiophore cells not markedly swollen. conidia individually acrogenous, subglobose or ellipsoid, multicellular, wall-shaped, sometimes slightly constricted at the septa, 20-30 x 15-25 µm, smooth. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 12 april, 2021. f. nessa 8. penicillium commune thom, u.s.d.a. bur. animal industr. bull. 118: 56 (1910) (fig. 2i) colony growing rapidly, olive-gray in color, white towards the periphery; reverse white to yellow, conidiophore stipes rough-walled, penicilli terverticillate. phialides flask-shaped, tapering into a narrow neck. conidia spherical to subspherical, smooth-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 29. penicillium chrysogenum thom, u.s.d.a. bur. animal industr. bull. 118: 58 (1910) (fig. 3a) colonies bright green with yellow pigmentation in center, velutinous to floccose, exuding a bright yellow pigment into the medium; reverse yellow. conidiophore stipes smooth-walled, 200-300 µm long; penicilli usually terverticillate. metulae 8-12 µm long. phialides flask-shaped, 7-10 µm long. conidia smooth-walled, ellipsoidal, 2.5-4.0 µm long, blue or bluish-green. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 30. penicillium oxalicum currie & thom, j. biol. chem. 22: 289 (1915) (fig. 3b) colony white, soluble pigment lacking, reverse pale to yellow. conidial heads irregularly biverticillate. conidiophores smooth, 200-400 x 3-3,5 µm long. metulae appressed. phialides in verticils of 6-10, acerose, 10-15 x 3-3,5 µm. conidia elliptical, smooth. specimen examined: isolated from fresh leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 12 april, 2021. f. nessa 9. penicillium sp. 1 (fig. 3c) colonies olive in color, with clear white border, moderate growth; conidiophores arising from the mycelium singly, smooth-walled. spores minute, globose, white. specimen examined: isolated from andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 12. penicillium sp. 2 (fig. 3d) colony yellow in colour with bright orange pigmentation in center, reverse orange. multiple phialides on each metullae grouped in brush-like clusters (penicilli) at the ends of the conidiophores; conidia unicellular, round. morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 117 fig 1. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. aspergillus flavus, b. a. fumigatus, c. a. niger, d. a. terreus, e. cladosporium sp.,f.colletotrichum sp., g. curvularia hominis, h. c. lunata and i. curvularia sp.(bar = 50 µm) fig 2. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. fusarium falciforme, b. f. phaseoli, c. f. solani, d. f. udum, e. fusarium sp., f. lasiodiplodia theobromae, g. monodictys paradoxa, h. m. putredinis, and i. penicillium commune. (bar = 50 µm) specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 31. 118 nessa et al. penicillium sp. 3 (fig. 3e) colony yellow in colour with green center, raised at center. no pigmentation present. conidia round, hyaline, rough walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 5 january, 2022. f. nessa 35. penicillium sp. 4 (fig. 3f) colony pale yellow in color, orange in center, reverse orange; reddish orange pigmentation. conidiophore greenish in colour. phialides grouped in brush-like clusters (penicilli) at the ends of the conidiophores. conidia round, greenish yellow. specimen examined: isolated from andrographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 5 january, 2022. f. nessa 35. scytalidium lignicola pesante, annali della sperimentazione agaria 11 (suppl.): 265 (1957) (fig. 3g) colonies effuse, flat with raised folds, cottony to woolly, initially whitish, finally becoming dark grey to black. microscopy. hyphae hyaline at first, later becoming brown. arthroconidia hyaline, thin-walled, rectangular, about 5-8 x 2 µm. chlamydospore-like conidia single or in chains, dark brown, thick-walled, swollen up to 7 µm wide. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf of andrographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 4. fig 3. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. penicillium chrysogenum, b. penicillium oxalicum, c. penicillium sp. 1, d. penicillium sp. 2, e. penicillium sp. 3, f. penicillium sp. 4, g. scytalidium lignicola and h. talaromyces trachyspermus. (bar = 50 µm). talaromyces trachyspermus (shear) stolk & samson, stud. mycol. 2: 32 (1972) (fig. 3h) the front side of the colony white and reverse side light brown, texture floccose, sporulation moderately dense to dense, and conidia numerous, colonies grew slowly. phialides lanceolate, morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 119 metulae in small verticils. conidia ellipsoidal to ovoidal and 5.90~ 7.87 μm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from the fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 june, 2021. f. nessa 15. molecular identification molecular characterization of the fungal species was conducted for proper identification using sequence analysis of its region. ten isolates were identified by analyzing its regions sequences using the its1 and its4 as forward and reverse primers. in order to confirm at the genomic sequence level, pcr amplified bands (~550 bp) from ten samples were subjected to automated sequencing followed by blast analysis (table 1). the endophytic fungi of this study were identified on the basis of sequence similarity of its region. pcr amplification of internal transcribed spacer (its) regions generated a sharp band of approximately 550 bp in 1% agarose, confirming the presence of the desired region from each of the isolates (fig 4). fig 4. gel electrophoresis of amplified its region of the isolated endophytic fungi. (l represents 1kb dna ladder) table 1. blast analysis of the amplified sequences from the isolated dna of endophytic fungi. sample id name of fungi max score total score query coverage (%) e value identity (%) ncbi gene bank acc. no. f12 curvularia chonburiensis 704 704 75 0.0 98.47 nr168176 f9 curvularia hominis 798 798 96 0.0 93.62 mn540244 f10 curvularia lunata 778 778 96 0.0 92.69 ol699891 f11 curvularia lycopersici 470 470 100 6e-128 99.23 mt590310 f2 fusarium falciforme 656 656 84 0.0 91.53 om372820 f5 fusarium phaseoli 771 771 92 0.0 94.20 om839786 f1 fusarium solani 798 798 94 0.0 94.65 ku939057 f6 fusarium udum 621 621 84 4e-173 91.01 mw647689 f13 lasiodiplodia theobromae 753 753 85 0.0 97.56 ol453207 f3 penicillium commune 714 714 73 0.0 98.53 eu436692 ~550 bp 120 nessa et al. to confirm identity, the obtained dna sequences of the isolated endophytic fungi were matched with the already available sequences in national center for biotechnology information database. the obtained dna sequences showed 98.47% identity with curvularia chonburiensis, 93.62% identity with curvularia hominis, 92.69% identity with curvularia lunata, 99.23% identity with curvularia lycopersici, 91.53% identity with fusarium falciforme, 94.20% identity with fusarium phaseoli, 94.65% identity with fusarium solani, 91.01% identity with fusarium udum, 97.56% identity with lasiodiplodia theobromae, 98.53% identity with penicillium commune (table 1). molecular analysis showed species identification of all the fungal genera studied morphologically (table 2). table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of ten fungal isolates. isolates no. morphological identification molecular identification f9 curvularia sp. 1 curvularia hominis f10 curvularia sp. 2 curvularia lunata f2 fusarium sp. 1 fusarium falciforme f5 fusarium sp. 2 fusarium phaseoli f1 fusarium sp. 3 fusarium solani f6 fusarium sp. 4 fusarium udum f13 lasiodiplodia sp. lasiodiplodia theobromae f3 penicillium sp.5 penicillium commune f12 unidentified curvularia chonburiensis f11 unidentified curvularia lycopersici neighbor-joining tree based on its sequences of ten endophytic fungi was also constructed to see the phylogenetic relationship among them (fig. 5). from this tree, it was demonstrated that fungi belonging to same genera form same cluster. fig 5. phylogenetic tree based on its sequences of ten endophytic fungi. scale bar indicates the number of nucleotide substitution per site curvularia lunata curvularia lycopersici curvularia hominis curvularia chonburiensis penicillium commune lasiodiplodia theobromae fusarium falciforme fusarium udum fusarium phaseoli fusarium solani 100 73 100 90 100 50 50 0.050 morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 121 among the total 28 fungal endophytes, 18 species were recovered from different parts of the andrographis paniculata plant. the fungi were aspergillus flavus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia chonburiensis, curvularia lycopersici, fusarium solani, fusarium udum, fusarium sp., lasiodiplodia theobromae, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium chrysogenum, p. oxalicum, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4 and scytalidium lignicola. earlier 6 fungal endophytes were isolated from the same plant to study their potential for the production of plant growth promoters and enzymes. (adhikari mukhopadhyay, 2022) sixteen species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the centella asiatica plant. the fungi were aspergillus flavus, a. fumigatus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp. colletotrichum sp., curvularia hominis, c. lunata, curvularia sp., fusarium falsiforme, f. phaseoli, penicillium commune, penicillium sp. 1 and penicillium sp. 2. this work will lead to the study of the endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plant. among the isolated fungi, curvularia chonburiensis, curvularia hominis, curvularia lycopersici, fusarium falciforme, fusarium phaseoli, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium commune and scytalidium lignicola have been reported as new records for bangladesh as these were not documented in relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi s, 2017; nahar et al., 2019; khatun et al.2022). the present investigation suggests that molecular technique is more accurate and rapid means of fungal identification. its-based molecular identification methods might be an important complement to conventional mycological detection by culture. references adhikari, m. and mukhopadhyay, m. 2022. potentials of endophytes of andrographis paniculata for the production of plant growth promoters, enzymes and antimicrobial compounds. saarc j. agric. 19(2): 157–170. amer, o.e., mahmoud, m.a., elsamawaty, a.m.a. and sayed, s.r.m. 2011. non liquid nitrogenbasedmethodfor isolation of dna from filamentous fungi. afr. j. biotechnol. 10(65):1433714341. barnett, h.l. and hunter, s.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess publishing company, usa. third edition, pp. 44-45. benoit, m.a. and mathur, s.b. 1970. identification of species curvularia on rice seed. proc. inst. seed test. ass. 35(1): 1-23. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, england, 267 pp. brinkhaus, b., lindner, m., schuppan, d. and hahn, e.g. 2000. chemical, pharmacological and clinical profile of the east asian medical plant centella asiatica. phytomedicine 7: 427–48. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. chopra, r.n. 1980. glossary of indian medicinal plants. new delhi: council for scientific and industrial research, 18 pp. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, 608 pp. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 507 pp. gohil, k.j., patel, j.a. and gajjar, a.k. 2010. pharmacological review on centella asiatica: a potential herbal cure-all. indian j. pharm. sci. 72(5): 546-56. hyde, k.d., xu, j.c., rapior, s., jeewon, r., lumyong, s., niego, a.g.t., abeywickrama, p.d., aluthmuhandiram, j.v.s., brahamanage, r.s. and brooks, s. 2019. the amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially. fungal divers.97:1–136. 122 nessa et al. jarukamjorn, k., kondo, s., chatuphonprasert, w., sakuma, t., kawasaki, y. and emito, n. 2010. genderassociated modulation of inducible cyp1a1 expression by andrographolide in mouse liver. eur. j. pharm. sci. 39: 394–401. khatun, a., shamsi, s., and bashar, m. 2022. morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes associated with seeds of selected cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) varieties. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 297–312. kumar, s., stecher, g.and tamura, k. 2016. mega7: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. mol. biol. evol. 33(7):1870–1874. nahar, m.n., hosen, s. and shamsi, s. 2019. prevalence of fungi associated with seeds of three cotton varieties (gossypium arboreum l.) in storage. biores. commun. 5(1): 642-648. patchett, a. and newman, j.a. 2021. comparison of plant metabolites in root exudates of lolium perenne infected with different strains of the fungal endophyte epichlo festucae var. lolii. j. fungi. 7:148. rosenblueth, m. and martinez-romero, e. 2006. bacterial endophytes and their interactions with hosts. acta pharmacologica sinica 19: 827–837. shamsi, s. 2017. checklist of deuteromycetous fungi of bangladesh i. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 41(2):115126. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khandker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 415 pp. sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes, common wealth mycological institute, kew surrey, england, 696 pp. thom, c. and raper, k.b. 1945. a manual of the aspergilli. williams and wilkins, baltimore, md., usa, 373 pp. (manuscript received on 12 july 2022; revised on 10 may 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 21-30, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67031 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists four new records for the vascular flora of bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain*, shayla sharmin shetu and saleh ahammad khan department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka–1342, bangladesh keywords: hemionitis cordata; ophioglossum nudicaule; bacopa australis; salvia misella; pteridophytes; angiosperms. abstract this study records two species of pteridophytes, viz., hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. and ophioglossum nudicaule l.f. of pteridaceae and ophioglossaceae, and two species of angiosperms, viz., bacopa australis v.c. souza and salvia misella kunth of plantaginaceae and lamiaceae, respectively, for the first time in bangladesh, based on the plant specimens collected during the recent botanical explorations conducted in selected areas of bagerhat, barguna, and cumilla districts. a detailed taxonomic description with key characters, notes on ecology, uses, distribution, distinctness from other similar taxa, representative specimens examined, and photographs of each of these four species have been provided. introduction bangladesh, as an integrated part of the indian-subcontinent centre of plant diversity (vavilov, 1926) and the south asian mega centre of genetic diversity (chowdhury, 1996), harbours almost all groups of plants in its 148,460 sq. km. area. within the territory of bangladesh, a total of around 6,612 species of green plants have so far been recorded, in contrast to the flexible estimate of 11,650 plant species for the country (khan 1977; ahmed et al., 2007, 2008–2009, 2009a, b; siddiqui et al., 2007; sarker and hossain, 2009; begum et al., 2014; rahman and khatun, 2014; tabassum, 2018; alfasane et al., 2019; tabassum et al., 2020; dong and haque, 2021; sultana and rahman, 2021; sultana et al., 2022; jone et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; http://bforest.portal.gov.bd). nevertheless, the publication of 329 new records of vascular plants following the report of a total of 3,813 species for the vascular flora of bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009, 2009a) raises the total number of recorded vascular plant species in this country to around 4,142 (sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022). during our botanical explorations conducted in 2019–2022, in different areas of bagerhat, barguna and cumilla districts, including the sundarbans and tengragiri mangrove forests, many specimens of vascular plants were collected and housed in the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). recently, we found that some of these specimens do not match any known plant species in bangladesh. after a detailed taxonomic investigation, we identified a few of these specimens belonging to two pteridophyte species, namely, hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. of family pteridaceae and ophioglossum nudicaule l. f. of ophioglossaceae, and a few other specimens associated with two angiosperm species, namely, bacopa australis v.c. souza and salvia misella kunth of plantaginaceae and lamiaceae, respectively. these species have never been reported earlier in any taxonomic literature published so far on the flora of bangladesh (e.g., hooker, 1872–1897; prain, 1903a, b; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009, 2009a; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018, 2022; uddin and hassan, 2018; *corresponding author, email: gazibotju@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67031 http://bforest.portal.gov.bd). mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 22 hossain et al. hossain et al., 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; khan et al., 2021a, b; islam et al., 2022). therefore, these four species have been reported here as the new records of vascular plant species for bangladesh. materials and methods the plant specimens of b. australis and h. cordata were collected from lalmai hill and its adjacent areas in cumilla district; specimens of o. nudicaule from the coastal areas of bagerhat (sundarbans east wildlife sanctuary) and barguna (tengragiri eco park) districts; and those of salvia misella from mongla port area of bagerhat district, during our recent floristic explorations conducted in 2019–2022. the collected specimens were processed, dried, and managed using standard herbarium techniques (singh and subramaniam, 2008). these specimens were critically examined in the plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university. their taxonomic identification was confirmed through consulting the experts and taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literature (hooker, 1885; prain, 1903a, b; li and hedge, 1994; stevens et al., 2001; hammel et al., 2003–2014; cui et al., 2004; mirza, 2007a, b; khanam, 2009; rahman, 2009; gangmin et al., 2013; xianchun et al., 2013; sosa et al., 2018), matching with the relevant voucher specimens of the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), and digital images of the respective voucher specimens available on the websites of different international herbaria, including herbarium of royal botanic gardens (k) and muséum national d'histoire naturelle (p). nomenclatural details and worldwide distribution were fetched from the most recent and relevant taxonomic publications (li and hedge, 1994; cui et al., 2004; gangmin et al., 2013; xianchun et al., 2013) and databases (e.g., gbif secretariat, 2022; ipni, 2023; powo, 2023; tropicos, 2023; wfo, 2023). the taxonomic descriptions were produced in the plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, after consulting the relevant representative specimens, field notes on ecology, and photographs of mature individuals, collected during field surveys. results and discussion hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev., icon. filic. t. 64 (1828). parahemionitis cordata (hook. & grev.) fraser-jenk (1997), mickelopteris cordata (hook. & grev.) fraser-jenk. (2016). (fig. 1) a terrestrial, erect herb, 20–35 cm tall when fertile fronds develop. rhizomes dark brown, erect, short, 1.5–2.5 cm long, with numerous scales, and fibrous roots. scales brownish to reddish brown, narrowly lanceolate, 1.75–2.25 mm long. roots many, fibrous, profusely branched, with numerous root hairs. sterile fronds 6–12 per plant, 7.0–12.5 cm long; stipes 3.0–5.5 cm long, reddish brown, densely with 1.0–1.5 mm long brown hairs; lamina 8.5–9.5 × 3.5–5.5 cm, simple, dorsiventral, adaxially light green and glabrous, abaxially yellowish green, sparsely with 0.5 mm long broad base white hairs, narrowly cordate, base cordate, entire or repand with dense, small whitish hairs, and reduced with maturity. fertile fronds 4–7 per plant; stipe much longer than that of the sterile frond, 15–20 cm long, reddish brown, sparsely with 1.0–1.5 mm long brown hairs; lamina 7.2–10.8 × 3.2–5.3 cm, abaxially light green, adaxially deep green, sagittate, base sagittate to sub-cordate, abaxially sparse, 1.0–1.5 mm long white, broad base brownish hairs along veins, adaxially glabrous, sparse reddish-brown hairs around the margins, apex obtuse or rounded. sori black to brown, confluent throughout the abaxial surface along the veins when mature. sporophytic stage: october to february. four new records for the vascular flora 23 ecology: on the shady place of the hill slope. uses: this plant is used as an ornamental herb in shade houses. distribution: this species is native to cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaya, myanmar, the philippines, sri lanka, taiwan, and viet nam (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, this species is recorded in the lalmai hill area of the cumilla district. as bangladesh belongs to the historical native range of the indian subcontinent, this species is most probably native to this country. representative specimens examined: cumilla: lalmai, lalmai hill, 26.10.2022, g.m. hossain 7415; s.s. shetu 4044 (juh). fig. 1. hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. a) habit (fertile stage) (×0.3), b) habit (vegetative stage) (×0.3), c) root system (×0.3), d) stipe hairs (×15), e) stem scale (×30), f) a sterile lamina (adaxial surface) (×0.3), g) a sterile lamina (abaxial surface) (×0.3), h) a fertile lamina (×0.45) with sori (×15) (inset). in bangladesh, only one species of the genus hemionitis l., namely h. arifolia (burm. f.) t. moore has been reported before (mirza, 2007a). h. cordata can be distinguished by its sagittate or narrowly cordate lamina with a sagittate to cordate base and reddish-brown stipes and hairs, in contrast to the narrowly ovate lamina with a deeply cordate base and nearly black stripes with brown hairs of h. arifolia. ophioglossum nudicaule l.f., suppl. pl. 433 (1782). type: south africa, cape of good hope, thunberg s.n. (ups-25286). o. capense sw. (1803), o. ellipticum hook. & grev. (1831), o. vulgatum var. nudicaule (l.f.) d.c. eaton (1860), o. dendroneuron e.p.st. john (1938), o. nudicaule var. typicum r.t. clausen (1938). (fig. 2) a terrestrial, small, erect herb, 3–8 (–10) cm tall. rhizomes erect, 3.0–4.5 mm height with 2.0–2.5 mm diam., very thick, and with fibrous roots. roots unbranched, yellowish to pale brown, 24 hossain et al. 1.5–2.5 cm long, with 0.5–1.0 mm diam. stem cylindrical, pale green, upright, 0.5–1.8 cm, 0.8– 1.5 mm diam., most parts being buried underground, usually bearing 1–2 (3) fronds per plant. sterile lamina 1.2–1.8 × 0.4–0.6 cm; trophophore stalk 2–4 mm, trophophore blade spreading, green, elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 1.0–1.5 × 0.4–0.6 cm, fleshy, cuneate, entire, acute or rounded; venation indistinct due to thick and fleshy texture of blade. fertile spikes arise from the base of the sterile lamina, 2.8–8.5 cm long, light green, cylindrical. sporophore 2.5–7.5 cm long, 0.7–1.0 mm diam.; sporangial clusters 0.8–1.3 cm long, 1.0–1.5 mm diam., apex acute, usually bearing 10–18 pairs of sporangia. sporophytic stage: july to november. ecology: moist sand and clay soils in shady habitats. uses: it is used as medicine in the treatment of anti-inflammatories and wounds and as a vegetable or salad. distribution: this species is native to cape province, south africa. it is reported from argentina, africa, australia, brazil, french guiana, guyana, mexico, peru and the united states of america (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, it is recorded in the coastal habitats of bagerhat (sundarbans east wildlife sanctuary) and barguna (tengragiri eco park) districts. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: sharankhola, katka, 19.08.2019, g.m. hossain 0249 (juh); barguna: taltoli, tengragiri, 05.09.2022, g.m. hossain 5892 (juh). fig. 2. ophioglossum nudicaule l.f. a) natural habitat (×0.3), b) habit (×0.6), c) a fertile spike with sporangia and spores (×5), d) a spike without spore (×4). in bangladesh, five species of ophioglossum l., viz., o. costatum r. br., o. pendulum l., o. petiolatum hook., o. polyphyllum a. braun ex schub., and o. reticulatum l., have been reported previously (mirza, 2007b). o. nudicaule is clearly distinct from these species of ophioglossum by four new records for the vascular flora 25 its stem height, sterile lamina size, shape, venation, etc. o. nudicaule differs from o. pendulum by its terrestrial habit and elliptic, erect sterile laminas, in contrast to the epiphytic habit and ribbonshaped pendulous sterile laminas of o. pendulum. o. nudicaule can be easily distinguished from o. costatum, o. petiolatum, o. polyphyllum, and o. reticulatum by possessing a plant height of up to 10 cm, a sterile lamina length of less than 3 cm, and indistinct venation as compared to the latter’s having a 10 cm plant height and a more than 5 cm long sterile lamina with apparent reticulate venation. bacopa australis v.c. souza., acta bot. bras. 15(1): 58 (2001). type: brazil. paraná. capanema, río iguazú, j. lindeman & h. haas 3358 (ht: mbm!, it: k!). (fig. 3) fig. 3. bacopa australis v.c. souza. a) natural habitat (×0.45), b) habit with flowering branches (fresh) (×0.75), c) whole plant (dry sample) (×0.25), d) flowering branch (dry) (×0.75 ), e) dense hairs on apical internode (×15), f) sparse hairs on median internode (×15), g) a flower (dry) (×4), h) calyx (×5), i) a fruit with persistent calyx (×4), j) seeds (×30). 26 hossain et al. an annual, prostrate, aquatic, or amphibious herb, up to 15 cm tall. roots fibrous, arising from lower nodes with dense and fine short hair. stems stout, green or reddish, succulent, prostrate with ascending tips, strigose or villous, denser towards the apex; internodes slender, 2.5–3.5 cm long. leaves simple, opposite, entire, sessile, 1.0–1.8 cm × 0.7–1.4 cm, fleshy and thick but very thin and fragile when dry, broadly spatulate to orbicular, shallowly cordate to rounded or broadly angled at the base, slightly clasping the stem, rounded at the tip, the venation palmate with 6–8 main veins, glabrous at maturity, adaxial surface glassy. inflorescences axillary, solitary, or 2–3 per leaf axil. flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, pedicellate, 0.5–2.5 cm long, sub-glabrous or sparsely pubescent, bracteoles absent; calyx 5-lobed, the outer 3 lobes leaf-like, green and the inner 2 inconspicuous, the external dorsal lobe ovate to broadly ovate, 3.5–4.5 × 2.2–3.0 mm, apex rounded, base cordate, hispid towards the apex; the two lateral lobes ovate, 3.5–4.2 × 1.7–2.0 mm, apex obtuse, base cordate, hispid; the two internal lobes linear, 2–3 × 0.4–0.5 mm, apex acute, hispid on the margins; corolla 5-lobed, glabrous, tubular, 2.5–4.5 mm long, white; stamens 4, not exerted, the anthers attached near the midpoint, the anther sacs parallel, staminodes absent; ovary bilocular, glabrous, style not exserted, bifid, apex smooth. fruits a capsule, globose to broadly ellipsoid, 3.5–3.8 × 1.7–2.0 mm long, glabrous, usually enclosed within a persistent calyx, dehiscent longitudinally by 4 valves. seeds numerous, 0.4–0.6 mm long, ellipsoid to cylindric, with a minute tail-like appendage at each end and a yellowish-brown surface with a network of fine ridges. flowering and fruiting: june to december. ecology: on mud in ditches and paddy fields. uses: the stems and leaves of this species are eaten by wildlife. distribution: this species is native to argentina, brazil, and paraguay (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, this species seems to be introduced. representative specimens examined: cumilla: lalmai, 26.10.2022, s.s. shetu 4171; g.m. hossain 7413 and 7414 (juh). in bangladesh, two species of bacopa aubl., viz., b. hamiltoniana wettst. and b. monnieri (l.) pennell., have been reported previously (rahman, 2009). b. australis differs from b. hamiltoniana and b. monnieri by its pubescent stems, broadly spatulate to orbicular leaves, and ebracteate flowers, in contrast to the glabrous stems, linear-lanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate leaves and bracteate flowers of the latter two species. salvia misella kunth in humb., bonpl. & kunth, nov. gen. sp. 2: 290 1818. s. riparia kunth (1818), s. obscura benth. (1833), s. privoides benth. (1846), type: mexico: guerrero, humboldt & bonpland s.n. (ht: p-bonpl., p00670423, image!). (fig. 4) an annual to perennial, erect or decumbent terrestrial herb, up to 1 m tall, with a strong and unpleasant odour. stems quadrangular, pubescent, with simple, unbranched white hairs, reddishtinged, swollen above nodes. leaves simple, sessile; leaf blades membranous, deltoid ovate, lanceolate-ovate or rhombic-ovate, 4.5–8.0 × 2–4 cm, acute, crenate-serrate along the distal margins, the bases narrowed, obtuse to truncate or rarely attenuate, sparsely pubescent with short hairs on both surfaces but more on abaxial surface. inflorescence terminal racemes, up to 20 cm long with 6 to 15 interrupted verticils of 1–2 flowers in each, pubescent with glandular–capitate hairs. bracts broadly ovate and long-acuminate, or rhomboid, ca 4.5–5.0 × 2.0–2.5 mm long, persistent, glabrous inside, glandular-pilose outside. flowers pedicellate, ca 1.0–1.5 mm long, zygomorphic; calyx green, zygomorphic, tubular or campanulate, 3.5–5.0 mm long, clothed, bilabiate, prominently veined (the upper lip mostly 5–9-veined), densely covered with capitate glandular hairs persisting in fruit; corolla tubular, ca 2.5 mm long, blue with white streaks, naked four new records for the vascular flora 27 within, the upper lip ca 1.2–1.8 mm long, the lower lip weakly 3-lobed, ca 3.0–3.5 mm long; stamens 2, included, filaments 1.2–1.3 mm long, pubescent, connective produced, adnate towards the lower half of anther; anthers slender, ca 0.6–0.8 mm long; styles 5–6 mm long, included, slender, glabrous; stigmas 2-lobed, lobes flattened. fruits a mericarp, oblong, ca 1.5 mm long, grey with dark streaks, mucilaginous when wet. seeds greyish to brown, obovate with highly reticulate venation. flowering and fruiting: november to february. ecology: found to grow along the roadside in moist and semi-shady habitats. uses: this species is considered a weed in tropical america (richardson and keng, 2010). distribution: this species is native to belize, colombia, costa rica, cuba, ecuador, el salvador, guatemala, haiti, honduras, jamaica, mexico, nicaragua, panamá, peru, puerto rico, united states of america (florida), and venezuela. it is introduced to australia, central africa, india, and indonesia (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, it has been recorded from wild habitats along the roadside near the mongla port area of the bagerhat district. this species is most probably introduced to bangladesh. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: mongla (near mongla port area), 22.12.2021, g.m. hossain 2951 and 5805; s.s. shetu 3891 (juh). fig. 4. salvia misella kunth. a) habit (×0.25), b) stem with swollen part and reddish tinged dots (×0.8), c) stem hairs (×3.5), d) a leaf (adaxial surface) (×0.30), e) a leaf (abaxial surface) (×0.3), f) an inflorescence (×1), g) a flower (×3.75), h) calyx (lower lips) (×3), i) calyx (upper lip) (×3), j) anthers and stigma (×10), k) ovary (top view) with glandular hairs on calyx tube (×6), k) ovary (lateral view) with glandular hairs on calyx (×7), l) seeds (×6.5). in bangladesh, four species of salvia l., viz., s. coccinea juss. ex murr, s. leucantha cav., s. plebeia r.br., and s. splendens sellow ex rome & schult., have been reported so far (khanam, 2009). s. misella is clearly distinct from s. splendens by its deltoid, sparsely pubescent leaves, deep green calyx, and 5–6 mm long corolla, in contrast to s. splendens’s ovate, glabrous leaves, red calyx, and 4.5 cm long corolla. s. misella is a herb with a green calyx, while s. leucantha is a 28 hossain et al. subshrub with a purple calyx. s. misella differs from s. coccinea’s campanulate and deep red or scarlet, 2 cm long corolla by its tubular, purple, 5–6 mm long corolla. s. misella is different from s. plebeia by its deltoid ovate leaves and bluish-purple corolla, in contrast to s. plebeia’s ellipticlanceolate leaves and white corolla. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 17 november 2022; revised on 2 may 2023) http://www.tropicos.org http://www.worldfloraonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 123-151, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67051 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 pandemic in and around dhaka city mohammad zashim uddin*, md. abdul mazid1, md. siddiq hasan, abulais shomrat, noushin sharmili suzana and marzuk ahmad saad department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; covid-19; pandemic environment; dhaka city abstract the present article deals with recording ethnomedicinal plants used by the people living in and around dhaka city and also focuses on the plant species used during the pandemic to get relief from covid-19. the information was gathered using open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires from 348 informants belonging to different classes of life. the survey has resulted in the recording of a total of 160 medicinal plant species belonging to 62 families and used for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies. azadirachta indica a. juss. was the most cited species in the study area. the highest factor informant consensus (fic) was found in the cuts and wounds category, and cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. is the most cited species for this category. acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen was the culturally bound species attaining 100% fidelity level (fl) value. among the ethnomedicinal plants, 40 species were found in the survey that were used by people to get relief from covid-19. this interesting ethnomedicinal use is a new record for these 40 species. most notable species are ocimum tenuiflorum l., justicia adhatoda l., centella asiatica (l.) urban, citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle, syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry, mentha arvensis l., zingiber officinale rosc., camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, and nigella sativa l. since ancient times, these species have been very popular and used to treat several ailments. the use of these species during the pandemic is a new hope for covid-19 management. but this is a preliminary report. further long-term study is needed to confirm the claim of these plants’ use against covid-19. due to excessive use during covid-19, these species have been scarce in the habitats in and around dhaka city. conservation measures should be applied to save these species from extinction. introduction covid-19, a newly emerging global pandemic, has been one of the major causes of mortality around the globe in the past few years. during this pandemic till vaccines were discovered, the scarcity of conventional modern medicines forced people to look for alternatives from nature, one of which is ethnomedicine. ethnomedicinal plants are important natural resources that have been used by traditional healers and local people for centuries in the treatment of various diseases. for the scientific community, it serves as a gateway to identify new plant products with potential medicinal and commercial value, as well as a foundation for future investigation into modern drug development through the consensus on documented medicinal plants (khan et al. 2014). the use of medicinal plants, though more or less common among all classes of people, is particularly relevant in urban areas, where access to quality healthcare is limited during critical times. the covid-19 pandemic that started in 2019–20 has further highlighted the importance of natural remedies in treating this disease and others. *corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com 1department of pharmaceutical chemistry, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67051 mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 124 uddin et al. a good number of research works on the documentation and evaluation of ethnobotanical knowledge in bangladesh are available. most noteworthy works are hassan and khan (1986), mia and huq (1988), alam (1992), chowdhury et al. (1996), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001), yusuf et al. (2002), khan et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2006), yusuf et al. (2006), uddin and roy (2007), uddin et al. (2008), uddin et al. (2012), haque et al. (2014), and uddin and hassan (2014). apart from these, ethnobotanical research works in certain parts or in and around dhaka city were done by rahmatullah et al. (2009a), ahmed et al. (2015), ocvirk et al. (2013), nusrat et al. (2015) and uddin et al. (2019). these studies mainly focused on the ethnomedicinal, antidiabetic, and anti-coagulant properties of plant species. according to the above articles on ethnomedicine, there is no concept of the use of ethnomedicines for covid-19 because covid19 is a newly borne pandemic disease spreading all over the world and it costs millions of lives globally. this disease has no proper modern treatment except vaccines. in the absence of modern treatment, the affected people looked for alternatives in nature to save themselves from this disease. in the present study, an attempt was made to record ethnomedicinal plants used to treat different diseases by the people in and around dhaka city during the covid-19 pandemic environment and also to focus on the plant species that were used during the pandemic to get relief from covid-19; to identify the threats to ethnomedicinal plants and to make recommendations for conservation measures for the ethnomedicinal plants used during covid-19. materials and methods dhaka, the capital city of bangladesh, is located in the bengal plain and has witnessed continuous expansion since gaining independence. on its’ southern border, the city is bordered by the buriganga river, while the eastern boundary is formed by the balu and the shitalakhya rivers. to the north lies the tongi canal, and to the west, the turag and the buriganga rivers define its limits (banglapedia, 2014; sayed et al., 2015). in the past, dhaka was a part of the natural sal (shorea robusta c.f.gaertn.) forest of bhawalgarh, encompassing various water bodies. however, due to rapid urbanization and development, most of the natural vegetation and water bodies have suffered degradation (rahman et al., 2011). at present, dhaka lacks natural forests, but different stakeholders such as the city corporation, rajuk, and public work department have been undertaken plantation initiatives along road dividers, footpaths, city parks, and lawns (rahman et al., 2011). dhaka, the urban centre of bangladesh, has a tropical climate known for its hot, damp, and humid conditions. it undergoes a well-defined monsoon period, with an average yearly temperature of 27.5°c and an annual precipitation of approximately 2000 mm, with more than 80% of it occurring during the monsoon season (dewan and yamaguchi, 2009). the city is situated on flat terrain at a low elevation near the sea, making it vulnerable to flooding during the monsoon season due to intense rainfall and cyclones (hough, 2004). the survey was conducted from january 2022 to january 2023 for a period of 13 months, with a total of sixteen field visits (table 1). the interviews were done at different times of the day and in different parts of the city using open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires (alexiades,1996) so that different classes of people could be interviewed for the survey. a total of 348 informants were interviewed. they were mostly male, and their ages ranged from 18 to 96 years old. the education levels of the informants ranged from illiterate to m. sc. degrees. professionally, they were mostly rickshaw pullers, small vendors and housewives. during the field survey, information on the uses of plants to treat different diseases, the parts of plants used, and modes of preparation and administration were collected. the local names were collected with the help of local people. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 125 table 1. data collections sites in and around dhaka city. visit no. name of place gps (latitude, longitude) 1 purbachal (1) 23°50'44.8"n, 90°29'50.8"e 2 uttara, diabari 23°52'09.8"n, 90°23'36.6"e; 23°52'30.8"n, 90°21'21.5"e 3 airport, matikata, basundhara 23°50'06.0"n, 90°25'02.8"e; 23°49'13.6"n, 90°23'25.7"e; 23°49'11.5"n, 90°27'15.0"e 4 jatrabari 23°42'37.0"n, 90°26'07.3"e 5 keraniganj 23°41'48.2"n, 90°21'03.5"e 6 abdullahpur 23°39'41.5"n, 90°21'29.5"e 7 bachila, noya bazar, hajaribag 23°44'46.2"n, 90°20'57.6"e; 23°43'39.0"n, 90°20'20.1"e; 23°44'10.1"n, 90°21'43.5"e 8 kakrail, motijheel 23°44'16.6"n, 90°24'16.2"e; 23°44'04.2"n, 90°25'15.6"e 9 khilgaon 23°44'56.7"n, 90°25'12.4"e 10 nandipara 23°44'48.6"n, 90°26'40.1"e 11 demra 23°43'17.9"n, 90°28'59.6"e 12 purbachal (2) 23°50'46.3"n, 90°30'53.9"e 13 tongi (near dhaka) 23°53'06.2"n, 90°24'17.9"e 14 mirpur 23°48'15.9"n, 90°20'52.2"e 15 rupganj 23°48'02.2"n, 90°31'22.3"e 16 gulshan 23°46'58.0"n, 90°25'12.6"e the ethnomedicinal plants mentioned by the dwellers in and around dhaka city were identified by their vernacular names and physical specimens by a group of experts led by a taxonomist in the field. in case of confusion, voucher specimens were prepared following standard herbarium techniques (alexiades, 1996; martin, 2010). these specimens were identified later by comparing them with various renowned works such as prain (1903), siddiqui et al. (2007); ahmed et al. (2008a, b), ahmed et al. (2009a, b, c, d), uddin and hassan (2016) and uddin et al. (2021). based on the information obtained from the people in the study area, all the reported ailments were categorized into 14 broad categories and tabulated. several diseases were placed in one ailment category based on the body systems treated. to measure the level of consensus between the usage of plants in a definite ailment category and its users in the study area, the informant consensus factor (fic) value was determined using the formula of heinrich et al. (1998). to determine the most frequently used plant species for treating a particular ailment, fidelity level (fl) was determined following the formula of friedman et al. (1986). citation frequency (cf) values are useful to determine the most common medicinal plants in the study area. the cf values of medicinal plants were estimated using the formula of friedman et al. (1986). results and discussion a total of 160 medicinal plant species belonging to 62 families were used by the people in and around dhaka city for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies. this result indicates the huge diversity of medicinal plants and also shows the diversity of modes of use for different 126 uddin et al. ailments. for each species, scientific name, local name, family, habitat, parts used, ailments, and modes of treatment are provided (table 2). for each species, updated scientific name and family name is used (powo, 2023). the ten most abundant families are fabaceae, asteraceae, rutaceae, lamiaceae, amaranthaceae, malvaceae, cucurbitaceae, moraceae, solanaceae and arecaceae (table 2). fig. 1. percentage habit of recorded ethnomedicinal plants fig. 2. percentage of plant parts used in treating ailments the majority of medicinal plants are herbs (36%), followed by trees (30%), shrubs (21%), and climbers (13%) (fig. 1). leaves are the most commonly used parts, followed by fruits, seeds, stems and barks (fig. 2). this suggests the sustainable use of natural resources in the study area. among the 250 formularies, 81% were for internal applications, and the remaining 19% were for external applications (table 2). among all the recorded species, azadirachta indica a. juss. has the most citations (fig. 3). the next most cited plant species is ocimum tenuiflorum l., followed by centella asiatica (l.) urban, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, terminalia arjuna (roxb. exdc.) wight & arn., zingiber officinale rosc, justicia adhatoda l., litsea glutinosa, (lour.) rob., nigella sativa l., mangifera indica l., phyllanthus emblica l., calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton., citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle, and bombax ceiba l. besides, some ethnopharmacologically important plant species were determined using the informant consensus factor (fic) parameter (heinrich et al. 1998). the fic value was determined to measure the agreement on each disease category among the informants living in and around dhaka city. fig. 4 indicates the result where fic values ranged from 0.88 to 0.29, with the highest value (0.88) found in the cut and wounds category. the second-highest fic value (0.86) was for covid-19, followed by glandular and intestinal problems, worm and insect problems, mouth and dental problems, cardiovascular and circulatory problems, excretory problems, dermatological disorders, analgesics and antipyretics, skin and health care, digestive and liver problems, gynaecological or sexual disorders, and others. medicinal plants that are efficient in treating a particular ailment have higher fic values. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 127 table 2. list of ethnomedicinal plants (h = herb, s = shrub, t = tree, c = climber). scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulot kombol malvaceae s stem heart problem stem soaked in water and taken stem constipation stem soaked in water and taken stem urinal burn stem soaked in water and taken stem male weakness stem soaked in water and taken stem cold, cough juice taken achyranthes aspera l. apang amaranthaceae h leaf headache leaf chewed and taken root stop bleeding juice applied whole plant jaundice juice taken root diarrhoea root crushed and juice taken root piles juice applied root worm juice taken acmella calva (dc.) r.k.jansen surjokonna asteraceae h flower toothache flower chewed aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel rutaceae t fruit analgesic fruit taken leaf scabies leaf crushed with terminalia arjuna leaf, boiled and then the water is used. fruit dysentery fruit taken fruit stomach problem young fruit taken leaf strength leaf crushed with terminalia arjuna leaf, boiled and then the water is used. agaricus bisporus (j.e.lange) imbach masroom agaricaceae h fruit body diabetes cooked and taken allium cepa l. peyaj amaryllidaceae h latex hair fall latex applied on bare head allium sativum l. rosun amaryllidaceae h bulb heart problem one seed taken regularly bulb high pressure bulb taken raw alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g.don mankochu araceae s stem body pain juice taken regularly with oil aloe vera (l.) burm.f. alovera asphodelaceae h leaf thermoregulation leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken leaf skin care leaf paste applied leaf hair treatment leaf paste applied leaf nutrition leaf juice taken alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chatim apocynaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken latex gonorrhea latex mixed with sugar and then taken bark pregnancy issues soaked in water and then taken 128 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode amaranthus spinosus l. katanote amaranthaceae h root dysentery root crushed with molasses and taken whole plant jaundice cooked and taken amaranthus tricolor l. lalshak amaranthaceae h whole plant blood increase cooked and taken whole plant for vitamins cooked and taken amaranthus viridis l. noteshak amaranthaceae h whole plant weakness cooked and taken whole plant eye sight issues cooked and taken ananas comosus (l.) merr. anaros bromeliaceae h fruit fever ripe fruit taken leaf stomach pain leaf juice taken leaf worms leaf juice taken in empty stomach andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees kalomegh acanthaceae h stem blood purification stem soaked in water at night and taken in the morning stem skin problem stem soaked in water whole night and taken in the morning leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation soaked in water then water is taken leaf covid-19 leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken leaf fever juice taken leaf itching leaf soaked in water and taken leaf liver problem leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf soaked in water and taken leaf stomach problem leaf juice taken leaf cold leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken leaf fever pill made and then taken arachis hypogaea l. badam fabaceae h seed heart problem raw seeds taken seed diet maintenance roasted seed taken artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kathal moraceae t latex skin problem white latex applied fruit appetizer fruit taken artocarpus lakoocha roxb. deowa moraceae t latex skin disease latex taken asparagus racemosus willd. sotomuli asparagaceae c root male weakness raw root taken root impotent raw root taken root male weakness raw root taken averrhoa carambola l. kamranga oxalidaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae t leaf fever leaf dried and taken like pill leaf body pain leaf juice taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf juice applied consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 129 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode leaf blood purifier leaf taken leaf antiseptic leaf juice applied leaf itching leaf juice mixed with water and bathe with it leaf skin problem pasted with turmeric and applied leaf itching crushed with turmeric and applied leaf pox juice mixed with water and bathe leaf allergy leaf cooked and taken with rice leaf scabies leaf paste applied leaf smallpox juice mixed with water and bathe leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf diarrhoea leaf dried and taken like pill leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf stomach ache leaf juice taken bark stomach pain powder soaked in water and taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken stem tooth and gum problem used as brush leaf cholera leaf dried and taken like a pill leaf kidney problem leaf juice taken leaf hair fall leaf juice mixed with coconut oil and applied leaf worms leaf juice taken leaf louse leaf paste applied to the head leaf insecticide leaf used to preserve crops bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brammi shak plantaginaceae h whole plant health tonic cooked and taken barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaerth. hizol lecythidaceae t leaf dysentery leaf juice taken bark dysentery bark juice taken benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. kumra cucurbitaceae c leaf headache leaf chewed and taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken leaf stomachache leaf chewed and taken fruit body maintenance cooked and taken bombax ceiba l. simul malvaceae t root heart disease juice taken root constipation young root taken root dysentery root juice taken bark dysentery bark juice taken root gastritis young root taken 130 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode root semen increase young root taken root ca2+ deficiency young root taken borassus flabellifer l. tal arecaceae s stem diarrhoea warm juice taken leaf ear problem young leaf burnt and the liquid applied on the ear stem cold, cough warm juice taken leaf asthma warm juice taken brassica juncea (l.) czern. sorisha brassicaceae h seed body pain seed oil massage seed neck pain seed oil massage seed cold, cough seed oil taken seed cold, cough oil boiled with garlic and massage seed cold, cough seed oil massage on the throat cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. arhar fabaceae s leaf jaundice leaf juice taken fruit weakness cooked and taken calamus tenuis roxb. bet arecaceae c young shoot gastritis paste taken calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton. akondo apocynaceae s leaf body pain warm leaf juice massaged leaf rheumatic pain warm leaf juice massaged leaf sexual weakness leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf cold, cough warm leaf juice mixed with mustard oil and then massaged latex insect bite latex applied leaf snakebite leaf juice applied on bitten place camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze cha theaceae s leaf headache boiled in water and water drunken leaf corona leaf powder boiled in water and then taken leaf body fitness boiled in water and water taken leaf weight reduction boiled in water and water taken canavalia gladiata (jacq.) dc. mou shim fabaceae c fruit appetizer cooked and taken careya arborea roxb. kumvi lecythidaceae t leaf cold, cough paste taken with a bamboo stick carica papaya l. pepe caricaceae s latex ringworm latex applied on the infected skin fruit constipation fruit taken fruit gastritis young fruit taken in the morning fruit stomach problem cooked with less spices and taken leaf malaria leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 131 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode cassia fistula l. sonalu fabaceae t fruit dysentery fruit pulp taken catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don noyontara apocynaceae s flower diabetes flower juice taken centella asiatica (l.) urban thankuni apiaceae h leaf body pain leaf chewed and taken leaf high pressure leaf juice taken leaf skin problem leaf juice applied on skin leaf, stem skin problem cooked and taken leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf liver problem leaf taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf upset stomach leaf juice taken leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken in the morning leaf leucorrhea leaf juice taken leaf eye cataract leaf juice applied on eye leaf covid-19 leaf chewed and taken leaf skin glamour leaf juice applied on skin leaf weight reduction leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken chenopodium album l. bethua amaranthaceae h leaf weakness whole plant cooked and taken chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. ujaru lota asteraceae s leaf stop bleeding juice given to the wounded place leaf fracture leaf paste applied leaf ulcer leaf juice is taken leaf gastritis leaf juice is taken cinnamomum tamala (buch. -ham.) t.nees & c.h.eberm. tejpata lauraceae t leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf covid-19 dry leaf boiled with clove and water taken leaf cold, cough dry leaf boiled and water taken leaf hair fall dry powder applied on bath water cinnamomum verum j.presl daruchini lauraceae t bark acne powdered stem applied with honey bark covid-19 bark boiled and water taken bark hair fall dry bark powder mixed with water and then bathe with it cissus quadrangularis l. harvanga vitaceae c stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem fracture stem paste applied on broken bone citrus aurantium l. malta rutaceae s fruit covid-19 fruit juice taken citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle lebu rutaceae s fruit high pressure juice taken fruit digestion fruit juice applied leaf nausea leaf crushed and smell taken 132 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit weakness fruit juice taken fruit tooth problem fruit taken fruit cancer fruit boiled and then taken fruit sleep problem fruit juice taken fruit covid-19 fruit juice taken fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied fruit skin care fruit juice applied citrus maxima (burm.) merr. jambura rutaceae s fruit jaundice fruit taken clerodendrum infortunatum l. vat lamiaceae s root dysentery root crushed and taken with water leaf stomach problem leaf juice taken root tooth problem root chewed stem tooth problem stem used as brush leaf toothache leaf chewed young shoot asthma juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken young shoot worm juice taken clitoria ternatea l. aparajita fabaceae c flower cold, cough flower chewed and taken coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha cucurbitaceae c leaf fever leaf juice taken leaf chest pain leaf juice taken leaf rheumatic pain cooked and taken leaf blood purifier cooked and taken leaf blood clotting leaf paste applied leaf body burning cooked and taken leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken leaf piles leaf crushed with salt and applied leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf diabetes cooked and taken leaf gastritis cooked and taken leaf ear problem leaf paste prepared with mustard oil, salt and then juice applied leaf kidney stone leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough cooked and taken leaf head cool cooked and taken cocos nucifera l. dab arecaceae t fruit jaundice fruit water taken fruit diarrhoea fruit water taken fruit pregnancy problem fruit water taken with faith root toothache young root juice taken evening consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 133 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit covid-19 fruit water taken three times a day colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kochu araceae h stem pain cooked and taken stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem blood purifier cooked and taken leaf stop bleeding paste applied on the wounded part rhizom e blood dysentery cooked and taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken combretum indicum (l.) defilipps modhumonj uri combretaceae c leaf allergy leaf cooked with black pepper and taken corchorus capsularis l. pat malvaceae h leaf upset stomach fried leaf taken crinum asiaticum l. gorosun amaryllidaceae h bulb liver problem soaked in water and then small amount is taken crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni fabaceae s leaf stomach pain cooked with other veggies and taken cucumis sativus l. shosha cucurbitaceae c fruit heart problem fruit taken fruit stomachache fruit taken with salt fruit dark spots fruit applied on the place fruit reduce obesity fruit taken fruit weight reduction fruit taken cuminum cyminum l. jira apiaceae h seed gastritis seed chewed and taken curcuma longa l. holud zingiberaceae h rhizom e body pain rhizome taken with milk rhizom e blood purifier raw rhizome taken in the morning rhizom e skin problem paste applied to skin rhizom e acnes spots rhizome paste applied rhizom e jaundice raw rhizome taken rhizom e skin glamour rhizome paste applied on skin curcuma zedoaria (christm.) roscoe sothi zingiberaceae h root gastritis root juice taken cuscuta reflexa roxb. sornolota convolvulaceae c stem fever crushed and juice taken stem body pain stem paste applied stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem fracture paste applied leaf allergy leaf boiled and applied stem jaundice stem juice taken stem diarrhoea stem paste applied stem gastritis cooked and taken 134 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode stem stomach problem stem boiled and taken stem excessive menstruation stem juice taken stem worm juice used cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba poaceae h leaf stop bleeding leaf juice given to the wounded place whole plant wound healing crushed and paste applied on the wounded place leaf ulcer leaf juice taken leaf urinary problem leaf juice taken whole plant gastritis plant crushed and juice taken leaf gum strong leaf chewed and juice taken leaf insomnia leaf juice taken datura metel l. dhutura solanaceae s leaf rheumatic pain young leaf cooked and taken leaf itching young leaf cooked and taken leaf skin problem young leaf cooked and taken root constipation soaked in water and then water taken fruit mental problem fruit taken after purifying it. leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken dillenia indica l. chalta dilleniaceae t fruit high pressure fruit juice taken leaf constipation soaked in water and then water taken fruit dysentery fruit juice taken leaf dysentery soaked in water and then water taken leaf urinary problem soaked in water and then water taken leaf stomach problem soaked in water and then water taken fruit vitamins soaked in water and then water taken dioscorea alata l. pastalu dioscoreaceae c tuber health care cooked and taken diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. gab ebenaceae t leaf constipation soaked in water and then water taken leaf dysentery soaked in water and then water taken eclipta prostrata (l.) l. keshraj asteraceae h young shoot hand pain five shoots crushed with lime and applied in hands leaf headache leaf juice taken whole plant stop bleeding paste applied on wounded part whole plant dandruff paste applied on head consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 135 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode whole plant jaundice cooked and taken fruit toothache chewed on the infected tooth whole plant hair fall paste applied on head leaf blackening hair leaf crushed and applied on head leaf head cool paste applied on head elaeocarpus floribundus blume jolpai elaeocarpaceae t fruit appetizer fruit taken fruit vitamin c fruit taken elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton alach zingiberaceae fruit covid-19 boiled and water taken enydra fluctuans lour. helencha asteraceae h whole plant asthma cooked and taken whole plant eye sight improve cooked and taken whole plant vitamins cooked and taken euryale ferox salisb tal makhna nymphaeaceae h fruit constipation taken with molasses ficus hispida l. f. kak dumur moraceae t stem eye cataracts young branch latex applied on eye ficus racemosa l. dumur moraceae t fruit diabetes fruit taken fruit cold, cough ripe fruit taken raw or unripe fruit cooked and then taken leaf cold, cough leaf cooked and taken glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug.dc. gima shak molluginaceae h leaf skin problem whole plant cooked and taken leaf body pain cooked and taken glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc. motkila rutaceae s stem tooth problem stem used as brush leaf worms leaf juice taken glycyrrhiza glabra l. josthimodhu fabaceae s stem, root throat problem dried and then soaked water taken stem and root cold, cough stem or root dissolved in water and then taken gynura procumbens (lour.) merr. diabetic plant asteraceae s leaf diabetes leaf juice taken heliotropium indicum l. hatishur boraginaceae h leaf and stem fever juice taken leaf abscess warm leaf juice applied root delivery problem root juice taken root strength root crushed and juice taken flower ophthalmia flower juice applied hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba malvaceae s bark dysentery soaked in water and then taken flower pregnancy problem flower juice mixed with milk and taken to have baby 136 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode flower hair treatment flower juice applied on head flower head cool flower paste applied on head and then washout hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma lamiaceae h seed body cool seed soaked in water and taken seed constipation seed mixed with water and then taken seed dysentery seed soaked in water and taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken seed diabetes seed soaked in water and taken seed strength seed mixed with water and then taken imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. uluchan poaceae h whole plant new hair growth whole plant crushed and the paste applied on head ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmi convolvulaceae h leaf abscess leaf mixed with onion and paste applied leaf insect bite leaf paste applied justicia adhatoda l. basok acanthaceae s leaf body pain leaf juice massaged leaf covid-19 leaf juice taken leaf asthma leaf juice taken kalanchoe daigremontiana raym.hamet & h.perrier pathor chuna crassulaceae h leaf stomachache leaf taken with molasse leaf dysentery leaf chewed in morning empty stomach leaf semen increase leaf chewed in morning empty stomach kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. pathor kuchi crassulaceae h leaf fever leaf juice applied leaf urinary problem leaf juice taken leaf stomach problem leaf juice applied lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lau cucurbitaceae c fruit stomach problem fruit cooked and taken laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotra urticaceae h root dysentery root juice taken lawsonia inermis l. mehedi lythraceae s leaf dandruff leaf paste applied on head leaf nail problem leaf juice applied leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf abortion leaf juice is taken leaf hair fall leaf juice applied on head leaf head cool paste applied on head leaf hair color paste applied on head lens culinaris medik. mosur dal fabaceae h seed skin glamour soaked in water and then pasted leucas aspera (willd.) link dondo kolosh lamiaceae h leaf face swollen leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf cooked and taken whole plant cold, cough crushed and juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 137 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode young shoot diabetes cooked with potato and taken leaf worm leaf juice applied limonia acidissima l. kodbel rutaceae t fruit apatite fruit taken fruit constipation young fruit dried and then taken with water and sugar litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. menda lauraceae t leaf, stem body burning sensation soaked in water and then taken leaf jaundice leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf dysentery leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf constipation leaf soaked in water and then water taken bark dysentery bark crushed and soaked in water and then water taken leaf urinary problem leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf stomach problem leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf cold, cough leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf burning sensation leaf soaked in water and then taken bark burning sensation bark soaked in water and then taken leaf head cool leaf paste applied mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen pitali euphorbiaceae t stem, root tooth problem used as brush fruit abscess fruit powder applied mangifera indica l. amm anacardiaceae t fruit high pressure fruit juice taken bark jaundice bark juice taken fruit jaundice fruit water taken bark dysentery bark juice taken bark diarrhoea bark soaked in water with molasses and then taken flower dysentery flower bud juice taken on empty stomach leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken on empty stomach seed diabetes seed taken flower gastritis flower bud taken directly on empty stomach leaf stomach pain leaf chewed and taken leaf toothache leaf chewed and taken fruit vitamin c young fruit is taken fruit heart problem young fruit taken 138 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode melia azedarach l. ghoranim meliaceae t leaf louse leaf paste applied on the head mentha arvensis l. pudina lamiaceae h leaf digestion leaf taken raw leaf gonorrhea leaf juice taken with milk leaf covid-19 leaf warm juice taken leaf asthma leaf boiled in water and then taken leaf closed nose leaf juice vapors taken by nose mikania scandens (l.) willd. asamlota asteraceae c leaf headache leaf paste applied leaf wound healing leaf juice applied on the wounded place leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf diabetes leaf cooked and taken or taken raw leaf stomachache leaf juice taken mimosa pudica l. lojjaboti fabaceae s root dysentery root crushed and juice taken with water root sleep problem root tie on hand momordica charantia l. korola cucurbitaceae c fruit diabetes cooked and taken fruit diabetes fruit juice taken leaf diabetes juice taken moringa oleifera lam. sajna moringaceae t fruit fever cooked and taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf juice taken bark rheumatic pain bark fried and chewed with rice seed powder leaf jaundice cooked and taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf diabetes cooked and taken leaf weakness cooked and taken leaf, bark cold, cough bark or leaf crushed and taken bark asthma bark juice taken murraya paniculata (l.) jack kamini rutaceae t leaf tooth problem leaf chewed musa paradisiaca l. kola musaceae h fruit dysentery unripe fruit crushed with sugar and taken fruit eye sight fruit taken leaf skin problem leaf paste applied cone jaundice cooked and taken fruit dysentery unripe fruit crushed with sugar and taken cone constipation cooked and taken fruit constipation cooked and taken fruit diarrhoea unripe fruit cooked and taken cone upset stomach cooked and taken fruit stomach problem unripe fruit crushed and taken cone diabetes cooked and taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 139 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit dysentery fruit soaked in water and then water taken fruit weakness fruit taken fruit diarrhoea fruit soaked in water and then water taken nelumbo nucifera gaertn. poddo nelumbonaceae h leaf pain leaf juice taken neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kodom rubiaceae t leaf rheumatic pain body massage with the warm juice of leaf bark dysentery bark soaked in water and then taken leaf worm young leaf chewed and taken nigella sativa l. kalojira ranunculaceae h seed pain seed oil massage to get remedy seed skin problem seeds are taken seed gastritis seeds are taken seed stomach problem seeds are taken seed strength seeds are taken seed covid-19 seed paste taken seed cold, cough seed paste taken seed covid-19 seeds taken regularly to get remedy from covid-19 seed cold, cough seed boiled with ginger, tea leaf and clove and water taken nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shiuli oleaceae s leaf fever leaf crushed and juice taken leaf piles leaf crushed and juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf crushed and juice taken ocimum tenuiflorum l. tulshi lamiaceae s leaf headache warm juice taken leaf skin problem crushed with mango leaf, guava leaf and then paste mixed with bath water leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf chewed and taken leaf covid-19 leaf chewed and taken leaf cold, cough leaf boiled and taken with honey leaf sore throat warm juice taken oroxylum indicum (l.) benth. ex kurz. kanai dinga bignoniaceae t leaf stomach problem young leaf chewed and taken oryza sativa l. dhan poaceae h seed strong hair boiled and water applied seed upset stomach processed seed (cheera) taken with yogurt paederia foetida l. gondho vadhuli rubiaceae c leaf liver problem cooked and taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken with sugar persicaria orientalis (l.) spach bishkatali polygonaceae h whole plant fish killing plant crushed and applied phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur arecaceae t fruit migraine unripe fruit taken fruit increase weight fruits are taken regularly 140 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels orboroi phyllanthaceae t fruit cold, cough fruit taken phyllanthus emblica l. amloki phyllanthaceae t fruit chest pain crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit high pressure crushed with t. chebula fruit and taken fruit appetite crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit aversion to food fruit taken fruit digestion fruit taken fruit liver problem crushed with t. chebula fruit and taken fruit excretory problem crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit constipation fruit taken fruit constipation crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit gastritis crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit impotent crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit strength crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit mouth problem raw fruit taken fruit mouth ulcer raw fruit taken fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied fruit hair fall soaked in water and applied on head fruit skin care fruit juice applied phyllanthus reticulatus poir. sitki phyllanthaceae s stem tooth problem used as brush physalis minima l. photka solanaceae h seed diabetes 2 or 3 seeds are chewed and taken piper betle l. pan piperaceae c leaf digest leaf taken leaf diabetes leaf taken piper longum l. pipul piperaceae h leaf fever crushed with black pepper seed and taken leaf fever leaf juice taken leaf headache leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 141 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode piper nigrum l gol morich piperaceae c leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken piper retrofractum vahl chui jhal piperaceae c stem better digestion stem cooked and taken plantago ovata forssk. esobgul plantaginaceae s seed coat constipation seed coat powder mixed with water and taken indigestion seed coat powder mixed with water and taken prunus domestica l. alu bokhara rosaceae t fruit diabetes fruit taken psidium guajava l. peyara myrtaceae t fruit constipation fruit taken leaf dysentery juice taken leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf toothache young leaf chewed leaf tooth pain boiled with azadirachta indica leaf and aegle marmelos leaf and then mouthwash with the water leaf tooth decay leaf chewed twice a day punica granatum l. dalim lythraceae s fruit blood increasement fruit taken leaf pox juice taken leaf blood dysentery leaf crushed with mango leaf and, guava leaf then taken. fruit diarrhoea fruit taken flower dysentery paste applied fruit cold, cough fruit taken fruit cold, cough fruit peel boiled in water and then taken pyrus communis l. naspati rosaceae t fruit heart water remove fruit taken ricinus communis l. verenda euphorbiaceae s seed pain seed oil massage to get remedy seed rheumatic pain seed oil massage to get remedy salvia hispanica l. chiya seed lamiaceae h seed constipation soaked in water and then taken seed skin, organ nutrition soaked in water and then taken saccharum officinarum l. akh poaceae h stem jaundice stem juice taken stem jaundice stem juice taken scoparia dulcis l. bon dhone plantaginaceae h leaf cold, cough juice taken leaf body pain leaf juice taken senna alata (l.) roxb. dad mordon fabaceae s leaf ringworm leaf juice applied senna alexandrina mill. sonapata fabaceae s leaf constipation leaf powder taken sesamum indicum l. til pedaliaceae h seed cold, cough seed oil applied shorea robusta c.f.gaertn. sal dipterocarpacea e t bark diarrhoea bark juice taken stem impotence mixed with molasses and taken 142 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode sida cordifolia l. berela malvaceae s root weakness root juice taken with sugar regularly smilax perfoliata lour. kumari lota smilacaceae c stem fracture paste applied stem strength young stem chewed and taken stem sexual problem stem taken solanum indicum roxb. tuni begun solanaceae s fruit blood purifier chewed or juice taken solanum nigrum l. titbegun solanaceae h leaf itching leaf burned and ash applied solanum sisymbriifolium lam. kata begun solanaceae h seed allergy cooked and taken spinacia oleracea l. palong amaranthaceae h leaf vitamins cooked and taken spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz amra anacardiaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken fruit appetite fruit taken stephania japonica (thunb.) miers aknadi menispermacea e c leaf leukorrhea 19 leaves crushed and paste taken with molasses for 7 days sterculia villosa roxb.ex sm. udal malvaceae t stem strength young stem soaked in water and taken stevia rebaudiana bertoni chinipata asteraceae h leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken streblus asper lour. shewra moraceae t leaf diabetes leaf juice taken strychnos nux-vomica l. kuchila loganiaceae t leaf diabetes cooked and taken swietenia macrophylla king mehogoni meliaceae t seed diabetes taken raw syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry lobongo myrtaceae t flower tooth problem flower chewed flower cold, cough flower chewed flower shore throat flower chewed with nigella sativa syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam myrtaceae t fruit blood increase fruit taken leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken seed diabetes seed powder taken regularly seed gastritis seed powder taken regularly seed male strength seed crushed and then taken fruit strength fruit pulp taken tagetes erecta l. gada asteraceae h leaf stop bleeding leaf juice given to the wounded place leaf liver problem leaf juice taken tamarindus indica l. tetul fabaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken fruit skin care fruit juice applied fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun combretaceae t leaf fever leaf juice taken bark heart problem powder soaked in water and taken bark heartache powder soaked in water and taken bark high pressure powder soaked in water and taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 143 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode bark constipation powder soaked in water and taken bark gastritis powder soaked in water and taken leaf diabetes leaf taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken bark semen increase powder soaked in water and taken bark burning sensation bark chewed or bark juice taken bark ca2+ deficiency powder soaked in water and taken bark dizziness powder soaked in water and taken terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera combretaceae t fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit stomach problem fruit taken terminalia chebula retz. horitoki combretaceae t fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit appetite powder soaked in water and taken fruit constipation powder soaked in water and taken fruit stomach problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit weakness unripe fruit soaked in water and then taken trigonella foenumgraecum l. methi fabaceae h seed diabetes seed taken leaf strength leaf cooked and taken typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. kharkan araceae h leaf pain cooked and taken vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb. babla fabaceae t young shoot urinary problem shoot chewed and juice taken for 5-7 days vigna mungo (l.) hepper mashkolai fabaceae h seed increase lactation in mothers seeds are cooked with squash and taken vitex negundo l. nishinda lamiaceae s leaf worm leaf juice taken vitis vinifera l. angur vitaceae c fruit eye sight fruit taken fruit blood purification fruit taken regularly xanthium strumarium l. ghagra asteraceae h leaf body pain leaf juice taken leaf blood purifier leaf cooked and taken latex stop bleeding latex applied leaf itching leaf cooked and taken root dysentery root paste taken zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. bajna rutaceae t seed body pain seed oil massage spine cold, cough spine powered and taken with water 144 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode zingiber officinale rosc. ada zingiberaceae h rhizome gastritis raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome stomach pain raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome nausea prevention raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome weakness rhizome taken rhizome cold, cough boiled with tea leaf and drunk rhizome covid-19 raw rhizome taken rhizome covid-19 raw rhizome taken with clove, black pepper and black cumin. rhizome sore throat raw rhizome taken ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi rhamnaceae t fruit high pressure raw fruit taken leaf itching leaf juice applied in bath water leaf dysentery leaf paste taken leaf dead body wash leaf boiled in water and then bath fig. 3. most cited top fifteen species. fig. 4. disease clusters with fic value. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 145 the high fic value for cuts and wounds showed that this ailment is possibly common in the study area and that a small number of taxa are used by a large number of people to treat this ailment. this is also applicable in case of covid-19 category (the second highest fic value), as the potential risk of being attacked by the corona virus and the fear of not getting proper treatment led people to collect different species from the study area in the hope of getting relief from this disease. the higher fic value also establishes better communication among the people in treating the particular disease. it also indicates that the species traditionally used to treat these ailments are worth searching for bioactive compounds. the fidelity level (fl) was calculated to determine the most medicinally important plant species. medicinal plants that are widely used for a particular disease by local people show higher fl values than those that are used to treat multiple ailments. the fl values for 17 species were calculated (table 3), among which acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen has 100% fl, which means this species is only used for toothache treatment. there is no controversy about this use. in the case of other species, the values show less than 100% fl, which means those species have some other uses as well. table 3. fidelity level (fl) from all disease categories. disease disease categories scientific name local name fl% toothache mouth and dental problems acmella calva surjokonna 100.00 cold and cough covid-19 ocimum tenuiflorum tulshi 96.12 cold and cough covid-19 justicia adhatoda basok 95.12 fracture cuts and wounds cissus quadrangularis harvanga 92.31 stop bleeding cuts and wounds cynodon dactylon durba 87.88 corona covid-19 nigella sativa kalojira 78.13 hair fall skin and health care lawsonia inermis mehedi 76.47 wound healing cuts and wounds mikania scandens asamlota 66.67 heart problem cardiovascular and circulatory problem terminalia arjuna arjun 61.54 dysentery excretory problem centella asiatica thankuni 60.81 body pain analgesic and antipyretic calotropis gigantea akondo 59.09 diabetes glandular and intestinal problem coccinia grandis telakucha 58.46 gastritis glandular and intestinal problem mangifera indica amm 51.61 cold and cough covid-19 zingiber officinale ada 40.43 semen increase gynecological or sexual disorders bombax ceiba shimul 30.00 worms worm and insect problem azadirachta indica neem 17.69 itching dermatological disorders azadirachta indica neem 14.97 one of the interesting findings of this survey is the first-time record of 40 plant species getting relief from covid-19. these species are abroma augusta (l.) l.f., aloe vera (l.) burm.f., andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees, borassus flabellifer l., brassica juncea (l.) czern., calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton., camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, careya arborea roxb., centella asiatica (l.) urban, cinnamomum tamala nees & eberm., cinnamomum verum j.presl, citrus aurantium l., citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) 146 uddin et al. swingle, clerodendrum infortunatum l., clitoria ternatea l., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, cocos nucifera l., datura metel l., elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton, enhydra fluctuans lour., ficus racemosa l., glycyrrhiza glabra l., justicia adhatoda l., leucas aspera (willd.) link, litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson, mentha arvensis l., moringa oleifera lamk., nigella sativa l., nyctanthes arbor-tristis l., ocimum tenuiflorum l., phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels, piper nigrum l., punica granatum l., scoparia dulcis l., sesamum indicum l., stevia rebaudiana (bertoni) bertoni, syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m.perry, zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. and zingiber officinale rosc. among them, 10 species were widely used by most people. these species are holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.), malabar nut (justicia adhatoda l.), pennywort (centella asiatica (l.) urban), lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle), cloves (syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry), spearmint (mentha arvensis l.), ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.), tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze), and black cumin (nigella sativa l.). the local informants of the purbachal area reported that, during the pandemic the distribution of centella asiatica (l.) urban and andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees were sharply declined. local people and as well as people from different areas were collected these species in the hope of treating the covid-19 disease. dream stories about the use of centella asiatica (l.) for covid-19 treatment were spread among the people of purbachal and keraniganj. according to the dream, the use of three leaves of centella asiatica (l.) can cure covid-19. according to the people, centella asiatica (l.) leaves were very scarce during covid-19, and even three leaves were sold in the market for 100 taka. hot, salt water with zingiber officinale rosc., nigella sativa l., ocimum tenuiflorum l., syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry, raw camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, mentha arvensis l. and leaves, andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees, were regularly used by the people who were out of vaccines. there is really no corona virus, as said by a good number of people, including rickshaw pullers and people from slums. they led their normal life during the pandemic situation, and they did not maintain any isolation from each other. the rate of death in slums and rickshaw pullers was very low as compared to higher society, as reported by the informants during the survey. the cited plants in the report are very preliminary in their uses against covid-19. to validate these plants’ use against covid-19, further long-term research is necessary. traditionally, the oil of black cumin (nigella sativa l.) seed is used to treat impotence by the people of lawachara national park (uddin et al., 2017). moreover, rahmatullah et al. (2009b) reported that black cumin is taken with crushed roots of mapania caudata kük. to treat helminthiasis. the present survey explored a new use of this species, that is many informants in and around dhaka regularly took black cumin to get relief from covid-19. the roots and leaves of black pepper (piper nigrum l.) are used to treat fever, cough, and rheumatism by the chakma community of bangladesh (roy et al., 2008). rahman et al. (2018) have mentioned its antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against the germs that attack our respiratory system. the present study also found the same result where the local informants mentioned the effectiveness of the leaves and seeds of black pepper against symptoms of covid-19. indian pennywort (centella asiatica (l.)) urban has many uses, and in most cases, its whole body is taken to treat different ailments. roy et al. (2008), uddin et al. (2012), and uddin and hassan (2014) recorded that this plant’s body is used to treat dysentery, diarrhoea, and other stomach-related disorders. moreover, its leaf juice, when applied to the eyes, can help treat cataracts (uddin et al., 2017). the present study found that people believed so much in the efficacy of indian pennywort against covid-19 that this species became scarce during the pandemic period due to over-exploitation. lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle) is used to treat jaundice (uddin et al., 2017) and fever (uddin et al., 2012). the present study revealed that majority of the informants who consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 147 participated in the survey took lemon juice in the belief of being relieved of covid-19. the decoction produced from the rhizome of ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.) is used to treat neck pain (uddin et al., 2017). moreover, to treat flu and bronchitis, ginger rhizome is taken with betel leaf and also taken as a syrup by the local people of lawachara national park (uddin et al., 2012). informants of the present study linked this species with the treatment of covid-19. holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.) is considered the most sacred plant in hindu scriptures. its leaf paste is applied to reduce high blood-pressure (uddin et al., 2017), and leaf juice is taken to treat colds and coughs (uddin et al., 2017; uddin and hassan, 2014). moreover, informants in the present study took leaf juice of this species to get relief from covid-19 during the pandemic period. the whole plant of green chiretta (andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees) is used by the people of lawachara national park to treat diseases like malaria (uddin and hassan, 2014), diabetes, dermatitis, and anthelmintic disorders (uddin et al., 2017). many informants in the present study were mentioned this plant to use in the treatment of covid-19. the leaf juice of malabar nuts (justicia adhatoda l.) helps in treating colds and coughs (uddin et al., 2017) and fever, malaria, impotence, and jaundice (uddin and hassan, 2014). the study revealed that many informants in and around dhaka city took the leaf juice of malabar nuts when the primary symptoms of covid-19 developed. the leaf juice of spearmint (mentha arvensis l.) is used to treat stomach aches (uddin et al., 2017). this study revealed a new use of this species: many informants of dhaka took hot leaf juice of spearmint to get relief from covid-19. uddin et al. (2015) recorded the use of tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze) leaves in the treatment of diarrhoea. the present study also revealed that many informants drank tea regularly in the hope of being relieved from covid-19. the present survey recorded a number of threats to the local ethnomedicinal plants that were mentioned by the informants in and around dhaka city and were also observed by this team of experts in the field. most of the people mentioned rapid infrastructural development, construction works, urbanization, pollution, overexploitation, ignorance about ethnomedicinal plants, deforestation, and a lack of local medicinal plants in nurseries as the major threats. urbanization and construction works have been observed in more or less all parts of dhaka that were visited during this survey. in the purbachal area green spaces are more abundant compared to other parts that were surveyed. but the deforestation of the local forest and the emigration of some of the local people from that area have resulted in the reduction of many local ethnomedicinal plants and also to the sharp decline of the ethnomedicinal knowledge bank. many informants from the surveyed areas reaffirmed that the knowledge bank on ethnomedicines has shrunk from that of previous generations, and a lack of ethnomedicinal practices has contributed to the sharp decline of maintaining local ethnomedicinal plants in the homestead vegetation. moreover, a lack of such plants in the local nurseries and too much dependency on aesthetic plants for home décor have also accelerated this process. besides, people also exploit and over-exploit ethnomedicinal plants from time to time, especially when there is no alternative source of medicine during a crisis period. this was evident in the purbachal area, where local dwellers mentioned centella asiatica (l.) urban and andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees as plants that became scarce due to overexploitation during the covid-19 pandemic period. a study by setzer et al. (2006) showed that more than 80% of rural people around the globe depend on herbal medicines. besides, the world market for herbal medicines based on traditional knowledge was estimated at us$ 60 billion (brevoort, 1998) more than 24 years ago. these studies prove how immensely important ethnomedicinal knowledge is! yet its’ practices and knowledge banks have been ignored by city dwellers and government and non-government authorities to a large extend. there has been no government effort so far that actually upheld or tried to uphold the local ethnomedicinal knowledge of our country. however, the practices of 148 uddin et al. conserving this knowledge have only been limited to the researches of scientific communities. so, the urgent focus has to be given by all of the respective communities to conserve ethnomedicinal plants, their practices, and the people who practice this knowledge. on top of that, a number of other recommendations have been provided. incentives can be given to nurseries to display and sell local ethnomedicinal plants with discounts on them. local people, especially city dwellers should be enlightened with the importance of ethnomedicinal plants. the chance of building industries on ethnomedicinal plants and their active compounds can be examined. besides these, ethnomedicinal plants can be planted on government properties such as road dividers, road pavements, parks and lakes. a national knowledge bank on ethnomedicinal plants and the practices regarding them can be built. compensation for the destruction of ethnomedicinal plants due to urbanization and industrialization with more secured plantations can be done. pollution in sensitive areas such as rivers where ethnomedicinal plants are found to be growing abundantly should be stopped. deforestation needs to be banned and a master plan regarding sustainable and urban development can be formulated. the present work is one of the initial efforts to quantify ethnomedicinal information in bangladesh, focusing on covid-19 disease. this study will provide a better option for the selection of widely used medicinal plants in the search for bioactive compounds for further research. the record of 160 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 62 families and used for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies is an indication of the richness of ethnomedicinal plants in the study area. the highest citations of azadirachta indica a. juss. reaffirmed that this is one of the most important ethnomedicinal plants in bangladesh. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. is generally used for cuts and wounds treatment in all around bangladesh and this was proved by having the highest fic value in the present study. acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen was the culturally bound species attaining 100% fidelity level (fl) value. the most important finding of this present study is the record of 40 species under covid-19 category. these species were used by local informants to get relief from covid-19. among these 40 species, most notable species are holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.), malabar nut (justicia adhatoda l.), pennywort (centella asiatica (l.) urban), lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle), cloves (syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry), spearmint (mentha arvensis l.), ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.), tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze), and black cumin (nigella sativa l.). the record of these 40 species against covid-19 is a preliminary report. further longterm study is needed to confirm the claim for these plants’ use against covid-19. due to sudden excessive use during covid-19, these species became very scarce in the habitats in and around dhaka city. there is an urgent need to formulate suitable conservation strategies for the naturally growing ethnomedicinal plants to overcome their depletion. acknowledgement we duly acknowledge the ministry of science and technology for financial support of the project. we also acknowledge the local people who helped us by sharing their knowledge during the interview process. references ahmed, f.a., bristy, r.s. and tasnova, n.j. 2015. ethnomedicinal practice of tinospora cordifolia (willd.) meirs ex hook f. & thoms. by the traditional medicine practitioners at savar, dhaka. jahangirnagar university journal of biological sciences. 4(2): 47-51. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 149 ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 2 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023)